Spa regimen now includes Bicol’s ‘pili’ fruit

By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon

PILI, Camarines Sur--The country’s growing spa phenomenon continues to discover ways to natural wellness and the cutting-edge regimen in a newly opened spa here makes use of Bicol’s pili fruit in giving a restful experience to spa-goers.

Adding to its branches in Tagaytay, Puerto Galera and Pampanga, the award-winning Nurture Spa opened its fourth branch at the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC) here last week in time for the 3rd Philippine Cable Wakeboard Nationals.

After a long, vexed day spent in extreme sports, “extreme indulgence” in revitalizing spa treatments may not just be a luxury but a necessity.

This need for a haven of rest in an active environment such as the CWC leads to a bankable niche for Nurture Spa.

“We’ve heard so much about the CWC, which we know is the big thing now. We wanted to be here because, basically, we have the same market—the young and energetic crowd. We think spa and wakeboarding are very complementary to each other,” says Cathy Brillantes-Turvill, Nurture Spa’s chief executive officer.

One of the pioneers in the Philippine spa industry accredited by the Department of Tourism, this spa chain offers a range of regional treatments that use local ingredients grown from where its branches are located.

In Tagaytay, where coffee is a main product, Nurture Spa created the Kape Barako Coffee Scrub (P1,500). The rich aroma of coffee invigorates the senses as much as the skin.

“What makes Nurture Spa unique is that, when we open a branch, we make sure that we first do a research on the traditional healing treatments available in region, then we come up with a spa-like equivalent for them,” Brillantes-Turvill says.

For its Bicol branch, the Nurture Spa explored the use of pili (Canarium ovatum), which is abundantly grown in the region and is considered as Bicol’s “flagship commodity,” according to the Department of Agriculture.

The region accounts for 82 percent of national pili production, the bulk of which comes from Sorsogon province, which is tagged by the Department of Trade and Industry as the “commodity champion” for pili.

“Pili is an excellent antioxidant. It has good moisturizing properties. It is rich in vitamin E. What we do is we crush it to extract its wonderful properties,” Brillantes-Turvill says.

The pili fruit is a drupe lined with a thin, smooth and shiny covering.

At the core of this fruit is a nut tagged as the Philippine’s almond and boasts to be at par with Australia’s macadamia nut.

The only known fruit oil of commercial importance in the world market today are olive and palm oils but the pili kernel is another oil source with a big market potential of good use in the manufacture of soaps, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, data from DTI-Bicol revealed.

Spa menu

In Nurture Spa, pili is being used here as a component in services like facials, body scrubs and body wraps.

The one-hour “El Ray Malumoy Facial” (P1,200) is a natural relaxing facial of honey, pili and yogurt capped with a soothing mask of cucumber aloe vera and an acupressure facial massage.

Brillantes-Turvill says it is perfect in softening and moisturizing sun-burned and wind-hissed skin.

The one-hour Daraga Pili Polish (P1,200) is an exfoliating pili scrub that removes dead skin followed by a mini massage using rich moisturizing aloe vera and coco-butter base.

The Magayon Coco Pili Body Cocoon (P1,200) is one-hour nourishing wrap using fresh squeezed virgin coconut milk and mashed pili nuts bursting with vitamins and minerals.

Nurture Spa also offers packages composed of three treatments for three hours costing from P1,600 to P3,700 and an ultimate spa experience called “Maharlikang Lubos (Royal Pampering)” for P4,400 complete with five treatments for three and a half hours.

Brillantes-Turvill, president of the Spa Association of the Philippines, also says they created a CWC-signature treatment, especially designed for wakeboarders, called the 90-minute “Ni-laib Herbal Pouch Massage” (P1,500).

In this form of treatment, aching muscles are massaged with steaming hot pouches of traditional Filipinos herbs wrapped in banana leaves.

Brillantes-Turvill says what is important in Nurture Spa is that their therapists are hired from local communities and are selected on the basis of their “healing attitude.”