Gold Rush

You don’t have to fly to the West Coast to partake in a new Hollywood craze: the 24-karat gold facial that Dayna Devon, co-host of ABC’s Extra, claims will leave your skin looking “like a million bucks.”

You don’t have to fly to the West Coast to partake in a new Hollywood craze: the 24-karat gold facial that Dayna Devon, co-host of ABC’s Extra, claims will leave your skin looking “like a million bucks.”

At Roop Ayurvedic Day Spa in Hoboken, where the walls are also golden-hued and the smell of white gardenia oil wafts through the air to Indian classical music, you can receive a 75-minute, 24K gold facial for a mere $175.

An herbal mud mixture is gently rubbed on the face. Then gold foil sheets that stick to the mud are pressed into place. The sensation is cool and tingling. The gold and mud (talk about extremes) are then massaged into the skin.

Owners Jaanvi Shah and Anil Gandhi have been giving facials and other treatments since they opened their spa in 2003. Shah, a Bergen County resident and former electrical engineer, met Gandhi six years ago when she came to him for help with her severe acne, anxiety, and depression. His philosophy—traditional Ayurvedic medicine aims to heal through science, diet, and lifestyle changes—influenced her not only to leave her stressful career but also to open Roop with him.

Shah now runs the spa six days a week; Gandhi makes frequent trips to India to research new treatments and ingredients for products.

“This is my passion,” Shah says, “something I can now look forward to doing every day.”

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