On my last business trip to New York I decided to try out a good old-fashioned Korean Ddaemiri (Korean exfoliation).

There are lots of Korean Spa’s to choose from so I went with Goop’s New York City Guide’s recommendation; a typical Korean, all-about-business, hole in the wall place, to get the ddae (dead skin) scrubbed off.

I love authentic experiences and I arrived knowing it wouldn’t be like the typical spa experience I’m used to. I remembered an old friends advice to let go of any insecurities, leave all modesty at the door and expect to be scrubbed thoroughly, not pampered. It’s about the work itself not fluffy surroundings, customer service and soft music.

I arrived at 8 in the morning so I was the only person there and didn’t have to worry about privacy. The one-hour treatment package started with a hot steamed sauna. After 10 minutes, Souk, the Ajumma (Korean title for ladies of a certain age) escorted me to the warm wet room. Throughout the treatment Souk was constantly rinsing me with buckets of hot water so the dead skin cells was washed away and then continued to rub my skin with exfoliation mitts. She had me roll onto my side, stomach, back and other side. While trying not to slide of the table and with only a small hand towel for privacy at times, I totally surrendered to the Ajumma and followed her instructions.

Souk was very thorough and it didn’t hurt as she took a lot of skin off; it was actually very relaxing. At the end she washed my hair, which I loved. She gave my skin a final rinse with cucumber/milk water, and then showered me off and I was done. My skin was the most exfoliated and soft as it ever been, it was a great Ddaemiri and I loved the experience.