Tova Yaron’s mission is to “take you back in time, to stop the clock, to make you look better than you did a decade ago.”
That’s a tall order for anyone in these stressful times, but for this tiny dynamo, it’s all in a day’s work. And the place where it happens is the Tova Yaron Day Spa & Salon, in San Jose’s Westgate Mall.
What may be the newest beauty retreat in Silicon Valley — the grand opening was Oct. 1 — is also one of the most beautiful. When you first enter this gleaming space, with its earth-tone decor, light wood cabinets, hand-painted murals, soothing fountain and quiet treatment rooms, you know you are in the hands of someone who has thought of the big picture, even while attending to the smallest detail.
Yaron is a beauty industry veteran, educator and “evangelist” who created all this. Trained in some of Israel’s “top spas” by European-trained aestheticians who shared their expertise with her, Yaron also learned from doctors and other scientists about skin health and care, and how the body functions.
She also worked with makers of skin-care products that incorporate ancient therapeutic ingredients from the Dead Sea — salts, mud, seaweed — with collagens, essential elements and oils, vitamins and minerals.
When she moved to the Bay Area 13 years ago, Yaron’s mission was to open her own salon to share these products and the knowledge gained over the past 20 years. “But I had to do it right! My goal was to create a place that offered a complete range of spa services for both men and women, utilizing the highest-tech equipment, along with my own personal style.”
To do this, Yaron, who has worked for other salons in the area, spent a year selecting a location, designing the environment and hiring a staff of internationally trained experts. “I put it all together, but I had help from my family [daughter Meirav is the spa manager, son David is chief handyman and computer maven], and a lot of wonderful clients, friends and supporters.”
Just before Sukkot, the salon opened for business.
If you want a body treatment, the spa offers an extensive array: a dozen different massages, mud baths, body wraps, aromatherapies; a Vichy shower with six heads to cleanse and stimulate; a hydrotherapy tub that shoots water out of 72 jets to detoxify your skin while a masseuse works on your muscles.
If you want a pedicure, you’ll get what may be the best one you’ve ever had, while you relax in a throne-like seat that massages your back.
What is a spa without facials? Yaron starts hers with a complete skin analysis; then it’s your choice of process and products. The results? “You look better immediately!” she vows.
Other treatments include manicures, micro-dermabrasion, waxing, electrolysis, brow shaping and tinting — plus a complete hair salon. Most massages and body treatments are in the $75 range, while facials range from about $55 to $95.
If you want the works, try the spa’s seven-hour “Total Escape from Reality.”
To polish off your personal spa experience, Yaron encourages having your makeup done, and learning how to apply it yourself.
“There’s no such thing as an unattractive woman, just one who doesn’t know how to care for herself,” she said. “When you can bring out your best, and you think you look good, you have more self-esteem and self-confidence, and that’s what beauty is all about.”
Besides running her business, Yaron also is active in local and international Jewish and civic organizations. “I love to give my time to help people — all they have to do is ask,” she said.
Last year, Yaron donated a full day to beautify 70 attendees at a Hadassah fund-raising Mother’s Day luncheon. She is a life member of Hadassah, as is her daughter and granddaughter.
She also helped organize the Israel Independence Day party run by the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose. Held at the Addison-Penzak JCC of Silicon Valley in Los Gatos, the event drew 5,000 people.
Sharing her experience and knowledge about health, skin care and related subjects comes naturally to Yaron. Recently she gave presentations to professional women at the JCC, and to workers of the city of San Jose. “My talks are so scientific that people in the audience are surprised I’m not a medical doctor,” she said.
She also supports AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, and WIZO, which helps low-income mothers in Israel. And she proudly reveals her newest achievement. “I became an American citizen in January 2000, in the first group of the new millennium.”