Spring is officially here; the season of rejuvenation. And, after the long winter we’ve endured this year, no area in our lives is begging for more reviving than our bodies, and that protective layer of skin that has beared the brunt of Jack Frost’s chill.

Whether you be a sun worshiper who frequents the pool as much as you dream of getting in a day at the beach, or a trend hound who has her heart set on SS14’s comely collection of crop tops and the season’s preferred soft, dewy, barely there makeup look, the months just before June are something of a reconditioning period.

As with all overhauls, it’s most effective to start at the origin point, and where the glow and resilience of your skin is concerned, there is no better place to go for a tuneup than the spa.

Myself, I sought to remedy my personal seasonal ailments in luxury at the Spa at The Hazelton Hotel by Valmont. Located in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, the boutique hotel’s spa facility — which offers services including oxygenating, radiance packages, anti-aging care and anti-jetlag treatments — is a testament to The Hazelton’s five-star ranking. It’s signature Valmont beauty menu is proof enough. Already smitten with the skincare brand — an anti-ageing wonder-line that utilizes the best of Switzerland’s natural resources and draws its expertise from traditional Swiss medicine — my day at the spa here recently only solidified my loyalty to Valmont — and, significantly, taught me a little something about the worth of a pinch.

Pinching…not something that immediately pops into your head when envisioning a relaxing day at the spa, but very much something that any woman or man troubled by the tenacious character of cellulite will want to sign themselves up for by way of a Peaks of Slimness treatment at the Spa at The Hazelton Hotel.

Like the name of the treatment suggests, this 90 minute-long scrub works to refine fat cells (adipocytes) by slowing down their expansion, which produces cellulite — a final result of enlarged fat cells that pull down on surrounding tissue, causing skin to appear dimpled and void of elasticity. And just how can a spa treatment help to combat this? A good ol’ pinch.

After a calming full body exfoliation using Valmont’s Cellular Refining Scrub from the brand’s Body Time Control line to remove a winter’s worth of scaly skin, I wash the crystals off my body with a moisturizing helping of Fresh Dew Cleanser and re-enter the treatment room to complete the refining process. Using the D. Solution Booster gel, another gem from the brand’s Body Time Control line, the aesthetician began working on my body with a signature combination of kneading, friction (i.e. gentle pinching) and Valmont’s soothing staple butterfly motion, a technique carried over from the brand’s facial treatments. Areas where cellulite especially likes to linger, such as the thighs, were particularly worked. Most effective when utilized as a 10-session treatment, the Peaks of Slimness is recommended as a firming program to supplement your daily fitness routine.

Always one to question the how and why of things, especially when big results are being promised, I was very interested to learn why a little gel and some pinching should go so far. Here’s what I gathered, like everyone else — I was born with a certain amount of fat cells, a number that will remain unchanged throughout my life. But, as any of us who have pondered the materialization of those curious dimples upon our bodies knows, while these cells may not be multiplying, they certainly have the capacity to grow in size. Valmont’s treatment aims to drain toxins out of these swelled up fat cells by directly impacting the cells through a forced evacuation triggered by the treatment’s special massage technique (what I’ll go ahead and just call the “miracle pinch”) used with the D. Solution Booster.

Bolstered by the fat-burning action of D. Solution Booster’s combination of bioavailable caffeine and forskolin (an organic compound derived from the Indian Coleus plant), which both help break down fat cells to help reduce the appearance of cellulite, research shows that a twice-a-day routine application of the gel (no skipping on the knead and pinch) over the course of one month can result in up to 38% of cellulite lost, enough to drop one size down. Hence D. Solution Booster’s label as a “slimness activating concentrate.” Add on the C. Curve Shaper body cream to your twice-a-day routine for the month, and you’ve got 17.5% more firmness and 29.5% more resistance to boast about.

Feeling well on my way to preparing for swimsuit season after my Peaks of Slimness treatment, I switched focus to my face. Looking like a dull version of something that once was healthy, my face wore the signs of going back and forth between blasts of dry hot office air and wind chills of 20 degrees below zero for a five-month stretch. The necessity for a little illumination was apparent, and knowing the anti-aging powers of Valmont, I opted for a treatment that would endow me with the radiance of one with an an indeterminate age.

The spa’s aptly named Radiance facial spends two-hours and fifteen minutes on replenishing the skin’s natural glow, using the beautifying properties of Vitamin C, and begins by cleansing, toning and exfoliating skin. Up next is the mask portion of the treatment, tweaked according to your personal skincare needs. In my case, clogged pores demanded the cleansing and purifying muscle of Valmont’s Purifying Pack (a take-home favourite), a refreshing 20-minute mask, while the brand’s Pure White Mask was left on for 5 minutes to help treat sunspots. And then there was the application of the Regenerating Mask Treatment — the peak of the facial — during which a collagen face mask is sprayed with glacial water, placed on the face and left to work its rejuvenating magic for 20-minutes. And with a final finishing serum (Infinite Radiance Essence) and application of cream (Regenerating Radiance Cream), I emerged a visibly brighter, spring-ready version of the winter-beaten girl that first walked through the spa doors.

Want to shake of the winter and bounce into spring? Head to the Spa at The Hazelton Hotel by Valmont, they’ll have you ready in a pinch.