Nuru Massage Before a Night Out: Can You Go Out Afterwards?
You can, though nuru leaves you slower, warmer and damper of hair than most plans allow for. How to time a session before dinner, a bar or a club.
Most bookings happen at the end of an evening, once the dinner and the bars are behind you. A smaller number go the other way, and the question behind them is a fair one: can you have a nuru massage at seven and still be good company at nine? You can. It simply helps to know what state the session leaves you in, because it is not the state most people plan a night out around, and a little timing turns a possible clash into an unusually good start to the evening.
What a nuru massage leaves you with
Three things, mostly. The first is warmth. A long session in gel leaves nearly the whole of you warmed for a good while, and that warmth lingers for an hour or more after the closing rinse, which is pleasant on a cold evening and a little much in a crowded, heated bar. The second is a heavy, slowed calm. Reactions soften, replies come a beat later, and the urge to rush anywhere has usually gone. The third is practical: wet, freshly washed hair, and skin that wants a few minutes of air before clothes go back on.
None of those is a problem. They are simply different from the brisk, bright state that a pre-dinner shower and a cocktail produce, and it is worth choosing the evening to match.
Evenings that follow nuru well
- A long, unhurried dinner. Appetite tends to be keen afterwards, and a slow table suits a slow mood.
- A quiet bar, a concert with seats, a late film. Anything you can sink into rather than keep up with.
- A walk along the canals. Cool night air meets the leftover warmth rather nicely.
Evenings that fit less comfortably are the ones that demand energy: a club that only gets going at one, a birthday crawl through several bars, a crowded dance floor. The session will not stop you going, but you may spend the first hour wishing you were back in the room.
Timing a session before you go out
Work backwards from the moment you need to leave. A ninety-minute session includes both showers, and after the closing rinse you will want half an hour to dry your hair, let your skin cool and dress without hurrying. So for a table at half past eight, a session starting around six is comfortable. The heaviest part of the calm fades within about an hour, and a coffee before you leave helps it along.
An hour is a reasonable length on these evenings, even though the gel usually repays a longer booking, because the aim here is a warm, loose start rather than the deep, drifting state a two-hour session reaches. The note on nuru and dinner covers the reverse arrangement, when the meal comes first.
Hair, scent and clothes
If you care how your hair looks later, ask her at the start to keep the gel away from it; even then, the steam of the bathroom will loosen any styling, so style after the session rather than before. Put cologne or perfume on as you dress to go out, not before she arrives, since a warm room turns scent heavy and the rinse washes it off anyway. Clothing is dealt with in the note on what to wear for nuru; the one thing to add for a night out is to lay the evening's outfit ready beforehand, so you are not searching a suitcase in a warm, drowsy haze.
Nuru massage after the night out, the usual order
Most guests who try both end up preferring the session at the far end of the evening. The calm that gets in the way at nine becomes exactly the point at two, the warmth carries straight into sleep, and nobody needs to dry their hair for anyone. Around Rembrandtplein and the other late squares, a good share of bookings arrive in the hour after the clubs close. The one caution is drink: a guest who has had a long night is better off saying so, and a slower, shorter session often suits that hour better than a long one.
If you want to feel bright rather than calm
There is a lighter option for anyone set on going out afterwards. A soapy massage happens in warm water and foam, renewed again and again rather than held on the skin, and it tends to leave people awake and fresh rather than heavy. As a prelude to a night that needs energy it is often the better fit, and on a long evening it can even come first, with the gel saved for when you return.
So, can you go out after?
Yes, and plenty of guests do. Book early, leave half an hour to dry and dress, choose an evening you can settle into, and accept that you will arrive a little warmer and a good deal calmer than everyone else at the table. For most people that turns out to be no hardship at all.