New Eco-Chic Green Spa Open on South Beach

UHMA SPA & LIFESTYLE SHOP OPENS ON SOUTH BEACH
Eco-Chic Green Spa, Products from Around the World

From the paint on the walls to the nail polish that adorn its guests everything about the new Uhma Spa & Shop (726 6th Street, South Beach), makes Earth Day everyday. (Uhma pronounced ‘ooh-mah’)

In a time of inconvenient truths the environment is on everyone’s mind, but for Uhma’s creator Debora Leia Almeida eco-consciousness has been a way of life for more than two decades.

“I have been into an organic way of life since I was 17 and I felt the time was right to share my knowledge and love of this lifestyle with the community in which I now live,” said Brazilian-born Debora Leia Almeida, creator/owner of Uhma along with her husband Marco Almeida. “I want guests who enter Uhma to be delighted when they walk through the doors, feel pleasure while they are there, and a bit of regret upon departing – in hopes that I have created an experience were they will want to come back and do it all over again.”

Greening from the inside out
Uhma, which comes from the Portuguese word uma (one), is part spa and part retail (1,750 square-feet total) combining wellness for the body and the environment in which one lives. The interior design, an international collaboration between Brazilian architect Roberto Pedreira and French designer Maxime Dautresme (designer of Grass Restaurant & Lounge in Miami’s Design District), utilizes Biophilic principles, where elements from nature are taken indoors to create a relaxing, non-toxic and eco-friendly environment.

The Shop
Upon entry into Uhma, guests experience elements of the outdoors. The retail space features an expansive wall of hand-carved American walnut (a sustainable wood), resembling tree bark, with leaf-like green shelves holding fine modern and fair-trade unique gifts, natural organic skin care and bath and body products, as well as exclusive accessories from all over the world. The Shop even has its own signature jewelry line by Brazilian artist Adriana Bittencourt.

Uhma Spa-ahhh
As guests enter the spa, with its bamboo floors and ambient lighting mimicking natural sunlight, they are transported to another place that’s beyond pampering. This is a spa for those who are in the know and know better – think high-end spa with boutique spa prices. Face and body treatments use only 100 percent natural, organic and cruelty-free products. Highly-trained therapist meld contemporary techniques, the sacred traditions of Ayurveda and the art of European aromatherapy with ancient treatment practices from Australia Africa, Asia, and Native American cultures.

The spa facilities include a comfortable waiting area, two manicure/pedicure thrones complete with head-to-toe massage, silent and private treatment rooms with shower, including a couple’s room and a wet room equipped with a pipeless whirlpool bath tub and Vichy shower. Uhma offers an array of massages, facials, Ayurvedic treatments, healing baths, wraps, and body polishes.

The spa offers two signature massages – the Sabai Herbal Ball massage, a relaxing Thai massage where the therapist carefully applies warm herbal ball compresses to energy points on the body and the Tian Di Bamboo massage that uses warm bamboo sticks to apply deep pressure and heat to the body to promote healing and help dissipate accumulated toxins.

The products featured in the Shop and the ones used to carry out the treatments in the spa vary from Uhma’s signature organic bath and body line Uhma Nagri, Jurlique and Jane Iredale skin care products and Art of Shaving products for men.

The manicures and pedicures all use nontoxic polishes and unlike most spas are waterless – instead of soaking hands the technician uses a specialty conditioner to get at unwanted cuticles.

Treatments range in price from $22 for a manicure to $120-$290 for a range of massage therapy, wraps and masques. Uhma has also partnered with next door neighbor Miami Life Center to offer guests two hour yoga and massage packages that include a 50-minute private Ashtanga yoga class and 60 minute full-body Uhma Primal Relaxation Massage ($175).

How Green It Is
Upon constructing Uhma Spa & Shop everything that was already in place was recycled (old sinks and toilets were replaced with new low flow ones), reused or donated. The original ceiling was incorporated into the current design to maximize insulation therefore minimizing energy use.

Uhma’s walls and cabinetry are all made from American walnut, a sustainable resource where each tree that is cut down is replaced by another. All paints used are VOC free (e.g. they don’t use harmful pollutants). The epoxy floors in the Shop are water based. The lighting used throughout the space uses a mixture of efficient compact fluorescents, LED and metal halide. All appliances used are EnergyStar, gas is used instead of electricity for water heating, all shower water is filtered and all cleaning products are phosphate free, biodegradable and VOC free. As guests depart, they are sure to be thinking Uhmahhhh.

Uhma Spa & Shop is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Located on South Beach at 726 6th Street (between Euclid and Meridian Avenues). Metered parking available. Residents living on South Beach can either arrive by bicycle or by using the South Beach Local (25 cents a ride) which picks up every 10-15 minutes along Washington Avenue and Alton Road Monday-Saturday from 7:45 a.m.-1 a.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Garage parking is also available at 6th Street and Washington Avenue (4 min walking, 2 blocks) or at 7th Street and Washington Avenue (5 min walking, 2.5 blocks).

For questions or to book a treatment please call 305-695-0996 or visit www.uhmanagri.com.
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