Looking for utter relaxation? Here are 6 of the best head spas in L.A.
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I settled into a salon chair at Head Spa Nagomi while my practitioner, Kai Fujimoto, wove a tiny digital camera through my wet hair. It provided a 230-times-magnified view of my scalp on a nearby laptop screen. There, my noggin glistened, its dimpled, moon-like surface studded with swaying, dark-amber stalks: my individual hairs and their follicles.
“This is an ideal condition — literally, a dream scalp,” Fujimoto said, beaming victoriously at the results of the treatment he’d just administered.
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This had been my third head spa treatment of the week — for research, of course. No wonder my scalp was so squeaky clean.
Luxurious Chinese and Japanese-inspired “head spa” treatments began gaining popularity on social media in 2022. Videos of scalp-scrubbings amid plumes of aromatic steam and an arc-shaped “waterfall bath” teased an enthralling spa experience that some influencers claimed would “change your life.”
Head spas generally offer a detailed scalp analysis, repeated deep cleanses, hydrating treatments and various forms of head and neck massages. They’re all slightly different, however, with unique touches — an herbal foot bath at one, full body massage tables at another, wind chimes dangled over your head at the next.
Practitioners claim the treatment offers myriad health benefits. The scalp is the “soil” from which the hair grows, they say, and nourished soil produces healthier hair. The treatment isn’t a cure-all for conditions such as psoriasis or eczema, doctors tell me, but it does detoxify and hydrate the skin. And repeated scalp scrubbing aids circulation, bringing blood flow and nutrients to the area. All of which strengthens hair follicles and can help prevent dandruff, itchiness, inflammation and, possibly, hair loss.
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Scalp treatments have been popular for centuries in many parts of Asia, including in Vietnam and Korea as well as China and Japan. But as of 2021, there were only a few head spas in L.A., including San Gabriel’s Cai Xiang Ge, which opened that year, and Blow Me Away Organic Hair Salon and Head Spa, which opened in the Beverly Glen area in 2016. The trend proliferated in late 2022, largely due to momentum on social media, in Asian communities such as Arcadia, San Gabriel, Temple City and Rosemead.
Now there are head spas scattered all over town, and existing locations are expanding. Cai Xiang Ge is debuting a Beverly Hills location in April; Tou Dao Tang, in Temple City, is expanding to Glendale this spring; Yang Si Guan (a.k.a. PureLux Scalp SPA) in San Gabriel, West Hollywood and Irvine is opening Pasadena and Newport Beach locations later this year. And there are still head spas on my list to visit. Newcomers include Brainwashed LA in Sherman Oaks, ResetSpot in Burbank and Fujimoto’s Aqua Lucca Head Spa in West Hollywood.
“It’s hit peak popularity,” says Michelle Yehuda, owner of Brainwashed LA, which opened last February. “People are realizing your scalp is something you need to take care of. It’s not something we were taught growing up. But also, it’s very relaxing — we hold so much stress in our head and shoulders. A lot of my clients just doze off.”
I went on a head spa marathon, visiting so many establishments in succession that my head felt tender by the end. These are six of our favorite places in L.A. to experience the trend. Each has a distinctly unique take. SkinGuru Spa feels more like an aesthetician’s studio while Head Spa En is reminiscent of a luxury hair salon; Head Spa Nagomi offers authentic Japanese touches while Cai Xiang Ge incorporates traditional Chinese modalities; M Head Spa is luxuriously massage-forward while Tou Dao Tang, with its use of organic herbs, has an especially down-to-earth vibe.
Whichever head spa you choose, there’s an almost primal comfort in having your head lovingly, meticulously cared for by another human being.
SkinGuru Spa
For those who prefer an intimate, one-on-one environment as opposed to a bustling spa with multiple massage beds — but still want a professional head spa experience — SkinGuru is the answer. It’s a private aesthetician’s space, but outfitted with all the luxury head spa amenities. The spa bed is heated and features silky cotton sheets and a lightly weighted blanket. There’s a fireplace nook filled with flickering candles, soothing spa music and a customized aromatherapy experience (I chose herbal mint oil for mine, but blood orange was a close second).
LeDonne is also an adept masseuse. I tried the Scalp Nirvana Mini. After placing a rose quartz crystal cooling mask over my eyes, she lathered me up and massaged my head for about 10 minutes. I fell asleep briefly, walking up with my head engulfed in steam. Like any good head spa, the treatment ended with the sublime waterfall ring bathing my head in a halo of water jets that morphed from deep purple to aqua to emerald green.
LeDonne doesn’t diagnose the health of your scalp, as some head spas do. She considers head spas “a facial for the scalp” meant to cleanse and hydrate the skin while relaxing and rejuvenating the soul. Check and check, for me.
Scalp Nirvana Mini: $152. Scalp Nirvana Medium: $222. Scalp Nirvana Max: $322.
Head Spa Nagomi
The space — a blend of Japanese and Scandinavian design, with rice paper lamps and bamboo screens — is minimalist and serene. All of the hair products are imported from Japan, as are the hand tools and even the cushy chairs.
My 60-minute Signature treatment began with a shiatsu head massage that incorporated warming rose and chamomile essential oils. That was followed by a five-minute scalp steaming delivered via a “nano mist machine” that, I was told, breaks down the mist so that it better penetrates and moisturizes the hair follicles (the machine came from Japan too). A charcoal paste and eucalyptus extract mixture, rubbed onto my head, absorbed impurities from my hair follicles while also moisturizing them. There was a detox shampooing and deep conditioning, along with a Gua Sha jade comb scalp massage to promote blood circulation.
But the highlight, for me, was the “waterfall bath” concert that came at the end, something I haven’t seen before at a head spa. After situating my head under a cascading sheet of warm water, my practitioner, Kai Fujimoto, gently played chimes and a crystal singing bowl over my head, lulling me into an otherworldly calm.
Express, 30 min.: $100. Signature, 60 min.: $180. Luxury, 90 min.: $240.
M Head Spa
But the scalp is still the focus at M Head Spa, which offers a blend of Chinese and Japanese techniques when administering scalp health services. One treatment, which has circulated widely on social media, focuses on “tension taming” with a scalp-to-upper chest massage; other treatments address thinning hair or aging skin. Add-ons to the head spa experience include a “lift and glow facial” and a “warm oil pour,” in which recipients are massaged from crown to fingertips.
I tried the 90-minute “Viral Scalp Rejuvenation,” which included a scalp assessment, multiple shampoo and conditionings, a scalp steaming and a blissful, shiatsu-style head massage. There were other massages throughout the treatment as well, including a neck and shoulder massage to smooth out knots. The highlight, however, was the multiple hoses used for the “waterfall wash” — it felt amazing and the 360-degree sound of rushing water, from so many nozzles, is ASMR-y, in the best possible way.
My practitioner relocated me to an adjacent salon chair, where we looked at before and after pictures of my scalp, which was noticeably shiner than before. She then applied an “oxygen-rich toner” to balance the pH of my scalp, followed by red light therapy delivered with a round “meridian brush” to aid circulation. Finally, she raked a high-frequency comb through my hair to kill bacteria and promote growth.
I passed on the blow dry, but enjoyed one last mini-massage, of my head and neck, to go.
Viral Scalp Rejuvenation: 60 mins., $108. 90 mins., $138.
Cai Xiang Ge
The 90-minute “Royal Treatment” at CXG is aptly named. As I settled into my spa bed, traditional Chinese harp music played on the sound system. I nestled my head into a shampoo basin on one end, my bare feet into a foot bath filled with warm water steeped with Chinese herbs on the other. I haven’t seen a foot bath at a head spa since — it was a beautiful touch.
As part of the six-step process, my practitioner repeatedly washed my hair and scrubbed my scalp. There was an aromatherapy head massage with tingly-feeling tea tree oil, as well as a scalp steaming and a slow, indulgent head and neck massage. Then I spent 10 minutes with the arc-shaped waterfall ring bathing my head in herb-treated water, my face immersed in billowy steam. The treatment also included a hydrating, collagen-boosting facial, an herbal hair steam and a conditioning hair masque.
If I didn’t already feel like a princess, CXG then dried and styled my hair while I sipped herbal tea and nibbled on sweets. The process included an “anti-hair-loss treatment” as well as a high-frequency scalp therapy device said to disinfect my pores and fortify my hair follicles.
Climbing into my car, I understood why, on social media, one towel-clad influencer had claimed that CXG’s head spa can “change your life.” An overstatement, perhaps; but my state of mind had been greatly altered — I was truly Zen — at least for the rest of the day.
Scalp Spa Standard, 60 mins.: $95. Scalp Spa Royal Treatment, 90 mins.: $135. Scalp Spa Royal Deluxe, 90 mins.: $135.
Tou Dao Tang
I visited the Temple City location, where I got the Classic Scalp Treatment, a five-step process. Like at so many head spas, my treatment included repeated hair washings, conditionings and scalp kneadings over 90 minutes. And it incorporated the popular waterfall-like “hair bath.” But what sets Tou Dao Tang apart from other head spas are the five teas — or “herbal soups” — it uses during the treatment, each infused with different organic herbs. The rounds of tea-washing focused, respectively, on detoxification, rejuvenation and stress relief, nourishment and calming, repairing pH balance and hair loss prevention.
Tou Dao Tang’s expertise and low-key vibe inspire some patrons to come so regularly that there are cubbies for members to keep their own combs and brushes, labeled with their names, for spa practitioners to use on them when they visit. The home-brewed, organic “tea bath” washings lend the process an especially down-to-earth feel.
I was so relaxed when I left the spa that I forgot to pay. (I settled the bill by phone.) Bonus: My hair was astoundingly shiny and soft for days.
Scalp Nourishment, 60 mins.: $138. Scalp Treatment, 90 mins.: $168.
Head Spa En
I chose the 60-minute Japanese Head Spa experience and my practitioner, Kensuke Tanaka, spent an especially long time on an acupressure massage to increase blood flow to my scalp. The environment was private and soothing — a single salon chair in a sparse, dimly lit nook as spa music played over the speakers. It felt more like being in an elegant hair salon than a traditional head spa. But the treatment was no less scalp-focused and indulgent — it felt glorious.
The in-depth scalp steaming was a highlight for me. After scrubbing my head and washing my hair, Suke bundled my hair into a shower cap, then placed a warm, wet towel over my eyes and left the room. I drifted into a half-sleep as the toasty steam whirled around my head.
My service also included a head, neck and shoulder massage, a hair bath applied by hand with a cup repeatedly dunked into the sink, a hair conditioning and — at the end — tea and cookies brought to me on a lacquered bamboo tray.
Japanese Head Spa: 40 mins.: $110. 60 mins.: $150.
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