Earthling Day Spa and Pilates Studio — Local services in Charleston

I have been a long time member of this spa, but unfortunately after my last experience, my family, friends and I will not be returning. I have always had my facials and waxing done by one of their estheticians named Freddy, who was very courteous and professional. She left after the pandemic, so I had to find a new esthetician there. I book a full leg wax, ab and chest wax and facial for my friend and I on Valentine’s Day. My friend started his appointment and then I was called for mine. My esthetician turned out to be the owner. The appointment started off fine, but after an hour of still working on my legs, she became stressed and saying how they were super booked. She started breathing heavily and moving quickly which led to many times of her not fully ripping the wax strips off and once even ripping the strip off when the wax had not adhered to the strip, which was painful. This processes just made me stressful and not wanting to continue with waxing the other parts of my body. After telling her this, she mentions that she doesn’t even have time to do any of the others services that I booked because the leg wax was taking too long. She complained about having to use tubs of wax and how she doesn’t charge enough for men’s. I questioned her experience with working on men, which she has but would rather work on women. I am not that hairy of a person, so I didn’t expect leg waxing to take two and a half hours. The prices for this Spa are not split between men and women, it just says leg waxing, so for her to complain to a customer about the services she provides and doesn’t charge enough for is not the clients problem and is completely unprofessional. After we were done my friend told me that he was able to get all the services done by the lady who worked on him; and he has much more hair then I do. I asked another one of her workers about the owner and she was sorry that I got her because she is the worst waxer in the spa. This really upset me because for the amount of money that you spend at this place, you do not want to have a bad experience. I called the very next day to complain about the waxing and try to understand how my friend was able to get all services and I wasn’t. Also, address the fact that she claims to have 40 years of experience, but doesn’t know how to properly wax. She immediately became defensive, unempathic and started saying that “we are not waxing men anymore.” Which is fine because she is horrible at it apparently, but that doesn’t excuse what I went through. I wasn’t even asking for a refund or anything. I was trying to explain that she has people on her staff that who can better wax men and it’s not my fault that she doesn't charge enough for men. But she was unapologetic about the whole experience, gave excuses, and just kept saying that “we won’t do any more men’s waxing” and dismissing the whole conversation. This spa has great workers, but the owner is not. She is unprofessional and she cannot manage her time well, so we will not...

As a born-and-raised Charlestonian in an unending search for a perfect spa, I've been to most of the good spas in the Lowcountry. I booked an appointment with Earthling and arrived about 25 minutes early, prepared to fill out the customary paperwork. I checked in with the [disinterested] front office staff [who acted like I was inconveniencing her] and was given a robe and sandals to change into. After depositing my items into the locker room, I fixed myself some tea and sat in the waiting area. I assumed someone was going to come and give me the usual paperwork to complete: preferences, allergies, hold harmless agreement, etc. I was surprised to be waiting for at least 15 minutes without anyone ever bringing me paperwork to complete.

I was brought back to a room at 2:35pm according to the spa’s clock (5 minutes past my appointment time), chatted with my therapist, and began my massage. The massage itself was great and my therapist did a good job. My massage ended on time; that is, it ended at 3:30pm so I only ended up with 50-55 minutes of massage time since they started late. Upon checkout, I presented $100 Spa Finder gift cards. The front desk clerk said she hadn't seen them before and wasn't sure what to do, so she called the manager down who was able to easily process the gift cards. Clearly the front office staff needs more training on spa policies and hospitality, as I was not once greeted in any welcoming sort of way. Maybe it was her first day on the job, but she shouldn't be hired if she has zero interpersonal communication skills.

The spa certainly isn't horrible, but I can’t recommend a spa that seems to have front desk issues with organization, timing, and knowledge. I am still amazed that they performed a service without ever asking me to sign any paperwork or complete any preferences; from a legal standpoint, that’s a bad business decision. I was put off by arriving 25 minutes early to be seen 5 minutes past my appointment time. Unfortunately, I will not be back to Earthling and cannot recommend it to others. My therapist was wonderful but the spa itself needs better organization and...

I’ve been to Earthling more than a handful of time either by myself or with guests.

I’ve purchased and been given gift cards for various occasions and I’ve used every single one without issue.

I see a lot of recent negative reviews and I can’t imagine why. I’ve always been greeted and treated with the utmost respect here. It’s far from snooty and yes there are rules as with any spa or service type industry. Show up early. And yes you can cancel within the allotted time without penalty but if you don’t you get charged for time and inconvenience. I get that 100%. I’ve seen reviews about cutting time short. Has never happened to me or anyone I was ever with. Some masseuses are better than others but everyone has a different technique or style. My main concern is to relax and enjoy which I always have.

Today I experienced a service called Nirvana on the specialty menu and it was nothing short of incredible. Aby came out and reviewed my intake sheet. She asked if I had questions and explained my service and offered alternative options. One of which I decided to take.

The locker area/changing/shower area were spotless and my stuff was waiting for me with my name on them.

The waiting area was clean as always and very serene. The water and snacks were also stocked even so I didn’t partake.

My service was 2 hours and although like many others (if ur gonna count every minute you have issues..I’m sorry, I have better thangs to do with my time like relax) I did NOT check the clock when we started or when we finished but I was there a good 2.5-3hours total.

My massage was incredible. Everything we decided to change happened as discussed and everything Originally on the service description happened as it was supposed to.

Thanks again for making my day off a great one! I’ll be back again...