Summer on the cheap is easier than it sounds–save your pretty pennies for dinners, great shorts and road trip gas. When it comes to summer spa-ing, hit up our list of $50 or Less Spa Treatments.

Meet the renowned Lia Schorr (her spa has a hallway of signed celebrity photos thanking her for their beautiful skin) and watch the live-streaming of two summertime essential treatments at Lia Schorr Day Spa in New York City. It’ll be free for you to watch, and only $50 to enjoy either. As part of our Spa Deals this June, they are offering the same 45 Minute Scrub and Massage, as well as a 75 Minute Seaweed Facial, as long as you mention Spa Week. The perfect package to get yourself in full glow for those weekend getaways… for just $100.

Here’s the recap:

First, meet the Skincare Queen herself, Lia Schorr. A prominent figure in the spa industry for 36 years, she runs her day spa as well as the Lia Schorr Institute with the fervent mission of passing along her expertise to the next generation. She’s written 3 books, one of which is The Skincare Guide for Men. A man’s lady through and through!

Next, a luxurious session of full body pampering. A Swedish-Hot Stone-Shiatsu-Reflexology mix of massage techniques, followed by an exfoliating scrub to smooth and prime my skin for summertime. (It was soft as a baby’s bottom afterwards!)

Intermission: We discovered that Desiree Rivera our Facebook page went to the Lia Schorr Institute–they had a mini social media reconnect! We also met the esthetician Euginia, who was a little shy, but Lia promised she was THE best. No need for a balls-to-the-wall facialist, right?

The proof is in the pudding… or in this case, the seaweed. Euginia massaged and steamed my face, followed by light extractions and a mud mask from the dead sea. She then did a 2 layer seaweed facial, each layer working to penetrate my face. I could truly feel my skin absorbing the nutrients. Why Seaweed? Read more about the BENEFITS OF SEAWEED, and watch the video for Euginia’s soothing seaweed strokes, and Lia’s tips on looking forever young.

Lia Schorr Day Spa
686 Lexington Avenue, Fourth Floor
New York, NY 10022
212.486.9670
http://www.liaschorr.com/

I knew it was going to be good when I received this direct message from Fred DeVito last weekend:

SIX hours? Fred, who is part of the founding team of exhale and Core Fusion, had spent 3 hours giving and 3 hours receiving Thai Massage Therapy the Saturday of this tweet. As I learned during our session last Friday, something unique about this treatment is that it is also highly beneficial for the person giving the treatment, serving as a form of exercise.

True Thai Therapy doesn’t take place under a towel on a massage bed; it’s done on a padded surface on the floor in yoga clothes, so anything is possible. Rather than just digging in deep with their hands, Thai Massage requires the use of the therapist’s elbows, knees, feet, balance, and inner core strength. Many of the techniques are actually yoga poses–there were a few times during the treatment I had to open my eyes just to see what which of Fred’s body parts were doing what! His heels dug into my arms while his hands worked my lower back (sort of like a 4-handed massage) and then he’d seemingly be balanced on his head with his elbows massaging my calves, while simultaneously wedging a pillow under my backside and bending my body into a glowing C-shaped beacon of relaxation–or something like that.

As opposed to traditional table massage, Thai Massage (formerly called Body Enlightenment at exhale) mobilizes your joints and stretches your entire body. It’s great for athletes who need both deep tissue attention and proper full body stretching.  It is more rigorous and energizing than your average rubdown, and after a stressful week served as an invigorating rebirth of my mind and body.

While I rested silently on the mat when the treatment was over I’m pretty sure I was supposed to turn off my thoughts, but I couldn’t help but think about how many exciting elements of this treatment I wanted to blog about! Try Thai Massage for yourself and let us know what you think.

Apologies: Live-streaming of this treatment has been postponed until further notice.

Internet Week is officially here in NYC!
A week to celebrate the city’s thriving Internet industry and community.
Back-to-back panels and parties embracing social media, technology and a love for connecting and creating online.
But we have one question:

How do you #SIGNOFF?

Editor and blogger Anne Fritz religiously turns off her phone every night at 11 PM sharp. Social media strategist Zachary Adam Cohen hardly goes a minute without tweeting… or a day without Bikram Yoga. “Digital something” Damien Basile tweets proudly about leaving his phone at home when he goes for a run outside.

It doesn’t take much.

So this Internet Week, Spa Week is hosting an Internet Week Retreat with exhale to encourage widespread #SIGNOFF for the folks who need it most–for the online  influencers, innovators, and those who have shaped the Internet into what it is today. A little thank you via massage, meditation, acupuncture and inspirational speakers… and a little reminder to live life in more than 140 characters.

Join in the #SIGNOFF movement!

Tweet your best Internet Escape tips using #SIGNOFF and @SPAWEEK

now and throughout Internet Week, June 7 – 14.

We’ll retweet the good ones from @SPAWEEK, and we’ll blog some of the best ones too.

But don’t worry… we’re not straying TOO far from The Internet. Tune in right here June 10th from 4 – 7:30 PM for our LIVE Internet Retreat inspirational speaker series on how to live better offline for a healthier, happier and more productive you. Here’s the lineup of speakers:

Update: We were not able to live-stream due to a shift in speaker location within the venue, but we’re videotaping everyone and will post their talks soon!

4:20 – Welcome + Opening Exercises with Spa Week and Exhale
Michelle Joni Lapidos (@michellejoni) Social Media Director at Spa Week + editor of Spa Week Daily (@SPAWEEK)
Catherine Hess, Holistic Health Counselor and Senior Teacher for exhale (@exhaleNYC)
Topic: Taking time to EXHALE in the Great Technology Race

4:40 – Zachary Adam Cohen (@zacharycohen) Social Media Consultant, Blogger, Local Foods Advocate, Yogi
Topic: Tweet. Eat. Yoga. Repeat. Learn Zach’s most successful moves—online and on the yoga mat.

5:00 – Keri Glassman (@keriglassman) Author of The O2 Diet, owner of Nutritious Life, Women’s Health Magazine & CBS Early Show contributor.
Topic: How to Be Healthy, Thin And Beautiful (and not just in your avatar)

5:20 – Oz Sultan (@ozsultan) Social Media Specialist at Irisnation, world’s largest private agency.
Topic: Ayurveda and Unani: Growing up with Ancient Cold Remedies in a 2.0 World

5:40 – Andrea Syrtash (@andreasyrtash) Dating and relationship expert, author of ‘He’s Just Not Your Type (And That’s a Good Thing)’
Topic: Your love life—Online and Off.

6:00 – Brett Petersel (@brett) Business Development and Events at Mashable
Topic: Mashable Unplugged! #SIGNOFF advice from the most plugged in of them all.

6:20 – Julia Roy (@juliaroy) Senior Manager of New Media, Coach Inc., Digital Influencer
Topic: The Rules of Disengagement, by Julia Roy

6:40 – Damien Basile (@db) Communications Strategist and Entrepreneur, Simplifier
Topic: Running without a phone in your hand, and other brilliant ways to separate Work and Life

7:00 – PJ Gach (@bettybuzz) Senior Style & Beauty Editor at Betty Confidential
Topic: Offline Excellence, as told by a member of the team that won Min’s 2010 Best of the WebEditorial Excellence Award

Live Broadcast by Ustream.TV

And for all the techies– when our next bi-annual Spa Week event comes around with luxurious $50 spa treatments for all (September 13-19 on the West Coast and Chicago, October 11-17 for the rest of the country), feel free to throw a #SIGNON party in the middle of it. We won’t be mad.

Model and actress turned medical esthetician Jillian Taylor performed a Microdermabrasion facial at The Mezzanine Spa, located in NYC’s SoHo neighborhood.

First of all, the spa is very pretty–spacious, airy and embracing. Feels like you’re walking into a hotel a little bit. Downstairs there’s a dermatologist office which makes for easy referrals, and upstairs there are a lot of well-appointed treatment rooms.

Onto the facial. I this Murphy’s Law haunting me that I call The Facial Factor. It works as such: Your skin knows when you’re about to get a facial, so it breaks out in anticipation. Normally this is fine, but when you’re live-streaming it for your blog, there’s some vanity involved.

Here are the recordings–Jillian explained every step of the way. Watch and learn how she brought my face to the next level. I saw an immediate difference, and speaking from the next day I can report that I’m very happy with the results.

Prepping for the Microderm

The Facial: Step by Step with Jillian Taylor

The Mezzanine Spa
62 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
212.431.1600
Check out their May spa deal: 60 Min Mango and Mandarin Manciure and Pedicure. May Special: $65

Yesterday we were concerned about tasers. Today, it’s lasers.

Completely Bare Spa, famous for its state-of-the-art hair removal technology (and infamous for vajazzling) is where I’ll went afternoon to share with you my very first bikini laser hair removal session. They use the Sciton YAG laser, BBL system, Lumenis diode laser, and the Lumenis Epilight™ and Quantum IPL hair removal devices… none of which I’m sure I’d agree to let someone aim straight for my lady parts if I didn’t trust Completely Bare completely.

“Imagine… no more waxing, shaving, razor stubble, or ingrown hairs. Just smooth, hairless and clear skin.” After hearing multiple success stories from friends and colleagues, this promise is what really sealed the deal.

Tune in below today at 4 PM EST–we’ll be answering your questions and you’ll get a chance to see what it’s REALLY like inside the treatment. Beam me up, baby!

AFTER THE TREATMENT

Below you will find the treatment videos in full, with answers to all your questions. Since you may not want to watch the treatment in its entirety, here are the answers to your primary questions, which also capture the highlights of the experience:

Does it hurt? Not at all! I was surprised that it didn’t hurt, not even a little bit. Although some people report tremendous pain, the procedure used at Completely Bare was barely detectable, let alone painful. There was one zap that I felt a tiny bit, but it was less painful that a solitary pluck, and as some of you asked, is very different from (and much less painful than) electrolysis. If fear of pain is your reason for holding back, feat no more.

Are there any options for blondes? According to Completely Bare, unfortunately there are no laser hair removal options for people with blonde, gray or red hair. I know, it’s 2010, you’d think they’d have come up with something, right? Although I’m blonde (thanks Warren-Tricomi), I was dark enough down there that Completely Bare feels confident it will work. Completely Bare offers (and encourages) trying a test patch and seeing how your skin reacts According the this story, new technologies are developing with more promising results for blondes.

I’m concerned with it possibly leaving dark marks on my skin. I have super sensitive skin and wonder if it will work on my skin type. The number one stressed in my laser session is that tan skin is more susceptible to bruising.  If your skin has been exposed to sunlight in the past few weeks, you’re risking dark spots. If you haven’t tanned and you’re still concerned because your skin is sensitive for other reasons, again, try that test patch and see how your skin reacts.

Is it permanent? When we asked on Facebook, a few of you had come forward with negative reports on the permanence of past laser experiences. Having only gone once, I cannot vouch personally, but I do have friends and colleagues who have raved about the success of their treatments. According to Completely Bare, you will need to come back for touch-ups from time to time, and even after the whole process is complete, you still may have only removed 70% of hair. It will vary from person to person.

Live video by Ustream