— Head spa guides · Issaquah, WA
Head spa guides Read before you book.
What the scalp camera shows, what the 45 minutes feel like, and the questions our therapists get asked at the door before anyone lies down.
Quick answer
A head spa is 30 to 90 minutes of scalp work. A small camera puts a patch of your scalp on a monitor where you can see it, followed by massage through the scalp, neck and shoulders. Appointments of 45 minutes or longer include two shampoos, a warm-water rinse at the basin and a blow-dry. The 30-minute version costs $60 and uses oil and pressure without washing the hair.
The guides below are for the people who call before booking — someone whose roots are oily by the second day, someone whose scalp tightens through a wet Issaquah winter, someone holding a gift card with no idea what happens for 45 minutes. If your hair is coming out in patches, or your scalp is sore, bleeding or crusting, see a dermatologist first and then book: the two sit together well.
- Guides
- 10 to read
- Head spa length
- 30 to 90 minutes
- Price
- $60 to $150
- Open
- 7 days, 9 AM – 8 PM
— 01
Head spa and scalp care guides
What is a head spa? The complete guide.
A head spa starts with a scalp analysis and gives the cleanse, basin rinse and massage more time than a salon shampoo.
What happens during a head spa? Minute by minute.
Follow the 60-minute Signature from scalp analysis and two shampoos through 20 minutes of massage, a warm-water rinse, scalp treatment and a blow-dry.
Your first head spa: what to expect From the curb to the blow-dry.
Come with unwashed hair, allow 45 or 60 minutes, and look for the two-name sign at the curb. The rest of it happens lying down with your eyes shut.
How much does a head spa cost? Every price, in full.
Compare eight formats from $60 for 30 minutes to $150 for 90, and see what changes when you book more time.
Head spa vs scalp treatment. What is the difference?
One is a product step, often 15 to 20 minutes, often bolted onto a salon visit you booked for a cut. The other gives that step an appointment of its own and puts a camera, a basin and up to 90 minutes around it.
What a scalp analysis shows And what it cannot tell you.
A handheld camera puts a patch of your scalp on a monitor, blown up far past anything a bathroom mirror shows, and the 30 to 90 minutes that follow are planned around what is on the screen.
Hair washing service What a professional wash includes.
See your scalp on a monitor, then settle in for two shampoos, a warm rinse while you lie flat and a blow-dry before you leave.
Scalp massage benefits What the pressure is doing.
30 minutes of steady pressure across the scalp, the base of the skull and the tops of the shoulders — against the 90 seconds a salon shampoo bowl can spare, and slow enough that a good number of guests fall asleep in it.
Deep cleansing scalp treatment for an oily, buildup-prone scalp.
Sebum, styling product, dry shampoo starch and a trace of mineral from the tap. Four things settle on a scalp between washes, and a 60-minute cleanse at the basin is built to take all four off in one go.
Dry scalp, or dandruff? How to tell them apart.
Tight skin, fine pale flakes and an itch that arrives with the heating season. Telling that apart from dandruff decides whether your next booking is a treatment or a dermatologist.
— 02
What is worth deciding before you book?
Two things: how long you want to lie there, and whether you want your hair washed at all. Everything else is settled in the room, because what goes on your scalp is chosen after a small camera has put a patch of it on the monitor beside you — not picked off a list at the time of booking.
How many minutes should you set aside?
Between 30 and 90 minutes. The 30-minute TCM Head Aromatherapy at $60 is the one format that never wets your hair — oil, pressure and aroma on a dry scalp — so it fits around a working day. Every other length, 45 through 90, includes the double shampoo, the warm-water rinse at the basin and a blow-dry before you leave.
Should you wash your hair before we look at your scalp on a monitor?
No — come as you are. Your scalp in its ordinary state is what the camera should see, and the cleanse is part of what the 45 minutes buys. Leaving Tuesday's dry shampoo in is fine too: the starch shows up on the monitor, and the first of the two shampoos takes it out.
How often do people come back?
Every 4 to 6 weeks is the common rhythm, and a single visit on its own is a perfectly ordinary thing to book. Scalps carrying months of buildup sometimes start closer together and then stretch out; someone booking mainly to switch off for an hour might come once a season and get what they came for.
All eight formats sit on the head spa menu, and the facials, massage and seven spa packages are on the full treatment price list.
— Head spa prices for 30 to 90 minutes
Eight formats, 30 to 90 minutes. All but the aromatherapy include a shampoo wash and a blow-dry finish.
| Head Spa | Minutes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| TCM Head Aromatherapy Scalp oil and massage, no shampoo wash — the shortest way in. | 30 | $60 |
| Classic Head Spa Deep cleanse, double shampoo, scalp care, shoulder massage, blow-dry. | 45 | $78 |
| Signature Head Spa & Upper Shoulder Massage Adds scalp exfoliation and a longer scalp and neck massage. | 60 | $90 |
| Chinese Herb Scalp Ritual Herbal scalp care for oily, buildup-prone scalps. | 60 | $100 |
| Signature Ginger Scalp Ritual Warming ginger treatment for tight, easily fatigued scalps. | 60 | $100 |
| Aura Scalp Treatment + Mini Facial The most-booked service: scalp detox, singing bowl, mini facial. | 75 | $120 |
| Luxury Milbon Restorative Head Spa Milbon treatment with hot steam for over-processed hair. | 90 | $150 |
| Purifying Scalp Revitalize Treatment Deep cleanse plus a revitalizing essence infusion. | 90 | $150 |
Finding us
Find Aura on E Sunset Way
Open every day, 9 AM to 8 PM — a lunch hour, an evening after work, or a weekend morning all fit.
- Come off I-90 at Exit 18 and follow E Sunset Way east. We are about a third of a mile past Front Street, on a block of converted houses.
- Watch the curb for a dark monument sign reading House of Layo and Aura Beauty. We share the site with the salon, so that sign is the landmark.
- Come a few minutes early on a first visit — there is tea by the fireplace, and your head spa starts with a look at your scalp on the monitor.
— Before you read on
Asked & answered.
Which head spa should I book first?
How much does a head spa cost at Aura?
Can I come on a weekday evening?
My scalp is flaking and sore. Should I book a head spa?
How do I find the studio on E Sunset Way?
— Research & references
NCCIH — Massage Therapy: What You Need To Know
Reviews massage among the approaches studied for stress and muscle tension, and reports that serious side effects are rare.
Mayo Clinic — Relaxation techniques: Try these steps to lower stress
Groups hands-on approaches with breathing and meditation among the practices that bring everyday stress down.
NCCIH — Things To Know About Massage Therapy for Health Purposes
Says to tell your health care provider about any complementary approach you use, and never to let one postpone seeing a provider about a medical problem.
Citations are summarized — please read the original sources. Aura is a beauty and relaxation studio: nothing here diagnoses, treats or cures anything, and hair loss, a sore scalp or flaking that will not settle is a question for a dermatologist. See one first, then book — the two go together well.
— Issaquah · E Sunset Way
Aura Beauty & Head Spa is open every day, 9 AM to 8 PM, at 575 E Sunset Way, a 7 to 9 minute walk from Front Street and about 16 minutes from Sammamish. Book a head spa appointment or text (206) 552-4799 if you need help choosing a session. The head spa packages pair a head spa with a facial or a massage.