As my one girlfriend has said myraid times I am only Asian when it benefits me. I was Asian when I applied to college. I am Asian when a hot man has an Asian fetish. And I am certainly Asian on my wedding day because I just found out Asians get massive amounts of cash when they get married. Sweeping generalization? Maybe but you can send the checks to...

Before living in Los Angeles, I had never paid older Asian women wearing lingerie to scrub my naked body. It was always done for free.

My introduction to Korean spas was life changing. Although I don’t go as often as I’d like and when I do there will always be a comment from one of the scrubbers re: me not understanding Korean - a scrub can make my skin feel like a newborn. Our usual routine: Soak in hot tubs and cold baths with some steam room or dry heat about thirty minutes before your scrub. The scrub lasts about thirty to forty-five minutes, longer with the massage but I tend to skip the massage as they are a little too rough for my taste. After your scrub you get the urge to rub up against anything and anyone that can feel your silky smoothness… which can be dangerous.

We rotate between two spas but prefer Natura. Natura closes around 10 or 11 in the evening depending on the day. Their scrub is $30 with a $20 admission for a total of $50. Their scrub with massage is $80 and the admission is waived.

Grand spa is open 24 hours. Their scrubs are also $30 with an admission fee of $15 or $20 depending on the time of the day. Their scrub with a massage is $70 and the admission is waived.


There are other Korean spas but through experience and word of mouth, these seem to be the cleanest. Voda Spa is West Hollywood’s Russian version of a Korean Spa. I have been to Voda twice but their prices are double, sometimes triple that of the Koreans’. Their scrubs tend to be a little softer, which to me, defeats the point. The positive thing about Voda is that they have co-ed days and nights, swimsuit required - so you and your lover can soak, steam and get scrubbed together. How lovely.