Violet Johnson’s Wellness Spa, which operated in Willow Glen for nearly two decades, closed its doors last year. But now, it’s reopened just one block over under a new name.
Touch of London Wellness Spa, renamed in honor of the co-owner’s English upbringing, is now located at 1275 Lincoln Ave., suite 8, next door to CVS. Violet Johnson and her husband William Johnson have officially reopened the business after taking time away to cope with a family tragedy last July.
Johnson is a retired nurse, midwife and psychologist who spent decades delivering babies around the world while working at the World Health Organization. While overseas for work, she met William, a U.S. Airforce pilot, and the two eventually married and moved to the U.S. After delivering more than 2,000 babies, Violet grew weary of nursing and decided to turn her focus to a topic that had always fascinated her: skin.
She began her training in cosmetology and massage therapy. She found that certain skills she had used in her nursing career, like using aromatherapy to calm her patients and identifying potentially dangerous skin conditions, proved useful to her in her new career. One of her main goals as a former nurse is to change people’s perceptions of a spa from a place of luxury to a place that can actually improve their mental and physical health.
“Because we’re so inundated with spas (in San Jose), people have no real idea what they can do for their bodies,” Johnson said. “As a nurse, I know the anatomy and physiology. If your skin is glowing and healthy, it gives you more energy, more confidence. And at the same time, it’s important to know the skin.”
She also noted that certain ideas about spas—that they’re only for women or certain skin types—don’t hold water. “We are a multicultural spa,” she said. “Anyone who walks through our doors—it doesn’t matter if they’re from Norway or Africa—we know their skin.”
The spa provides massages, facials and other skincare treatments, and she’s hoping to expand into areas like infant massage classes and hypnotherapy, both of which she’s trained to do. In the past, the spa employed a plastic surgeon who has since retired, but the spa is hoping to refill that position in the future.
Johnson said this holistic approach is an investment, which she likens to a healthy diet, but it’s also a way to stimulate the body and release waves of endorphins.
“So in a way, a spa treatment is an escape without getting on a flight,” Johnson said.
Johnson and her husband chose to reopen in Willow Glen largely to continue their annual charity work in the community. Every year, the spa helps put on two charitable events to benefit cancer research and the homeless population. The spa gives free therapeutic massages and facials, and gathers donations of skincare products and toys for children at homeless shelters. Other cosmetologists and hair tylists from around the city join in to help out.
“It’s just to give people a boost,” Johnson said.
Johnson and her husband, who has been a deep-tissue massage therapist for 20 years, are working to settle in to their upstairs new space in their building. She said it’s a gradual process, but they’re planning to host a grand reopening within the coming months.
