Why I Love a Good Salt Scrub

If you have never experienced a Korean salt scrub, I highly recommend them. They involve lying (sans underclothing -- just keep your eyes shut) on a cushioned table while being scrubbed by a middle-aged Korean woman with a bath mitt and what seems like pounds of salt. If you dare open your eyes during the scrubbing you will likely notice you are covered in little balls of dead skin (or so I'm told -- wink). Then everything is washed away with warm buckets of water. It may sound awful, but it's surprisingly fabulous, if you can get over the naked-on-a-cushioned-table part. Plus, I think most spas provide disposable underwear for the shy types. You'll leave the spa with skin that feels like a newborn baby.

A good exfoliation is necessary before your spring self-tanner application, so I suggest booking a salt scrub, stat. And if you can't bear to go bare in a spa setting, invest in a good sugar scrub at your local drugstore. My favorite: Vitabath sugar scrubs, $11 at most drugstores or online.