For a section of people already accustomed to having top-flight food and entertainment delivered directly to their living rooms, keeping a massage therapist on call or a hairstylist at the ready is no big deal. Factor in the convenience (a rubdown at 9 p.m. after the kids are asleep, not needing to leave the house for a pedicure when there’s three feet of snow on the ground) and in-home beauty treatments become a no-brainer that’s rapidly growing in popularity.
Jin Soon’s nail salon
Jin Soon Choi, whose jewelbox nail spas in Manhattan are a favorite of both the uptown and downtown sets, will send her technicians out in rain and sleet to do mani/pedis for everyone from the office-bound to new mothers and notes “these visits are on the rise.”
Celebrity-beloved, bicoastal facialist Joanna Vargas gets more requests for at-home treatments from her L.A. clients (“I think after you’ve gotten relaxed and are having a Zen moment, you don’t want to get back on the 405 to drive back,” she says). But Vargas also has East Coasters who prefer she travel to them, such as the East Hampton couple that sends its driver monthly to bring Vargas to the beach, where she performs two-and-a-half hour facials on both husband and wife, then stays to join them for lunch.
Joanna Vargas’ oxygen treatment
Of course, the luxury of having top-tier talent making housecalls comes at a price: Vargas charges $400 an hour, including travel time, while the in-home Jin Soon experience is about four to five times the cost of the spa-based one. (And don’t forget to tip!)
Still, there are deals to be had. New York’s Refresh Body, which launched with on-site massage in 2007 and has grown every year since, recently expanded its offerings to include blowouts, yoga, and Pilates and runs a Hamptons outpost from Memorial through Labor Days. An hour of deep tissue will set you back $135, while a blowout costs just $70. Not a bad price to pay for transforming your living room into a spa.
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