A salt room, infrared sauna, ionic foot detox and BEMER mat await customers looking for relaxation and improved health at the newly opened Salt Cave in Albuquerque’s far Northeast Heights.
The Salt Cave Boutique Spa opened Monday, Nov. 14 at 8001 Wyoming Blvd. NE Suite D1 after two years in the making. Owner April Eschenbrenner said the soft opening brought in a few customers, but she hasn’t done much advertising yet.
“We haven’t really advertised that we’re even open just yet. So right now, it’s just friends, family, a little bit of word of mouth,” Eschenbrenner said.
She added that a grand opening is being planned for January. “I am going to have a grand opening. I’m going to push it more towards January. So new year, new start. You know, new services. Come visit us for memberships.”
Eschenbrenner is an Albuquerque native who went to Cibola High School. She said she has been in the corporate world all her adult life and wanted to provide something that makes people happy to see her.
“So, when you’re coming in, you’re coming in because you want a service. You want to relax. You just want to rejuvenate. I want people to feel excited to come in and see me,” Eschenbrenner said. “I wanted to do something different for the community.”
The location, between North Domingo Baca Park and Paseo del Norte, is ideal, Eschenbrenner said. “This is two years in the making for me. COVID kind of put a little damper in some of my plans, but it was still available, and I was able to take advantage of this location. So, I think this location is a dream for this type of service.”
Salt cave prices and health benefits
A flyer for the business says a 45-minute session inside the salt cave is $40 and private group sessions up to eight people is $225. The cave is a large room made of Himalayan salt rocks and crystals. Customers sit in the room to relax, meditate and enjoy the health benefits of the salt.
According to the flyer, customers are “encouraged to sit quietly and unwind, feeling the healing powers of the cave bringing purification and balance to your skin and respiratory system as you gaze into the peaceful starry sky breathing in the salt infused air.”
“With salt therapy we use a halogenerator,” Eschenbrenner said. “The halogenerator pushes the salt through the air. You breathe it in, and there’s a bunch of benefits with that such as allergies right now, respiratory conditions, people that suffer from COVID lung – that really helps. There are skin conditions that the salt definitely helps. Depression, anxiety. The list can go on for that.”
Date night and ionic foot detox
In addition to the salt cave, there is a separate salt room for a more private setting with two recliners for customers to relax in. A private session for two is $90, making it an affordable and relaxing date night Eschenbrenner said.
There is also a foot detox room and BEMER mat that provides electromagnetic therapy. Besides allowing the body and mind to relax, Eschenbrenner’s boutique can provide health benefits to athletes with sore and tight muscles.
“Especially the BEMER mat,” Eschenbrenner said. “That’s huge for that because it does increase the blood circulation, so that does help sore muscles.”
In the foot detox room customers sit in large massage chairs with their feet in warm ion-charged water. The ions help to draw out unwanted toxins, helping customers to “feel refreshed, lighter, enlivened or significantly calmer.” Depending on what toxins are being drawn out, the water will change different colors.
A foot detox chart says that when the water turns yellow, bladder toxins are released. Orange represents joint toxins; amber is a sign of urinary tract toxins and a smelly purple signifies old locked in drugs have been removed.
Eschenbrenner said some people don’t like to see what the water looks like after detoxing, which is one reason she keeps the lights low, as well as to maintain a calm and relaxing ambiance.
The Salt Cave is open for business and Eschenbrenner encourages people to visit and sign up for a membership or to just learn more about the benefits of the different therapies. Services, prices and online bookings are available on The Salt Cave’s website
