Nature’s Root Spa Is Colorado’s Hot Hemp Destination

After stuffing our already-full
backpacks for the final time, we double-checked our room and tiny bathroom for
straggling clothes and souvenirs. We were in Malaga, Spain, at the tail end of
a month-long vacation, and it was time to head home to Denver.

Before leaving the hostel and its
free Wi-Fi I asked my wife Melana, “Any idea how many hours we’ll be traveling
today?” She didn’t know, but she started counting the day ahead of us out loud.
“From Malaga to Dublin is three hours,” she said, “then a three-hour layover.
Dublin to New York is seven and a half, and then another three-hour layover.
And New York to Denver is… looks like it’ll be 21 hours.”

“Or 24 hours, if you include the
bus we’re about to catch to the airport and the waiting,” I added.

My wife then responded with a
seriousness typically reserved for much weightier conversations: “We’re going
to need a massage when we get home.”

A few days later, when we walked into Nature’s Root — the world’s first hemp-based spa, located in almost-rural Colorado — it was immediately clear that we were about to be on the receiving end of some legit, CBD-infused pampering. And our bodies, still feeling the pain of that brutal 24-hour travel day, were thrilled about it.

Over the past few years, hemp’s use in health and wellness products has been gaining popularity nationwide, with the trend seeing creation of products ranging from restorative creams to soaps to healing salves. And the market is only growing, as more and more consumers discover the healing properties of the plant.

Hemp aficionados in Colorado and
elsewhere are already familiar with Nature’s Root, as their hemp-based,
non-psychoactive lotions, scrubs and salves have quickly made a name for
themselves. It helps that Nature’s Root is a full-service seed-to-sale
business, as they grow hemp on their farms, process it, extract what they need
and create each of their products from the fruits of their harvest.

But Nature’s Root co-owners Dani Billings and her mother Tracee Box envisioned another step in the seed-to-sale model – thus their new spa located in an unassuming industrial park in the heart of trendy Longmont, an hour outside of central Denver.

“We are considered a
seed-to-customer company,” said Box, noting that what they grow is eventually
applied to their clients’ skin by Nature’s Root staff. “We manufacture in house
from our farms across Colorado. Our CBD concentrate comes to Longmont, and from
there we create our body care line, which is 100 percent hemp-based. And our
therapeutics line is hemp-based with the added benefit of CBD oil.”

The spa’s services include massages
and facials of different types and lengths, as well as waxes and eyelash
extensions. As I opted for an hour-long restorative massage ($75) with an
emphasis on my embattled back, my wife went the rejuvenating route – an
hour-long facial ($70). When we were asked if we wanted to upgrade to the CBD
product line for an additional $18 each, we nodded yes – it’s why we were here!

Our therapists met us in the
waiting area, a fresh and calming space decked out with rugs, clothes and
products made of hemp. As we passed the reception counter, made of
multi-colored hempcrete and decorated with thousands of hemp seeds under the
clean glass tabletop, they asked if we wanted any more organic hemp tea before
our treatments.

Of course we did.

Masseuse Becca Mecklenburg’s
therapeutic massage style was meditative and deliberate, subtle but strong. She
quietly told me when she was using the CBD oil and when she was using the CBD
Sore Muscle Hemp Salve – “our top seller,” Box told me a few days later.

The CBD massage oil had a luxurious
consistency – not too oily. The sore muscle salve, which was thoughtfully
applied and left on my upper back so it could tingle throughout the rest of the
massage, provided a fantastic sensation with its arnica-like icy hotness.

Melana’s facial was equally relaxing and nuanced. The pace was smooth and relaxing, the arm-and-feet massages with a mix of CBD massage oil and lotion was rejuvenating and the atmosphere was on point, she told me on our drive back to Denver.

“One of the products she used – a
hydrating mask made of honey and goji berries – she put it on my lips, and when
she took it off 20 minutes later my lips felt completely different,” Melana
said. “The products worked well for catering to the climate. It’s dry and it’s
been hot, and the facial was hydrating and felt nourishing.”

The questions that often follow
these kinds of experiences are often of the “was it different from a normal
massage?” variety. Nature’s Root says that the depth of penetration in muscle
is greater and the relief time from pains and aches is extended when
CBD-infused products are used for massages. But given the mix of ingredients
and oils that are added to the hemp and CBD, it’s impossible to tell what’s
what – especially when the therapists themselves are also bringing a lot to the
experience.

What I can report back is this: The
masterful execution of a 360-degree hemp and CBD spa makes for a tremendous
outing. From the moment you enter the expansive and calming lobby at Nature’s
Root to your exit – where you’re given the remaining CBD massage oil to take
home, a lovely surprise bonus to the upgrade – you feel pampered, both
physically and philosophically.

As consumers, we make decisions
every day regarding where we spend our money. And now those who rely on body
work can make the decision to support a business that believes in hemp.

TELL
US, how do you
incorporate cannabis into your relaxation routine?

Originally published in Issue 22 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE

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