the Price of an Exfoliating Massage

The price was for a package of three "sunburn" massages ($50 each, otherwise) with goop to treat sunburned skin. The massages were performed at a local spa so a variety of other skin care, personal wellness, and beauty treatment services were available at costs that, I presume, depend on the duration and complexity of the procedure.

It started being nice out a couple weeks ago and I had a lay-out for a few hours the first weekend and read in the sunshine and forgot my sun lotion. OK, maybe "forgot" isn't accurate. "Neglected" is probably better. In any case, I got a bit burned all over. A friend suggested calamine lotion and aloe vera to soothe my skin, but I couldn't be sure I got it all over and my husband was nowhere to be found, so I called up my spa and asked what they could do for a sun burn. At first they thought I meant to cover it up and suggested makeup and long clothes, but after I explained that I was more concerned about the itchy burning feeling I was getting all over, they had a few ideas.

They figured out a mix of cooling and soothing stuff mixed with a mild topical analgesic (painkiller) that they use for after dermabrasion treatments. All that, plush a soothing half-hour massage, done once a day for three days and it didn't really cost me anything more than three massages would have cost. My skin didn't even peel the way it usually does when I get burned. I'm pretty happy.

If it's at all possible, try not getting sunburned. That's really your best bet for avoiding the pain and mess of a sun burn. I keep hearing that too much sun will raise your chances of skin cancer, but too little sun will raise your chances of every other type of cancer. It's all a bit crazy and I never know what I should be doing, so most of the time I put on some SPF 10 and try to stay out of the sun when it's crazy hot out. Calamine lotion and aloe vera does work well for cooling and soothing a sun burn. Don't go after it with a loofah, though, that just makes the burn feeling more intense.