Anso Med Spa by ann+sofia beauty concept — Local services in New York

I was underwhelmed by the aesthetic of the spa however decided to keep my judgment at bay until after the lymphatic facial/dermaplaning experience I had booked. Once I laid down to begin my treatment, I was immediately upsold an extraction add on. While I don't mind investing in such treatments, the treatments itself were very sloppy, rough and careless. During the cleansing process, pads were harshly zig zagged across my face without much thought or technique. My lash extensions were tugged at and completely ruined as the technician continued to arbitrarily wipe my face. The hydro extraction was a senseless sort of rough where I almost felt violated. This would foreshadow what would come next. The dermaplaning experience was also quite lacking in skill resulting in a nerve racking experience as it was clear there was no real technique in which the blade was sweeping across my face. I've experienced enough facial treatments to know when your aesthetician lacks skill and/or the experience you expect at $325. They switched technicians for the lymphatic facial and I hoped the experience would change but it remained sub par. She did one side of my face, showed me the mirror and expected me to be in awe of the difference between the two sides of my face. Unfortunately, I couldn't see a difference. I felt compelled to get up and leave at that point but didn't want to cause a scene. She finished up the other side of my face and proceeded to pile on a ton of sticky cream which she struggled to spread on. It was so thick, I had to ask for a towel to wipe the layers of product off my face. When I finally got in front of a mirror, I looked worse than when I had arrived. Red patches appeared where there once were none and I didn't feel like my beautiful self. You invest in these self care experiences and you expect to leave there feeling and looking better than when you arrived but this experience completely ruined my morning and made me regret choosing this establishment on a rare PTO day. The aesthetician could sense my disappointment so didn't charge me for the extraction add on and gave me a $81 discount on the lymphatic facial (although I believe this is a standard discount for 1st time customers which I was). I still ended up paying $184 which is a hefty sum for the sub par experience. I'm very confused by the positive reviews. This place is not it.

I'd like a refund if the owner is reading this post.

EDIT: I was immediately issued a refund which I...

I don’t typically leave reviews, but I felt it was worth sharing my experience at Anso this past Saturday, especially after seeing so many positive reviews that led me to try the spa for a deluxe Hydrafacial.

Unfortunately, I left feeling disappointed and underwhelmed. From the moment I walked in, there was a strong mildew or old wet towel smell. I suspect it may have been from the diffuser not being regularly cleaned, but regardless, it wasn’t a great first impression.

I was brought into the treatment room by the front desk girl, and once I laid down, I noticed a ceiling camera with a small white sticker covering the lens. Even though it was “covered,” I still felt uncomfortable. If a camera can’t be removed entirely from a treatment space (especially one where you might take your top off), it should at least be fully and securely obscured in a more professional manner.

The facial itself was not what I expected. It didn’t seem like much was being removed from my skin or extracted during the suction part of the hydrafacial. I have small clogged bumps between my eyebrows and was hoping they’d be addressed — but the area was skipped entirely. The esthetician mentioned clogged pores along my jawline and neck and offered extractions for an additional $25. I agreed, but it felt rushed and ineffective — only a few spots were extracted despite there being more that needed attention. Extractions only took about 2 minutes.

The clock/timer on the table gave me the impression that the session was more about staying on schedule than delivering a thorough treatment. I did receive a new client discount, but it left me wondering whether I received a reduced quality of service because I paid less.

While my skin did look a bit more hydrated afterward, I ultimately had to do my own extractions at home due to the clogged pores that were left behind. A Hydrafacial is supposed to consist of cleansing extracting, and hydrating, and unfortunately, this experience felt like it was only the latter.

I had really hoped to become a regular client, but sadly, I won’t be returning. I'm a frequent facial-goer and am very specific with who I let touch my skin. I'm very disappointed with my results and treatment and felt like I was scammed. I spent $225 for this treatment (would be $275 had I not used the new client...

Just left what might be the worst massage of my life, and I’ve been getting massages once a month for years. I signed up for a lymphatic massage, but what I got was a incredibly deep tissue, which is the complete opposite of what the lymphatic technique should be - light, gentle pressure to stimulate superficial lymph vessels.

I had originally scheduled my appointment for 2:30, but they texted me earlier in the morning to ask if I could move it to 4, which wasn’t a problem. My massage therapist was 30 minutes late, so she offered to add on a 10-minute abdominal massage. She started out great - the head, neck and chest massage wasn’t deep, but lots of sweeping and medium pressure and relaxing.

Then, she got to my abdomen and launched in hard with her elbows. I’ve had several abdominal massages, and this one was unnecessarily rough and incredibly painful. From there, it was deep, painful elbows in my inner thigh, glutes, and quads. Nothing about the massage was lymphatic drainage, or remotely therapeutic. I am now more tense from bracing myself against her elbows than when I came in.

Not only was the massage painful, but the room had no air conditioning, it smelled like trash from outside on the sidewalk, and there was no music to drown out the noise of 5th ave. There was a piece of equipment next to the massage table that left her no room to maneuver, so everything from that side of the table was cumbersome. And when she got done, she just walked out and left the door to the room wide open…

The receptionist was lovely, and I really wanted to like this place. But I will absolutely not be returning - perhaps the spa is good for their facial and esthetician-based services, but I feel like I was robbed of $217 that could have gone to an ACTUAL therapeutic lymphatic massage.

Lots of people seek out lymphatic drainage massage for medical conditions or after surgeries. If this is you, I do not recommend booking here… best case, it’s extremely uncomfortable and painful, but at the worst, it could be damaging or dangerous. It would be better to find a lymphatic-trained PT or...