Long Island head spas: What to expect at the trendy new experience 

When Vera Sweeney, 46, visited the new Guifei head spa in Bethpage this past July, she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Her usual spa go-to treatment was hot stone massage, and says the Garden City resident, "I was always afraid to get oil in my hair."

Not anymore.

"Life-altering" is how Sweeney, a digital content creator, describes her first foray into the world of head spas. "It was heavenly," she recalls. "I loved that the focus was entirely on my head, neck and shoulders. It’s where I carry all my stress."

She’s not alone when it comes to the nation’s current obsession with head spas. On TikTok, the term "headspa" has gone viral, with 426.8 million posts underscoring the public interest in the treatment that is billed as healthful and thoroughly enjoyable. And on Long Island, head spa businesses and treatments are popping up all over answering the call for the service.

It’s a full body experience dripping through the top of your scalp.

 — Victoria Ceccio, owner EQ Head Spa, Port Jefferson Station

So, what is all the noggin noise about? At the root of it is the health of your scalp and hair. Scalp care is far from new and has been an integral part of Asian wellness rituals for centuries. According to experts, treatments not only feel good, but help with hair-related issues such as thinning, loss and oiliness. At many head spas, sessions start with a magnified scalp analysis to determine these and other underlying issues. Treatment rooms are outfitted with cushy massage beds, ergonomic sinks and accouterments such as circular waterfall-like devices that bathe the head, phototherapy lights, aroma therapy features, steamers and some mechanical massage tools, though the coveted star of the show is the hands-on kneading by the technician.

Sweeney is here for it. "Since COVID, I have lost a significant amount of volume in my hair. As someone who suffers from an autoimmune disease and who is premenopausal, my hair is something I think about quite often," she says. "I need all the help I can get."

One of Long Island’s earliest adopters of the trend is Victoria Ceccio, owner of EQ Head Spa, which she opened more than a year ago in St. James. At the end of August, she moved to an expanded space in Port Jefferson Station. A hairstylist, barber, trichologist and hair loss and scalp specialist, Ceccio was looking for a career change and was, she says, spurred on by TikTok and social media. "I jumped in with both feet," she explains. She prides herself on immersing her clients in the process. "It takes in all five senses," she says describing the lemon ginger tea service, scents of essential oils, music playlist choice, and of course, the massage itself. "It’s a full body experience dripping through the top of your scalp." The main goal she says, is "scalp detoxing," but her clients say that relaxation is a major benefit.

One of them, Jenna Schweit, 34, of St. James, has had four sessions since January. "It’s like an addiction," she says. "You know how the best part of getting your hair done is when they’re washing it, and you don’t want it to be over? That’s what it’s like for an hour."

 Frank Yao, the longtime owner of three Eastern Breeze Spa locations in Woodbury and Roslyn, added eight head spa stations to his Woodbury location and three to the Roslyn space last October. In Woodbury, the experience is enhanced by the surroundings that include cushy robes, lounges that serve teas and light snacks and air pillow spa tables that have built-in full body massage functions.

It was videos on YouTube that inspired Jenny Peters, a hairdresser, to open her Garden City-based Pure Oasis Head Spa in June. "I was so obsessed with head spas and I had the opportunity to learn all about them on a trip to Japan," she says. Her services take place in a private suite that Peters has decorated in "restful, desert-like colors."

In August, Victoria Kaminsky, 42, of Mineola, received the service as a gift from her sister before her wedding, also that month. Kaminsky, who had never even heard of a head spa before her visit called it "a very personal experience," noting that Peters serves one client at a time in the private space. "She’s very skilled. My head is very sensitive and she knew where to put pressure." How much did she enjoy it? Enough to invite Peters to her wedding. "She was our something new."