First there was acupuncture, the ancient Chinese needle-poking treatment. When the cringe-worthy trend hit the spa scene, only the most daring would submit to it for "relaxation" and healing.
But a West Coast competitor has emerged, and while it does not involve pricking the skin, it still deviates from the traditional concept of a hands-on massage. Imagine 54 basalt stones heated to nearly 140 degrees Fahrenheit and then placed meticulously along the body. The treatment, known as LaStone Therapy, or more commonly, hot stone massage therapy, is one of the fastest growing massage trends in today's spas.
Barbara Brownell, a certified LaStone therapist who gives treatments at the Women's Club in Chantilly, Va., practices this technique, hyped as producing vascular gymnastics of the circulatory system.
"I've had clients ask me, 'How'd you get your hands so hot?'" said Brownell, who also works out of her home. "They couldn't tell where my hand stopped and where the stone started doing the work."
In a hot stone massage, stones of volcanic rock, sanded down until the surface is completely smooth, complete the massaging strokes. These stones have a natural thermal property that allows them to retain heat, and each different size and shape is used on a specific body area.
"It's the heat element that you can't get from a regular massage or Shiatsu or anything," said Serena Cherky of the Andre Cherky Salon in Washington, D.C. "To have that heat from a stone - it's something you can't replicate."
A full LaStone treatment begins with a spinal layout, where the therapist arranges 12 heated stones on the massage table. The client, covered by a sheet, leans back on the stones that align with her spinal cord. The largest stone, the chakra, is placed on the lower abdomen. The therapist then applies smaller stones up the sternum, creating a constant pressure with the heaviness of a human touch.
Oblong stones massage the calf muscles, as the tiniest stones are placed between toes. The effleurage, a stone named after the long, sweeping Swedish massage stroke it performs, works on the hamstring and quadriceps muscle groups.
"On a simple physiological level, the effects of whatever technique the therapist is using will be deepened by using the hot stones," said Laurie Ross, a certified massage therapist who performs the hot stone technique at Charlottesville's Escapes relaxation center. "The hot stone massage really sends you to another place entirely, to a really profound level of relaxation."
As a stone completes its usage as a supplement to the massage stroke, the therapist lays the heated rock along the treated area - under the knees, cradled in palms and resting under the arches of the feet. A third-eye stone, named for its application above the bridge of the nose, disperses a calming warmth across the forehead.
The stones cool throughout the treatment and are removed methodically as the client turns onto her stomach. A belly stone heats the client's front while a scapula stone breaks up knots under the shoulder blade.
To conclude the massage, a frozen marble stone, chased by the 140 degree basalt stone, runs up and down the spinal cord for a re-energizing effect.
But not everyone has been convinced that LaStone Therapy is the "Last One Therapy."
"I've personally had the hot stone massage done, and I feel it's kind of trendy," said Shelia McGurk, owner of Circe, an Aveda lifestyle spa in Alexandria. "I just didn't see the benefits as an owner and someone who loves to go to spas."
McGurk said she missed the "healing touch that hands give," and for that reason she has not looked into bringing the treatment to her own salon.
"I personally found LaStone kind of annoying," McGurk said. "When massaging with stones, you have to be careful not to touch the bones, and that's where I found the discomfort."
But the first two women clients at the Andre Cherky Salon this January were so impressed they swore they would bring their husbands back the following weekend.
And Lauri Ross, the massage therapist at Escapes Relaxation Center out on Rio Road, has begun to see a steady interest.
"I think people really enjoy the sensation of being massaged with hot stones and oil," Ross said. "I have people tell me they don't want anything but this anymore"
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