In this send:
Geothermal springs, Epsom salt, Jacuzzi, lithium, grounding, kidney stones, cystoscopy, CT, pelvic floor therapy, microneedling, PRP, Eric Nietzel, WSA, Sant Roch, sauna, cold plunge, Bal d’Afrique…
Hellooo, welcome to High Touch. In this month’s edition of In Vivo, me and my group chats cover a lot of ground from low, medium, and high-touch endeavors to squarely medical concerns. Vesper Ireland talks mineral absorption at hot springs on the side of the highway in rural Colorado, Gray Broderick—our resident Parisian lifestyle correspondent—is back with a report on Sant Roch, the city’s most talked-about sauna, and I share what I think is the most brilliant bang for your buck when it comes to microneedling with PRP.
Today, we also have our first anonymous contributor (I know this person personally but they have chosen not to identify themselves here), discussing their experience with kidney stone removal. It’s a degree removed from our usual beat, but feels just as important and likely relatable to readers who’ve struggled to get a diagnosis, jumped from second to third opinions and ultimately to the ER, and felt confused about pain and discomfort amid an incredibly healthy lifestyle.
Are you up to anything aesthetically or longevity-wise that would make a good fit for this vertical? Hit me up. But first, here’s what we’re spotting with LASIK’ed eyes and contemplating with nootropic’ed minds this week:
A touch of High Touch
The podcast mattress pad, Eight Sleep, is having a Labor Day sale that nets you $200 off its newest cooling mattress topper. Not to sound too Huberman, but I sleep on one of these and have seen my Oura ring data trend negatively whenever I travel and am not sleeping on it. It literally just cools you slightly throughout the night and yet it manages to have such a real impact.
Two new launches from prescription topicals company Musely: an Rx Sleep Well Cream with hydroxyzine, magnesium, and melatonin that you apply to your forearms and it…yes, improves your sleep (magic!). And the Peptide Serum, what it sounds like with copper peptides and metformin.
David Protein re-launches its Pumpkin Spice Gold Bar, which probably means something to erstwhile Starbucks Christian girls-cum-biohackers this fall, but what I really want to talk about is a new protein bar I found from Lineage Provisions. Its macros are nearly as good as David’s 28g protein to 150 cals (for the Gold Bar), at 20g protein at 175 cals, with all real-food organic ingredients. They taste much better, too.
We spoke last week about the spicules at the center of new brand Tome’s flagship product, and I’ve spotted them again in Typology’s Regenerating Micro-Spicule A63, freshly released. Tome calls spicules—microscopic “needles” that enhance skin permutation of collaborative ingredients—”the oldest new thing in skincare” and I think that’s just about right.
Low Touch
Penny hot springs in Aspen, CO
Wellness in the American West brings forth a landscape of extremes; holistic, often esoteric practices on one side, and artificial advancements on the other.
Deep in the West, away from the 5G, LTE (really any form of cell service) that connects us to constant self-assessment and the latest treatments or tweakments, there is a primitive version of wellness so raw and real that it feels unknown to modern society.
Enter: the geothermally heated, naturally mineral-rich pools seated in Coloradan backcountry. The original Epsom salt bath. Earth providing the blueprint for what we know and love as the Jacuzzi.
On a recent trip to Aspen (with Laura), we sought out a pristine roadside hot spring. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a small group of other travelers, clean but rudimentary surroundings, and deep, steamy pools. While most springs have been built around and “resortified,” this one felt like an untouched treasure.
I sat in the mineral-laden, 100°+ pools, in awe of the constant rushing stream of hot water, and eased into a state of relaxation usually only achievable via 90-minute massage.
Aside from the mental-health benefits of daytripping to a remote locale, magnesium, sodium, manganese, calcium, and lithium were among the trace minerals that we absorbed transdermally during our soak. Although some sources say that the benefits pale in comparison to an at-home magnesium bath, I felt otherwise after our experience. Perhaps the consistent grounding, fresh mountain air, and the straight-from-the-source minerals all blend together as a powerful, restorative force.
I left wondering when I might experience something like it again. There was nothing to upgrade, optimize, or improve upon; no amount of money could manufacture what the land had already perfected. It simply existed, untouched and complete, there for us to enjoy.
– Vesper Ireland
