"Full Article taken from: Hint Magazine"
"Hint" is Shanghai's latest and most practical expat magazine. It can be picked up at restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, hotels, spas, schools and real estate agencies across Shanghai.
This month Hint decided to attempt to not only curb some bad habits, but find alternatives to them as well. What's one of the worst habits one can have? Smoking. Shanghai is rife with cigarette smoke both first and second handed.. Chris Anderson, a daily smoker, visited Everlasting Spa to receive what he thought was a "cigarette detoxification treatment," but actually involved inserting foreign objects into parts of his body and lighting them on fire. Occasional social smoker Natalie Hill visited Gatineau Spa and hooked up to a T2000 machine that is supposed to improve blood circulation and rid the body of, you guessed it, toxins. Lastly, Joseph Jones, attempted to quit the habit and tells you how he fared, and what methods he used with what results.
Suckered into Life- Gatineau Spa
To try and drain my toxins from cigarette smoke or anything else nasty that has found its way into my body, we were recommended a trip to Gatineau spa to try out one of their snazzy Skin V6 machines.
I was given the option of having the face, body or face and body seen to by the machine and its operator. I opted for the body, guessing that my toxins were more in my body than face. First off a quick shower so that your body is nice and clean for the machine. The Skin V6 is basically a vacuum cleaner attached to an electronic box. Yes that's right, a vacuum cleaner. Indeed the treatment entails having the head of the V6 sucking and slurping all over the body.
Initially you can't help but think 'what the hell does this do' and indeed for the first 5 minutes I was wondering just that. Then speed was turned up and the fun really started. When I say fun I actually mean a "tingling sensation of having skin sucked." As pornographic as it sounds it is actually far less invasive than a regular massage. The therapist only touches you from time to time to smooth the skin over. The machine is basically worked all over your body starting on your back, then your front and down your legs, sometimes in circular motions, and sometimes working from one pressure point to the next. The machine itself sounds like a life support machine which adds nicely to the clinical nature of the treatment. I must admit it felt great on the feet and I wished that we'd spent ten minutes on the feet alone, but alas with the machine sounding like a life smoker we moved on.
"Continue reading the rest of this article at the Hint Magazine website"
