Warning: Tova Yaron’s spa treatments and elixirs might cause side effects such as glowing skin, healing, relaxation and confidence.
OK, so you won’t find that on the labels of her luxurious, organic products from Israel and Hungary. But what you will find is that even the most basic facial will leave you and your skin feeling calm, renewed and refreshed.
In March, Yaron opened her second Tova Day Spa & Salon in Silicon Valley. This time around, she secured a 6,000-square-foot, two-story space at the Fairmont San Jose. Over time, she’s transformed the spa into a Tuscan sanctuary that offers therapeutic services tailored to every client.
“I love to make women and men look good,” says Yaron, 61, who came to the United States from Israel 20 years ago. “I have women who come to me with such low self-esteem, and I build it up. There are no ugly women; everyone is beautiful in their own way and you can bring it out.”
Yaron is a beauty industry veteran and educator. She trained in some of Israel’s top spas with European-trained aestheticians, and learned from doctors and scientists about skin care and how the body functions. More recently, Yaron has given lectures at the Addison-Penzak JCC of Silicon Valley in Los Gatos.
Her treatments incorporate products with ancient therapeutic “active” ingredients from the Dead Sea — salts, mud, seaweed — with collagens, essential elements, vitamins and minerals.
“I love to educate my clients,” Yaron says. “When they understand what the product does for them, it’s motivating and better for them to use it. We have so many tools to make us look younger without surgery.”
The transformation begins by slipping on a plush robe and making an important decision: spa, steam room or sauna? Included with every treatment is access to these amenities, which adds precious relaxation time to your experience.
Next, an aesthetician leads you to one of many tranquil rooms designated for facials, massages and wraps. Soothing music and dim lighting create the ideal environment to release stress and toxins from your body. A heated bed cushions your muscles, providing even more relaxation and relief.
Try not to fall asleep as a steaming washcloth envelops your face to purify your skin and open its pores before the facial. A deeper cleansing follows as all the dead skin is removed, making your face look instantly younger, vibrant and healthy.
Creamy moisturizers are then applied to every section of your face and neck, signaling the start to the massage. The aesthetician’s fingers press, patter and prance on your forehead, nose and cheeks. They circle your eyes and ears before cradling your neck and head for a more intense rub to neutralize knots and release built-up tension.
To continue the indulgence, you can add an algae mask to your facial, which is designed to hydrate and restore balance to sensitive skin. Made from purified seaweed elements — rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids — this mask provides a cooling sensation as it tightens the skin and reduces redness.
“For me, facials are a science,” Yaron says. “People tend to say ‘I don’t see much difference’ and ‘I get pimples from a facial.’ But when you come to me with pimples, they are gone. I don’t have one specific facial for everyone; each one is different.”
The spa also offers an extensive array of body treatments including a dozen different massages, mud baths, body wraps and aromatherapies; a Vichy shower to cleanse and stimulate; and a hydrotherapy tub that shoots water out of 120 jets to detoxify your skin while a masseuse rubs your muscles.
Waxing, manicures, pedicures, spray tanning and a full hair and makeup salon that accommodates large groups complete the list of amenities.
Actress Carrie Fischer stopped by Tova Day Spa for a facial before an evening performance and was still feeling the effects from her treatment later that night. Says Yaron, “Fischer told her audience, ‘You people have to excuse me, I was at Tova’s. She gave me this amazing facial, and I’m a little drowsy.'”
Yaron and her family came to San Jose in 1988, just three weeks after her oldest daughter, Michelle, finished her stint with the Israeli Defense Forces. Yaron abandoned her career as an accountant, sold skin care products to other businesses, spas and salons, and eventually opened her first Tova Yaron Day Spa and Salon in San Jose’s Westgate Mall in 2001.
Encouraged by the success of her first spa, Yaron, with the help of her three grown children, opened her second location at the Fairmont San Jose, which serves hotel guests, bridal parties, professional athletes, celebrities and more.
“My treatments are unique,” Yaron says. “The people I hire are unique … I don’t care about competition. I do my best and go from there.”