Okay. I”m not one to rip apart an SNL sketch, especially after having spent a lovely day in the SNL Studio last week, but this past Saturday night I was highly disappointed in their spa skit delivery. I appreciate any effort to bring humor and excitement to the spa industry, but “Spa Talk with Tyla Yonders” was a total mess.

It started out promising, with Tyla Yonders as a fairly accurate hyperbole of an overzealous spa enthusiast. “Here at Spa Talk we show you how to tackle your everyday problems with a range of holistic spa treatments.” Great, bring it on! But as the clients started to trickle in, it all went downhill.

If you know anything about me and the videos we make here at Spa Week (scroll down), you know this has nothing to do with me taking offense to anything. But it’s Saturday Night Live, I expect WAY more out of them! You can’t just take random spa ideas and throw them into a skit with some dysfunctional families and expect it to work.

Feel free to let me know if you disagree, but here is where they went awry:

First of all, who in the writing room thought it was okay to reenact facial treatments in pedicure chairs? Under no circumstance should one have cream or exfoliant applied to one’s face in a pedicure chair. Did they need the vibrating chair joke THAT badly? If this ever happens to you, run very fast in the other direction.

The “laughter cues” struggled to get giggles out of the audience as Tyla delivered poop-filled collagen boosting creams and exfoliants to the “stressed out,” guests. There is indeed a Geisha Facial, which uses Nightingale Bird poop to nourish and brighten your skin, but we covered the bird poop facial trend before I even started working here, in May 2009. It was slightly funny in the skit first time, but turtle poop?? Spas don’t use turtle poop. Are we five? Is doody that  funny?

And then there was the Juniper Bush leaf smacking. This was  in reference the Venik used during Platza in a Russian bathhouse, which was a good start. But forget the fact that that Juniper bushes aren’t used for this; the actual funny part of this treatment is the hard core smacking! Now THAT would have made a good skit. Dusting off lightly with the twig  for the sake of a pubic hair joke… it was a bit of a stretch. Why bother?

My recommendation to the SNL team: next time you plan a spa skit, ask Spa Week for some better plot lines, and then get Rock Comedian Brian Smith to write you a song. Like this!

Guest contributor: Kavita Jhaveri-Patel

I don’t know if it is just me, but I have been seeing commercial after commercial on fiber. Anything from orange flavored chalky powders that mix easily into water to fiber packed chocolate bars.

Fiber is absolutely necessary especially when you are feeling plugged up, bloated, fat, and totally uncomfortable. However these quick methods of getting fiber may help you in the short term; but as soon as you are done with the chalky stuff, guess what happens. You are right back where you started…stuck…. literally!

So how do we permanently resolve this? You CAN incorporate the right sources of fiber into your diet, and not only will you regulate yourself, but you will also lose belly fat by accident. How good does that sound?

Here are my TOP 3 quick and easy natural fiber sources:

Avocados: The most fabulous fruit ever! It is tasty on its own, creamy, and awesome with blue corn chips. Oh did I also mention, one medium sized avocado, has almost 12 grams of fiber! I think this is nature at its best! It taste sooo good it feels bad, and keeps your digestive tract working nicely and your colon clean.

Oatmeal: A hot bowl of apple cinnamon sweetened with maple syrup oatmeal sounds like the perfect dessert… I mean breakfast. 1 cup of oatmeal has 12 grams of fiber. Incorporate oats into your diet daily, and soon the belly fat will flatten and decrease your cholesterol AT THE SAME TIME.

Eat whole fruits not juice: Eating the whole fruit, like the whole orange is better than having orange juice. Why? Because you eat the fiber that helps you to break down the sugars that are natural in fruit. The fiber, or white part of the orange, is good for you and helps you to even out your blood sugar levels, hence helping you lose weight.

In order for you to feel lighter in more ways than one, get your fiber on!

Body confidence expert and health and lifestyle speaker Kavita Jhaveri-Patel. She has been featured in Time Out New York, Healthy Style NY, and has been mentioned on FoxLive News. Receive her free report 7 Mistakes Most Women Make When Trying to Lose Weight and How to Avoid Them by clicking here.

The other day I was asked by one of the editors at DailyGlow.com: “What can someone do to get the most bang for their buck at the spa?”

They were looking for quotes for a story to reflect upon the nuances of different spa treatments (rather than where to find a good deal), but while writing back, it occurred to me that I behold a LOT of juicy insight into which spa treatments are worth it and what’s not. And you know what, if I’m going to be releasing my secrets to the world, there is no one else I’d rather share them with than YOU. So, from my heart to your wallet…

6 secrets to sneakily spending your spa money wisely:

6. SAVE: SEARCH FOR A SCRUBASSAGE

If you love massages but also want the exfoliating benefits of a body scrub, save money by getting a body scrub that includes a little massage rather than just a lather. Look for scrubs that specify massage on the spa menu. It won’t be a deep tissue massage, but  it might include a little more pressure than the usual scrub. I’d call the spa and make sure too—it’s not that common.

5. SPLURGE: LET SPAS PUT THEIR BEST FACIAL FORWARD

Plant Stem Cell Facials with LED light, Oxygen Facials, Caviar Facials… I’ve found that fancy facials are almost always worth the splurge. A good way to pick a facial: ask the esthetician what his or her favorite facial is to perform. They are extremely passionate and tend to be perfectionists, and will always recommend you the one that works the best, or that would be best for your skin.

4. SAVE: GO FOR A STRAIGHT UP MASSAGE

Save money on a massage by going to no-frills massage-focused spas located on the 2nd floor. Or the 9th. I’ve had mediocre massages at some of the most glamorous, best known spas. But find an Asian man (or two) who speaks no English at place with curtains instead of walls, and he will undoubtedly rip your back a new one. And if not, at least you didn’t break the bank.

3. SAVE: MEET ME AT THE BATHHOUSE

If your goal is to escape everyday life and melt into a spa coma  filled with steam rooms and jacuzzis for the day, there’s no place to get bang for your buck like you can at a bathhouse. Spend 3 hours, spend 8 hours… and all you pay for is entry fee. If you crave a treatment too but don’t want to spend a lot, book something for a half hour in the middle of the day to satisfy. Check out my days at the Brooklyn Banya and the Russian and Turkish Bathhouse.

2.  SPLURGE: VACATION INITIATION

Let’s face it: it’s not a vacation unless you go to the spa, and if you’re staying in a resort area, it will be difficult to find a good deal. Treat yourself to a Lomi Lomi massage on the beaches of Hawaii, indulge in post-skiing reflexology, go for the overpriced body scrub with indigenous salt. It will likely enhance your vacation tenfold, and fall under the category of unforgettable.

1. SAVE: WHO’S YOUR DADDY? SPA WEEK!

Call me biased, but seriously, the best way to get your money’s worth is to book a bunch of treatments during Spa Week when everything is just $50. Something people don’t realize is that during Spa Week (next one is April 11-17) spas want you to experience their best treatments, not just their average treatments, even if they aren’t making money. You can find 60, 70, 90, minute treatments for the price of a 30 minute one. You can sample different slimming techniques, or try different massage therapists to find your true massage soulmate.  Mark your calendars and take advantage of this very generous thing they are doing!

Photos via the Medical Cosmetic Center and the Sheraton Kauai Spa

Guest contributor: Healing Lifestyles & Spas

The days when a woman walks into a room, accompanied by a cloud of perfume, and leaving an indelible fragrance footprint in her wake are so over. As more and more women are learning about the danger of phthalates (a fragrance stabilizer used in most synthetic perfumes that can wreak havoc on hormones), perfume as we know it is becoming an olfactory assault and losing street cred.

Mandy Aftel, founder of Aftelier perfumes and a passionate advocate for artisan natural fragrances, chose to make natural perfumes as much for aesthetic reasons as for health ones. With natural perfumes, she says, “I use the finest ingredients in the world, albeit the most expensive. Much like food, a perfume is only as good as its ingredients.”

And while natural perfume may not last as long, the way it evolves on your skin and mixes with your body’s chemistry makes it a singular experience. Plus, with a little less than a third of the population prone to chemical sensitivities, you will be doing everyone a favor by keeping your choice in scents a discreet pleasure. We’ve rounded up our seven favorite naturally derived fragrances, all guaranteed to lift your spirits without any toxic hangover. Be sure to check them out, they are must tries and then must haves!

Is the gym passé? A New York Times article begs this question in response to the technology-addicted, wavering drones, who trickle in every so often that have become detrimental to the founding concept of the health club. To credit the culprits or gadgets in any given gym you’ll find people plugged into their iPods, texting on the bikes, or locked into the big flat screens provided by the gym. You tune out the guy working out on the treadmill right next to you,  leave when your play list gets stale, or position yourself right in front of the TV to avoid missing the new Gossip Girl.

Manhattan based gym consultant Jonathan Fields explains, “In the 70s, they came for community. Now they come in and disassociate themselves from everyone in the club. It’s killing the health club.”According to the International Health, Racquet & Sports Association membership is down by 45%. Planet Fitness eliminated all one-on-one personal training sessions from all 406 franchises. Gym goers looking for tailored instruction are stuck with staff trained 30 minute sessions in groups of five.

Hardly the motivated community Fields was referring to. Are you surprised? In the age of  iPads and droids the focus has totally shifted from being there to get in shape, to being there because the facility accommodates your addiction to entertainment.