by Grace Wilson
Sometimes I’m such an easy up-sell. All the receptionist has to do is say the word and I will add this hydrotherapy treatment onto whatever services I purchase. In fact, if I had to choose, I’d easily pick the extra fifteen minutes for the Vichy shower over an extra fifteen minutes of massage. I’ve never met a Vichy shower I didn’t love.

Most often a Vichy shower is included in an exotic mud wrap, herbal wrap, salt or sugar scrub, where the skin is covered with something that needs to be washed off. At the appropriate time, five or more shower heads suspended above the massage table will begin to rain down a warm, tropical jungle shower over the length of the body. The mud or scrub breaks up, disperses and rinses off the body on its own, flowing off the table, onto the floor and down the drain. Once the body is clean, the best therapists will leave the room and allow the guest to lie in the warm rain, blissfully alone, for five or ten minutes while the shower melts away stress and tension from the body. It’s simple, yet incredibly healing and nurturing.

During a recent visit to a day-spa, one of the guests who had just come from her Vichy experience had difficulty describing how it felt. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “It’s profound how deeply it affected my body and my mind.” Of all the hydro (water) -therapy treatments spas are offering these days, this is definitely therapy!

Finding out if a Vichy shower is available seems to be the hardest part in booking one. Most spas, being small businesses, have only one or two wet rooms, and the only way you can get the Vichy shower is if your treatment is booked in one of them. Generally, the wet rooms are reserved for scrubs and wraps, so getting the scheduler to book a wet room for you if you’re just getting a massage can be hit or miss. Very few places offer the Vichy shower as an a-la-carte service. (I hope a few day-spa owners read this and change their policies!) If you uncover a rare gem of a day-spa that allows you to add a Vichy shower onto the end of a massage, it’s probable that your massage will be in a typical “dry” room, and you will relocate to the wet room for the Vichy. The room transition is typically painless, and in my experience is a tiny inconvenience compared to the delight you’ll experience for taking a walk down the hall.

The next time you call, ask the receptionist which treatments incorporate the Vichy shower. If none of those treatments appeal to you, it never hurts to ask if you can book a Vichy onto the treatment you intend to get. And definitely make sure you understand what type of Vichy shower the spa offers. Is it the type where five or more shower heads are raining down upon you while you lie on a massage table? Will you be standing upright as jets spray you from all directions? Or, is it merely a hand-held shower device that the therapist holds in one hand and uses to rinse your body manually? What some establishments call a Vichy shower may not be what you want, so be sure to ask the right questions when making your appointment.

Ever since having my first Vichy shower years ago, I’ve fantasized about having a wet room built in my home so I can indulge every day — that’s how much I love this treatment. In many cases you take a shower at the end of your spa day anyway, so why not do it lying down? It’s as if a blessing from the heavens is raining down upon you, washing away the dirt and grime of the day, leaving you refreshed and renewed. I can’t say enough about it.