I stumbled upon this place after I had a haircut in one of the salons in Stop & Shop. I didn’t feel like going home yet after the effort of leaving the house. Our street is in shambles so going out entails walking through this obstacle course of a road, so we try to make the best of each trip. I walked around and saw the sign for the place on the Newton Plaza sign post.
Look at what the “flood project” did to our street. It is totally not passable to vehicles and is a pain to walk through. It’s also been months already, and there are only 3 people working on it, and most of them with hand tools, as in pick axes. And madalas di mo pa nakikita, missing in action. Sobrang bagal ng trabaho nila, and from the looks of it, super inefficient.
But I really needed a haircut so I just went some place that was just a short jeep ride away. Driving is a problem because everyone on our street is scrambling for the same parking spaces on adjacent streets, agawan! So I don’t want to leave my parking spot unless I absolutely have to, because I might not find a spot when I come back.
The Pink Grove is located on the second floor of Newton Plaza. It has actually been open for 2 years, but it’s the first time I stumbled upon it. I got the Foot Spa that was only P160 (no pedicure included).
FOOT SPA
The place is really pink, and I actually like how it was designed (interiors). Just don’t look too closely because some of the decor is starting to show its age. It is a neighborhood salon type but looks a lot better than expected. It is not one of those fancy places, but I’m not that picky, and the nice name, The Pink Grove, intrigued me.
They have sinks installed on the “floor”, ready for your feet, so it’s easy to do foot spas. I like that everything for my foot spa is there. There’s no awkward lifting and moving of large tubs of water. Sorry for the poor pics, I didn’t notice that I left my phone on Depth of Field mode 
I liked that no one was doing “tsismis”. Don’t you just hate it when you’re in a parlor/salon and instead of focusing on you, the customer, the attendants are more focused on their kwentuhan or checking their cellphones?
There was only one other customer so the staff was not stressed. While my attendant was filing my feet, the others started eating lunch on the reception table/counter, in full view of the customer seating. They were nice about it, inviting me to eat with them. I don’t really mind but it’s not something I usually encounter. I understand why though, the place is small so there’s no staff area. If they’re okay eating while my feet were being scrubbed just two feet away, who am I to complain. 
The whole foot spa process was the usual soak and file. I noticed that they only had a plastic file and didn’t have the wooden ones, which I think are more efficient because the attendant can put more force into it without bending it. But in spite of that, the attendant, Myra, was able to file my feet and remove my callouses.
After filing, she did a foot scrub up to my lower legs, then applied moisturizer and did a bit of massage.
Overall, I was satisfied with the service. It was only P160 and it was okay. No complaints. My feet are smooth and presentable again!
EAR CANDLING
I was about to pay for my foot spa at the counter, and I was scanning the list of services when I saw that they also did ear candling!
My sis had an ear candling done a few weeks ago, and she told me about how much gunk they got from her ears! So when I saw the ear candling service for P200, I thought, what the heck, let’s try this. Haha.
This was my first ear candling, so I was clueless about what to expect.
I was ushered into a room at the back and asked to lie down on my side. The attendant took out a pair of paper candles (I asked if they were regular candles and she said no, they were paper candles).
We did one ear first. The paper candle was like a paper cone, and the small end was placed inside my ear. She held a towel around my ears to protect me from any falling ash. Then she lit the top part of the paper candle.
It’s not painful. In fact, I felt a bit ticklish! It’s kind of scary, knowing that flaming paper is just a few inches from your face, but other than that, I didn’t even feel the heat.
My attendant, Myra, explained that it’s working like a vacuum and sucking the “dumi” from my ears. She said that even if you clean your ears with cotton buds all the time, it will only get the wet stuff.
During the ear candling, I could hear some crackling noises from my ears. I think it’s the sound of the gunk melting.
The whole thing actually did not take very long, only about a minute!
Afterward, she showed me what they got from my ear. I took a picture! It’s gross but I’m sharing it, for those of you who might be interested. Sorry, but it looks like caramel to me… not that I want to eat it or anything. 
You can skip the picture if you don’t want to see. 
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I asked her, is it normal for it to be brown? She said that sometimes people have green gunk, when they have a lot of phlegm.
RESULT OF EAR CANDLING
I can’t really say for certain that my ears are cleaner, but I saw all that goo that was removed from the ear candling process! I do feel that my ears are cleaner, my hearing slightly better, and most of all, I don’t hear the crackling noises I sometimes get in my ears anymore.
By crackling noises, I mean when you have a cold, or when you’re on a plane, and you swallow and you hear some crackling in your ears, like bubbles expanding or something.
She told me to do regular ear candling, about every few months, to keep my ears clean.
THE PINK GROVE WAXING AND NAIL CARE
Likes:
- foot spa sinks installed on the floor
- nice design, if a bit old
- location – it’s near where I live
- staff are nice, shy and sweet; not hustling me to get more services, hindi makulit
- good service, maalaga
- not too many people there
- parking is available at Newton Plaza (free, just have your ticket validated by an establishment)
Dislikes:
- small space, especially heading to the room where the ear candling was done
- the staff eating late lunch in full view of customers
The Pink Grove Waxing and Nail Care
Location: Unit 2-A Newton Plaza Bldg., Albina cor. Old Sta. Mesa Streets (the area is also known as Stop & Shop), Sta. Mesa, Manila
Hours: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepinkgrove
Mobile: 0920 471 8988
