courtesy of SenSpa

Usually toward the tail end of foggy summers in SF I’m left looking for any excuse for a beauty pick-me-up. On a particularly overcast Saturday in my Outer Sunset hood (not unlike today), I took refuge at the very Zen SenSpa — a former WWI army barracks turned spa and eastern-influenced wellness center in the Presidio — to try their new Autumn Renewal facial, better described as a massage-wrap-facial. The 80-minute indulgence began with a facial exfoliation using a Clarisonic skin care brush (a handheld vibrating brush that jiggles the junk from your pores), followed by a tingly yet gentle alpha-hydroxy fruit- and-milk acid peel on the face, neck hands and arms that even my sensitive skin could handle. Next, Sarah, my skilled and pleasant aesthetician, moved on to a reflexology foot massage and warm flower-essence foot wrap; an oxygen-infused facial steaming; deep tissue shoulder and neck massage; and lastly, a cool and soothing application of avocado-based lavender, sage and lemon verbena facial moisturizing serum using a HydraPeel wand. As a spa addict, I’ve left plenty of facials thinking I could’ve saved a hundred bucks by patting cream on my face in the shower at home! But not this time. Even on a gloriously sunny day, I’d come back to SenSpa for more.