Blanca de China

Have you fallen asleep while having a facial? In the middle of pricking? Ever?

I have. I just had a porcelain facial at Blanca de China, a new spa in San Juan (near Greeka Kouzina) and OMG - it was the most relaxing facial I have ever had in my life. 

While my face was about to be steamed, soft piped music playing in the background, a massage therapist magically appeared at my side and told me I was getting an arm massage. What a pleasant surprise, I thought. I let all my cares melt away, happy that I got an unexpected massage to go with my facial.

By the time my facialist Daphne started on extraction, the masseuse was massaging my left hand and then, I don't know what happened next. All I knew was that when I woke up, I had a mask on. 

It was that good. 

I can totally see how I can do this regularly and come out with skin like unblemished porcelain. This was not torture. It was a treat, through and through.

Blanca de China, or Blanc de Chine in French means "White from China", a type of white Chinese porcelain from Dehua aka Dehua porcelain. But it also refers to the boutique spa that my former officemates from Citibank, Francis and Joanne Magboo put up with their cousins.

And what a pretty spa it is. This is the receiving area/hand and foot massage area:

While these steps lead to the private massage rooms on the second floor:

This is the massage/facial room on the ground floor. Very clean, the sheets are fresh and the towels are still fluffy. Dada and I had a full body massage here a week ago, and we couldn't help but compare the experience to other massage spas we've been to where the towels feel threadbare, sad and forlorn. There's none of that here, everything at Blanca de China still has that new spa feel.

I told Joanne how much I liked the interiors and she shares that the look was patterned after her own home, which is very "Shabby Chic". In fact, some of the decor and furniture, like that French Rococo armchair you see below was from her house and was "donated" to Blanca de China.

It seems the warmth and coziness of Joanne's home came along with that armchair. After my facial and upper lip threading, my facialist asked me if I wanted some tea at the sitting area. She came out with this tea tray, how pretty.

Needless to say, I was charmed and smitten. It's like being welcomed into the comfortably chic home of a gracious hostess. I will definitely be coming over for repeat visits.

And at these prices, Blanca de China is just hard to resist. 

 

PS - White ain't right without serious sterilizing involved. Blanca de China sterilizes all instruments, diamond peel and cautery tips using a dry heat sterilizer that kills bacteria and other harmful microorganisms.

For the complete list of services, updates and inquiries, like Blanca de China on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlancaDeChina
 
Blanca de China 

#259A Ibuna corner P Guevera Streets
San Juan, Metro Manila
Telephone: +632 542 8499
Mobile: +63927 529 9425

Moms for Moms: Our Fabella Hospital Visit

I have heard of Fabella Hospital and have only seen it in pictures, so when Kris of OC Mom in Manila invited me to join the Johnson's Baby team and our mommy friends for a visit to the OB ward, I said yes right away.  

Having heard so much about the conditions at Fabella, we were prepared for the worst. After all, this is the hospital known as the "baby factory", and on the day we visited, there were a total of 744 patients in the hospital and 47 moms who had just delivered a baby. Imagine that.

But you know what, despite the cramped atmosphere, the strength and resilience of spirit was evident in each of the moms faces. It was not depressing at all. The rooms were bright and airy. The moms, although reserved (I mean, who wouldn't be, I've given birth too and I didn't exactly like receiving strangers in my room soon after heehee) most of them had a ready smile and didn't mind us coming up to them to talk about breastfeeding, touch therapy/baby massage and how to give their babies a bath.

Yes, Touch Therapy. Johnson & Johnson sponsors a Touch Therapy room in Fabella hospital, to teach the moms the importance of touching their baby for bonding via baby massage, skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care among others.

While we were inside the Touch Therapy room, neonatologist Dr. Imperial shared with us the practice of kangaroo care for pre-term babies. It was wonderful seeing it put to practice in Fabella, and heartening to see daddies cradling their babies in their own blue "pouches".

After meeting the key doctors in Fabella, we all set out to talk to the mommy patients by twos. My partner for the day, Jenny Reyes of My Mommyology and I went from bed to bed talking to the moms and handing out baby care products from J&J. Some moms were quiet and probably did not want to be disturbed, but there were a few who were genuinely interested in baby massage and bathing tips for their newborns. It was fun learning from each other.

We were there for just an hour, but seeing all the cute babies made me miss Xavi and Berry. As soon as we were done making chika with the moms, I just had to check on my little ones. Ayan tuloy, caught texting on camera haha!

Thanks so much to Johnson's Baby Philippines and Kris for inviting us. It was a great way to spend a morning. And good to know that Fabella while old and shabby is a clean, happy place. They are doing such a great job with Unang Yakap, breastfeeding, and taking care of their patients with the limited resources they have. Although of course, every help from corporations and private citizens would do so much in making Fabella a truly world-class hospital. 

It would be nice to see every Filipino mom give birth to her baby in a most ideal atmosphere conducive to labor, rest and rooming in. Every drop in the proverbial bucket counts. When you can, maybe you and your friends can organize activities or raise funds to purchase equipment and supplies that could help Fabella's patients too.

Photography by Lawrence del Mundo