No Stone Un-turned
What it’s like getting a Hot Stone Massage at Bella Mia
By Kristen Korkowski

I just started a new front desk position at Bella Mia, a cute skincare center and spa in Advance North Carolina that boasts “World Class Services with Southern Charm.” In an effort to promote this particular service, I got an opportunity to try out the Hot Stone Massage so that I could give it a proper review and maybe answer some questions regarding the technique. The wonderful and talented Amber, our licensed massage therapist with ten years of experience, performed her magic and gave me lots of great information to work with.
So how does a Hot Stone Massage differ from a regular one? When I first hopped on the table, I assumed that Amber would just add a few heated rocks to an otherwise normal massage, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the entire technique is different and that it is it’s own unique type of massage therapy. For one thing, Hot Stone massage uses oil instead of lotion, in order to make the skin a smooth enough surface to glide the stones on. For another, our therapist holds the stones the whole time (switching them out occasionally to make sure they stay hot) and uses them to directly apply heat and pressure instead of using her hands. The heat radiates through the muscle up to 2 inches deep, which relaxes the nervous system and melts away your body’s tension.
The stones themselves are basalt stones, the most abundant stones on the planet, tumbled until they are smooth and a set of them contains many different sizes for different areas of the body. The stones are warmed by submerging them in hot water in a specially designed heater. Throughout the therapy, you can hear the water splashing and the stones clinking together, adding a holistic elemental aspect to the experience.
What’s the verdict then? As someone who is quite tense pretty much all of the time, I was genuinely surprised at how quickly this therapy got me to unwind. I even fell asleep at the table at some point, which is *really* unusual for me without my standard twenty minutes of tossing and turning. I highly recommend giving this service a try, especially if you are feeling stressed out or need to take some time for yourself to relax.

Call 336-998-1645 to schedule an appointment
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