Floating Oasis

Tried out this place for the first time last night. I had seen it pop up on Unilocal as a new business, so I thought it would be interesting. Carley G. and I went together to try it out.
Located in Leduc, just off 50^st, it was an easy drive for me to get to from Edmonton.
Carley booked the appointment for me, and I got an email notification of such, and also a reminder. Easy peasy!
Walking into the front doors. It’s a very clean, and simply decorated place. The waterfall wall was really pretty as well. Take off your shoes, throw on a pair of slippers, and emerge yourself in the process.
You are given a tablet to fill out our information, and then a short 7 minute video on the process; how to prep, what to expect etc.
You go into your own private suite, which is the size of a regular bedroom. Lock the door, and start! The pod is there, and open with the lights on. The lights in the room are on a motion sensor as well, and it was toasty warm. There is supplies for you to prep: makeup remover, and wax earplugs. Those are a bit difficult to use, but once you get it, you’re good. Hop in the corner shower, scrub off your day with the provided body wash, and also shampoo your hair. No conditioner! Because I have long hair, I opted to tie mine up in a loose bun.
Now, enter the pod.
The size is roughly like a queen size bed. The water temp is warm, matching your body temperature. You have the options to leave the door open, or close it. Lights on or off, and you can even choose the color of lights. To get the full experience, I closed the door completely, and turned off the lights. I found that trying to concentrate on my breathing was difficult, as I have allergies and asthma and it was a bit stuffy. The music plays for 10 minutes, which is only slightly audible due to the earplugs. Then it’s complete dark, and complete silence. With the 1000 pound of dissolved Epsom salts, you are most definitely buoyant! My legs felt really heavy, but I moved my ankle slightly and was surprised how light I was. I found that my neck got sore, so I had to adjust a few times. I should have used the neck pillow provided. You lay in the dark and the quiet and your mind wanders. I’m sure I fell asleep a couple of times for just a few seconds. You do move when you’re floating, it’s probably like a natural movement or something to do you with your breathing.
The music comes on for 5 minutes, signalling the end of the float. I turned on the lights inside the pod. Even though it was purple lights, it was still blindingly bright, but my eyes adjusted quickly. I did a bit of stretching before emerging from the pod. Once I opened the door, I was hit was a blast of cool air. The lights in the room seemed quite bright as well. I jumped in the shower quickly, and washed the salt off my body and hair. I used the conditioner that was provided and quite enjoyed the shower. The water tends to get everywhere, so another towel would have been handy. Especially with me, since I have long, thick hair. My skin felt super soft after the float, and it still does the next day.
Got dressed, and shuffled down the hall to another room. Water is provided, as well as a hair dryer, curling iron, straightener, combs, q-​tips, lotion, etc. My appointment was late in the evening so I just kept my hair down so it would dry out. Note to self, bring Moroccan oil, or some sort of leave in conditioner for my hair after.
Next, is the massage chair. You slide in, and it molds to your height and body. A 15 minute session feels like it flew by because it felt so good. Like, really damn good. I wish I could have stayed in it longer!
Upon payment, it was explained to us how their packages work. You can get a few different tiers of monthly memberships that include one or two floats per month, as well as a reduced rate for additional floats. Plus, they all come with the 15 chair experience. Also, you can share them with someone! The first float is $ 49, any additional floats are $ 79 unless you get a membership.
I would like to come and try this again. I don’t think it’s covered by any medical insurance, but it would be great to have another go. Now I know what to expect. I recommend that everyone try it at least once. The video suggests that you need at least 2 – 3 floats to really get the great benefits and longer lasting effects.

Tried this place out for the first time today. It’s clean, and welcoming when you walk in. Just a little bit of a scent in the air, but not overwhelming (I’m scent sensitive, so this is important to me at spas and the like). The staff there was friendly and the overall intial feel is welcoming.
We booked via email, which was very simple. They also had an online booking system, that I didn’t go all the way through, but it looked fairly straight forward.
So, a quick summary of what you do:
Check in. Fill out your forms, and watch an introductory video about what will happen. Go into the room, use a towelette to wash off any makeup and then stick wax over your ears. Then you shower off to get any lotion products off of your skin and out of your hair. Once you’re ready, you go to the pod and step in.
For the get ready part, I must be a little inept, since I couldn’t manage to get the earplugs in my ear properly, and one came out in the shower. Fail. I dried my ear as best I could and re-​inserted, but it wasn’t a tight seal. It would have been nice to have a small mirror in the room for removing makeup as well. Just a little thing that would make it a little easier.
The water is luke warm and thick with the 1000lbs of salt they put in each pod. You body WANTS to float in it. Like, really wants to! There is a calming blue light in the pod, which you can turn off if/​when you want, and music playing for the first 5 and the last 10 minutes of your session. My neck hurt a little bit because I had been tense all day, but the floating really helped by the end. I did get a bit of vertigo, which they warn you about, because your brain sometimes doesn’t know which way is up. Touching the sides really helped, but pretty much the whole time it felt like I was spinning slowly to the right. Kind of trippy!
After the float, it’s back in the shower. I found the light quite harsh after being in complete darkness, even the blue light in the pod. I wish the room lighting was a bit more dim. The room light is on a timer that’s motion sensitive, which was good… until I got in the shower and ended up finishing my shower in the dark as I scrubbed off all the salt from my skin and hair. The entire room and floor was SOAKED when I was done. I rolled up my pants to try and save them, but they were wet by the time I left the room. I think another large towel would have helped, and maybe different flooring. I found it was quite slick once wet.
You are then welcome to use a room down the hall with hair driers, curling irons, lotion and the like, but it was the end of the night, so we didn’t really use that. Though the one thing that would have been nice would have been some hair oil after all that salt.
Finally you move on to the massage chair for a 15 minute work over that is probably the best thing about the whole experience! Wow! I just want the chair at home. Now.
All in all it was a positive experience. I haven’t decided if I will be going back. After the First timer’s discounted session of $ 49, the price goes to $ 79 unless you become a monthly member, when it goes to either $ 55/​month or $ 59/​month depending on the package. The nice thing, though, is you can share a package with up to two people! That’s handy if I do decide to commit. This practice is not covered by any medial insurance, though, so we’ll see!