Updated
What happens during
a head spa?
Seven stages · 60 min · clothes stay on · hair dried before you leave
Reviewed by Fiona, owner of Fiona's Day Spa — registered nurse, advanced practice esthetician and massage therapist.
— The sequence
What happens during a head spa, stage by stage?
Seven stages, in this order, inside 60 min. The massage is the longest of them and the rinse takes far longer than a shower would, because the point of both is the scalp rather than the hair hanging off it.
You are on a reclining table with a basin behind your head for the whole appointment, not in a salon chair tipped backwards. That is why the rinse can run for as long as it does with your neck supported the entire time.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 · Scalp check | Your scalp is looked at before anything is opened — how oily or dry it is that day, where buildup has collected, whether anywhere is tender. Everything used for the rest of the hour is chosen from this. |
| 2 · Staged cleanse | Cleansing in more than one pass. The first lifts styling product and surface oil; the ones after work section by section into what is sitting around the follicles. |
| 3 · Exfoliation | Dead skin around the follicles is cleared with a scrub or an enzyme. Nothing in a normal shower routine does this step. |
| 4 · Scalp, neck and shoulder massage | The longest stage. Across the scalp, along the hairline, behind the ears, then down into the neck and shoulders, firm enough to feel like a massage and never sharp. |
| 5 · Treatment | The serum, mask or oil your scalp was reading for at stage one is worked in and left to sit while the massage carries on through the neck and shoulders. |
| 6 · Warm-water rinse | Everything is rinsed out slowly under warm running water with your head supported throughout. |
| 7 · Blow-dry | Your hair is dried before you leave, so the appointment ends with you able to go straight on to whatever is next. |
Why the cleanse runs in more than one pass
One wash lifts what is on the surface. The passes after it are where the film of dry shampoo, hairspray and oil around the follicles comes off, and that film is the reason a scalp can feel coated hours after a morning shower. Sectioning through takes time, which is most of what separates an hour-long treatment from a basin wash.
The Korean and Japanese halves of it
The style began in Japan and was refined in Korea, and the menu here names both because the appointment draws on both. Fiona lived in South Korea for roughly thirteen years before moving to Minnesota in 2016, and returns each year for continuing education — her interview with VoyageMinnesota tells that story in her own words.
— Before you arrive
Should you wash your hair before a head spa?
No — arrive with your hair as it normally is. The first stage is somebody looking at your scalp to decide what the rest of the hour uses, and a scalp washed two hours earlier hides exactly the thing they are trying to see. Your hair is washed during the treatment anyway, more than once.
Skip the styling products on the day if it occurs to you, and do not worry about it if it does not. A day of hairspray, dry shampoo and hat hair is a completely ordinary way to arrive, and it gives the first stage something to read.
- Move the appointment if there are open cuts or wounds on your scalp.
- Move it for a contagious scalp infection.
- Move it if your scalp is badly sunburned.
- Move it after scalp surgery or a medical procedure unless your doctor has cleared it.
What you wear
Your own clothes, the whole time. A 60 min head spa works from the collarbones up, so there is nothing to change into and no robe to manage — robes are provided for the treatments that need one, and this is not one of them. The combinations that add a facial or a full-body massage are different, and you are told which at the time.
When to arrive
Five minutes early is enough. Before anything begins you will be asked what you want out of the hour and whether there is anything to avoid. The door is marked 3183B on Northdale Boulevard NW, there is free parking directly in front of the suite, and the studio is closed all day Tuesday — the one detail people get caught by.
— In the chair
Does a head spa hurt?
No. The pressure is firm enough to register as a massage and never sharp, and every stage happens with your head supported. Exfoliation is the only stage with any texture to it — a scrub or an enzyme worked across the scalp for a few minutes — and it is closer to a scalp scrub in the shower than to anything clinical.
If a spot is tender
Say so and the therapist works around it. Tenderness along the hairline and behind the ears is common, particularly in anyone who wears their hair up all day, and it is easy to avoid once it has been mentioned. Pressure across the neck and shoulders can be adjusted the same way, at any point in the hour.
Water temperature
Warm, not hot, and adjustable. The rinse runs for several minutes, so a temperature that felt fine for ten seconds is worth correcting early — asking is part of the appointment.
— Afterwards
What happens at the end of the hour?
Your hair gets blow-dried and you leave dry. A salon wash usually ends with a towel and a drive home; here the appointment is not finished until your hair is, so a head spa works at lunchtime or before dinner.
What you walk out with is a cleaner, less tight scalp, softer hair and loose shoulders. There is no aftercare routine attached to the treatment and nothing gets added to your bill at the end — the deposit you paid at booking has already come off the total.
When to book the next one
Your provider sets the interval after seeing your scalp, pulled shorter by an oily scalp or a lot of styling product. Minnesota winters tighten that gap on their own — indoor heat runs from October into April and scalps notice.
— The longer versions
What changes in the 90- and 120-minute bookings?
The seven stages stay; another treatment is added after them. $185 buys 90 min — the head spa, then a customized facial with deep cleansing, exfoliation, a mask and a hydrating finish. $185 buys 85 min with a full-body massage in place of the facial. $250 buys 120 min of all three.
The 120 min booking is also the only row that names scalp analysis, a steam cap and essential-oil inhalation in its own description, so it opens more slowly than the standard hour before the deep cleanse begins.
The Korean head spa page covers the room, the team and the booking; the menu carries every duration and price; the FAQ page handles deposits, parking and the cancellation window. If you would rather ask a person which row fits your hair, call (763) 317-6018.
— Common questions
Asked & answered.
Do you take your clothes off for a head spa? +
No. You stay in your own clothes for the whole 60 min — the treatment works from the collarbones up and you lie on a reclining table with a basin behind your head. Robes are provided for the treatments that need one, and the standard head spa is not one of them.
Should I wash my hair before my head spa appointment? +
No. Come with your hair as it normally is. The first stage of the treatment is a look at your scalp to decide which products the rest of the hour uses, and arriving freshly washed hides what the therapist needs to see. Your hair is cleansed during the appointment.
How long does a head spa take from start to finish? +
60 min for the standard Korean–Japanese head spa, including the blow-dry. 85 min if a full-body massage is added, 90 min with a facial, and 120 min for head spa, facial and massage together.
Does a head spa hurt? +
No. The pressure is firm enough to feel like a massage and never sharp, and your head is supported throughout. Say so if a spot is tender — sensitivity along the hairline and behind the ears is common and easy to work around.
Will my hair be wet when I leave? +
No. The last stage of the appointment is a blow-dry, so you leave with dry hair and can go straight on to work, dinner or whatever is next.
Can two people have a head spa at the same time? +
Yes. Both head spa tables sit in one joinable room, so couples, friends and small groups book the same hour, and a full-height privacy curtain divides the room when two guests would rather not share the space. Call (763) 317-6018 so the two bookings are placed side by side.
Is anything added to the price during the treatment? +
No. The price on the menu is the price of the appointment — $130 for the 60 min head spa, or $152 if your hair is longer or thicker — and nothing is added to your bill mid-treatment. The deposit taken at booking comes off that total.
What if my scalp is sensitive, sunburned or broken? +
Reschedule for open cuts or wounds on the scalp, a contagious scalp infection, a bad scalp sunburn, or recent scalp surgery unless your doctor has cleared it. There is no charge to move an appointment with 24 hours' notice. Ordinary sensitivity is not a reason to cancel — mention it and the pressure and products are adjusted.
Will a head spa strip my hair colour? +
A standard head spa should not noticeably affect professionally applied colour, though deep cleansing can contribute to fading over time on any hair. Tell your therapist if you have coloured recently and the cleanse is adjusted.
— Research & references
A head spa is a wellness treatment, and the parts of it with published background are the massage and the scalp itself. Worth reading in their own words: the NCCIH on massage therapy , the AAD on seborrheic dermatitis — the medical name for scalp dandruff , healthy hair and scalp care and when shedding is worth a dermatologist's opinion . These are general references on the subject, not statements about what our treatments do. Treatments at Fiona's Day Spa are wellness and beauty services. They are not medical care and they do not diagnose, treat or cure any condition. If you have a scalp, skin or health concern, see a physician or a dermatologist.
— Keep reading
Related guides & services.
- Open
Guide
How much does a head spa cost?
The north-metro price band, what moves it, deposits and gift cards.
- Open
Guide
Is a head spa worth it?
Who gets the most out of the hour, and how it compares with the rest of the menu.
- Open
Service hub
Korean head spa in Coon Rapids
The treatment page: the seven stages, the room for two, and the booking.
- Open
Service page
Spa FAQs
Hours, deposits, parking, the Tuesday closure and the cancellation window.
Ready to feel it for yourself?
Book a Korean head spa at Fiona's Day Spa, 3183 Northdale Blvd NW in Coon Rapids — sixty minutes, in a room with two tables if you would rather not come alone.