MendMe Massage — Local services in Los Angeles

I don’t usually post reviews but I’m really sad how my Mother’s Day went at MendMe. My lovely husband book me a package that included a massage, sauna and compression and was so excited that he found somewhere with good reviews and seems really relaxing.

First, I walked in and was greeted by a lovely young lady. She asked me to fill out a new client form. I informed her that I did that online and while I was saying that another lady next to her inserted herself and very abruptly and rudely said “you have to do this too, it’s for the therapist” and walked away. Totally ok if it would have been said even a little bit nicely…. But when I say it was rude, it literally took me by surprise. Like why?!

I take a breath and think she is probably just having a day, so I get into the therapy room and I explain that I can’t have a deep massage due to having fibromyalgia. I need more of a Swedish massage so that it doesn’t cause more inflammation. The lady starts and it’s pretty aggressive from the jump. I work through the pain and still try to enjoy it until towards the end. She all of a sudden stops the massage on my left leg and starts doing weird holding patterns on my feet then proceeds to start rubbing my stomach. It starts to feel uncomfortable and right when I’m about to say something she stops and says we are all done. But before I can speak she goes, “I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach when I was working on your thigh and so I gave you energy work instead. I hope you don’t get a sick feeling too”. I was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say in the moment (I’m also autistic and have a hard time with confrontation). She basically insinuated that I had caused her to feel sick. Her stomach was growling the whole time. Like she didn’t eat lunch and then blamed me for her stomach hurting. I also didn’t pay for “energy work”. So got stiffed on the actual rest of my massage.

I then proceeded to the infrared sauna. I thought ok… I’m by myself hopefully I can relax. It’s a single person lay down red light sauna. I lay down and then fully realize that it’s in the hallway of this place just behind some glass panels that are open at the top. You can literally hear everything. Every conversation, the light that comes in when the door opens from the lobby, the people using the bathroom right next to it (you could literally hear them peeing which is just gross), EVERYTHING. I was supposed to be in it for 45 minutes. I get about halfway through and the constant loud noises and hearing people using the restroom was just too much. So I got out, got dressed and decided to go. The lady at the desk was lovely and went to go put me in the compression but I realized that was fully in the lobby! Like you sit in the lobby with compression on your legs just chilling where everyone comes in and out and can just stare at you. So I decline and just leave.

I say all this because they say it’s a spa feel. It’s the farthest from it. I don’t need bells and whistles, I was a member of a massage envy back in the day, but private rooms for treatments would be nice… and a massage that’s actually a good massage and doesn’t turn into energy work without your consent. $195 I can’t get back (because I still tipped as i always do because people need to live) and my only time to myself, literally because I’m a full time momma to special needs kiddos completely lost on...

Update: beware of parking in 90025... frequent ticketing while at the spa and maybe the adjacent businesses. Asked a staff member to alert the owner to look into such ticketing situations, especially for disabled clients, and perhaps they listened or not. Will never know, since they didn't reach out to me. Can't go back. Oh well. Next.

Anyone who knows me knows I don't write a lot of reviews online, but when I do, it's for a good reason.

I found MendMe by doing a search for "lymphatic drainage massage" + my zipcode. The website itself is very well-organized and easy to view on all types of mobile devices, which is so nice to see!

But the main purpose of me getting a lymphatic drainage massage (I'll call it LDM) was an old injury, which had led to a lot of fluid build-up, which in turn was turning into a lot of pain in my joints, fascia, and muscles. I had read about the benefits of LDM for quite a while, before I decided to try it. I mainly needed it for my lower back and told the masseuse that is the only area I need worked on, and they can forget about the rest (I'd be back for a should/neck massage later... is what I thought at the time)...

Suffice it to say, I didn't really comprehend the true extent of the benefits of LDM. And I need to give full credit to Shelley, an amazing massage therapist, who told me not to expect LDM to be a one-time cure for the amount of fluid build-up I'd had. Her knowledge of anatomy, massage, and pressure points is comprehensive. Whenever I leave MendMe after a Shelley treatment, I feel like I'm literally and figuratively walking on air.

This is not an exaggeration in the least. If you don't believe it, try booking an LDM with Shelley and if she doesn't deliver on the promise of LDM, I'd be happy to talk with you about it. I doubt I ever will have to! That is how confident I am in her ability.

The staff are also fantastic, including Bo and Alex, and all the other wonderful, professional staff who man/woman the front desk.

The owner has also been very generous and kind to me, since she knows I go there for pain relief, am a local, and will gladly give gift certificates to friends and family who will eventually learn why I go there whenever I can.

Ask for Shelley and you will not be disappointed. You will also be transformed, educated, not to mention soothed.

Kudos to Patty, the owner of MendMe for creating such a safe and wonderful spa/massage...

My experience was terrible. I couldn’t sleep because of back pain. It was just after 1am and I was happy to find a 24 hour massage parlor. I called to book a 60 minute massage. They didn’t answer and only responded via text. First I was told I had to pay a 53$ deposit for the service which would ultimately be 95$. I asked if I could pay cash. They told me I had to pay via Zelle or gift card which I thought was strange. I Zelled the deposit. And they sent me the address. I drove there and waited 20 minutes for further correspondence. When they finally got back to me they told me I couldn’t pay the deposit through Zelle only citing that it “wouldn’t work” and they requested that I pay with an Apple Pay gift card. I asked again if I could pay cash because I was sitting outside and didn’t want to go anywhere else. They told me they could only accept cash after the service but I needed to pay the deposit before the service. I then left to 7-11 to get the gift card for 53$. When I returned I was asked to scratch off and text a picture of the code. I did that and then I had to wait for an additional 15 minutes for them to confirm the card worked. By this point I had already Zelled 53$ and now bought this 53$ card. Once they got back to me I was told that their system would not accept the card. I was told that the system wouldn’t accept it because it needed to be a round number, so they needed me to go back to 7-11 and get another card for 45$. I protested that this felt like a scam. They had already gotten 106$ out of me and I hadn’t received anything. The lady who was texted insisted that she had better things to do then scam me. She told me that all I needed to do was go get that 45$ card and she would take care of me. I refused and went home still in pain. I never got any of my money back. By the time I left it was 2:30am an hour and a half after when I first tried to book the massage. What a joke, I wouldn’t recommend anyone get involved...