Damon's 1/2 hour Swedish Massage

Here's what he had to say about it!


"On Sunday I had my first appointment with the folks at Misbehaven Spa and Salon, a half hour Swedish massage. Now, half hour massages usually don’t get my motor running as they are usually too short to get some real relaxation going. So I was prepared for a quick “massage” that would be semi painful and not really relaxing at all.
When I arrived, I was promptly greeted by Margo, my masseuse for the day who kindly offered me something to drink, to which I said no thanks, I’m good. She led me to one of several “treatment” rooms and then stepped out while I lay down on the table. Now a half hour massages usually only covers one specific area, such as neck or back and or legs and arms. Today we would be focusing on the neck and back. Again, my hopes were not high, but still Margo seemed nice enough.
So Margo began by working the muscles around my neck and shoulder blades, pretty simple and not painful at all. I was sure that there would be some pain soon though. I was wrong. Not only was it not painful, like some previous massages I have had elsewhere, but it was totally relaxing. I even found myself slipping into a sleepy; trance like state the height of relaxation for me.
The massage was so good that I really was totally surprised. No joke. Margo is very adept and is able to walk the fine line between pressure and relaxation which many masseuses fail to do. It is either all pain or weak hands that cannot get into the muscle groups and stretch things out.
So my first experience was in a word, amazing. I am seriously thinking of calling Margo up and having her book me for a full 1 hour Swedish, on my own dime. Yes it was that good. If you can stop my mind from thinking for even five minutes, then you have seriously succeeded in making me relaxed. Best half hour massage ever."

What does Damon have to say about all this?

“adventures in metrosexuality”

So I am not a “fancy” guy if you will, and please read on before you make any snap judgements about my choice of words. I do not wear suits. I do not wear ties. Unless I am going to a funeral or a wedding, in which case I might do both and will probably wear socks too. my mother told me it shows class, whatever. Most days you will find me sporting a pair of shorts, usually well worn, and flip flops (same). I frequently do not shave for several days at a time, I have other things to do in the morning. So when I say I am not “fancy” I mean I am not a guy that really takes a lot of stock in his personal appearance, day to day. That is not to say I am a slob (do not ask my wife this question) nor that I do not like to look “presentable” (again, don’t ask my wife). So when Kimberly Miner asked me if I would be willing to come to Misbehaven and get some “spa treatments” done and then write about them, I was at least intrigued although I pictured in my mind several women standing over me and wanting to “tweez” my brown and airbrush my nails. . . uh, no.
Kimberly thought that if men had a chance to hear it from another man then it might take some of the “scare” out of it. Ok, I am all about trailblazing so why not? Kimberly and I met at Misbehaven to run through the different spa and “grooming” (guys don’t do “beauty”) packages they offer. The list is extensive and although my wife and daughters have forced me on occasion to get a facial or pedicure, I am not too familiar with all of the different items.
I decided to take the menu home and run through all of the different services so that I could compile a list of what I thought that most guys would be willing to endure, I mean, enjoy, yes . . . .enjoy. . . . I did find a few items that I had questions about and after visiting the Misbehaven web site, I have to say that I was not any more informed, unfortunately. I would love to see a detailed description for each service so that if I had a question about what the difference between a Swedish massage and a Deep Tissue massage was, I could at least get an idea from the site. I also noticed that most of the site is geared toward woman, no surprise, but that there is no list of Men’s services listed, this would be a nice touch for those looking and for those who’s spouses or significant others wanted to get something as a gift or do a “couple’s day” at the spa.
After talking it over with Jeanese I decided that we would try out the massages, facial and the mani and pedi (sorry just saving words here boys). I would also set up a men’s haircut. The only other item that I thought would be nice for men would be a hot lather shave. I have had a few of these in my time, thanks to my father for pointing out how nice these are, and how rare these days, and the experience of a good hot lather shave is something that is not to be missed at least once in life. Gents add it to your bucket list and make it happen.

What's Next?

What's next?

i thought it would be interesting to have a man go through all the Men's Services at Misbehaven as well. it was a little challenging getting photos of the services that i had so i thought this would also give me the opportunity to observe and take photos. but the primary objective of having a man come in and get services done is to see if we can show people that Spas and Salons are not just for women.

i met Damon Burke when i first took photos for him at his business "Salumiere Cesario", here in Walla Walla. i have also taken family photos of him and his wife, Colby and their two girls. Colby and Damon had read about what i was doing at Misbehaven and one day when i was in their shop, we got on the conversation of men having spa services. Damon mentioned he likes to take his girls for manicures and that he had even had a facial, due to Colby's coaxing.

months later, i approached Damon and asked him if he would be interested in having the services that Misbehaven offers, that we felt men were most likely to have done. in turn, he would blog about it, share his experiences. he agreed, and last Friday we met at Misbehaven and scheduled all his appointments. we will be meeting in two weeks for his first service...a swedish massage.

Summing it up....

i went through almost all the services at Misbehaven Spa & Salon, and i have to say i enjoyed almost every single one. I definitely have seen a great improvement in my skin. the microdermabrasion and LED treatments were wonderful. i would love to continue to get those series done once a year. i will definitely keep tinting my brows periodically. its so nice to not have to pencil my brows in. i will not ever wax my legs again. that was a very painful experience and not really all that successful in my case. i still had lots of hair left on my leg, and i wasn't willing to go back a couple more times to get them all. it was just too uncomfortable. the massages were so nice. the hot stone massage was my all time favorite treat. i would wish that experience on everyone! initially i loved the lash extensions, until after about a week. then i could hardly wait to get them off. i didn't like how i had to babysit them. it took all the discipline i could muster to not pick them all off. i went in and had them removed 3 weeks later. my lashes are a little messed up and sparse now, because i could not keep from plucking them off, and taking my own lashes with them (since they were glued to my own lashes). as they grew out, they twisted, clumped and started laying the wrong direction. they just ended up being too high maintenance for me. just the opposite of what i thought they would be. i figured if i didn't have to wake up and put on mascara, my time getting ready would be less, but the truth was i had to brush them and un-clump them, etc. LOVED the gel nails. loved how my nails looked healthy and pretty. i still use the eminence products that i was introduced to, and i really love all of them.
i feel as though i learned a lot from this experience. for me, it was a matter of finding out where i "fit" into the world of beauty. i want a low maintenance regime, healthy skin and hair, but don't want to spend a lot of money. i had to figure out which items were worth the expense for me, and which i could live without. i am still trying to prioritize my wants and budget, and it will probably vary from time to time.

i just went back to my original blog and noticed that i started this blog on March 11th, 2011. exactly one year ago today (:

Happy 1 year anniversary to me and my new beauty regime.