VALENTINE?S DAY SHOULD not be an exclusive celebration for couples; but I remember being single with people throwing glances of pity my way since I was dateless for Feb. 14.

Single women should not let this treatment get to them. They should gather up their happily single lady friends for a weekend of beauty and wellness.

They may also relish quiet time for themselves and go for a massage and a slew of beauty treatments that are long overdue.

Curl up with a good book. In this case, my book recommendation for February is ?Wellness on the Islands: The Philippine Spa Experience? (P1,699 at Fully Booked), written by Elizabeth Reyes, author of ?25 Tropical Houses in the Philippines,? with photos by Italian photographer Luca Tettoni.

The book is a guidebook on wellness destinations. It talks about the different therapies, massages and treatments such as ventosa or mud therapy, and the spa clinics that specialize in them. Buying this book in advance will help you plot your gang?s weekend spa getaway.

Make reservations if you are a big group. Go for foot reflexology and dive into a slew of massage treatments. If you are staying in Manila I recommend Neo Spa?s Detox massage, The Spa and Philosophy by Mikaela?s ventosa.

Go for general personal cleaning. It?s the women?s version of a man cleaning up his car. Personally, I spend up to seven hours in a skin clinic or a salon where I emerge squeaky clean, relaxed and ready to sleep.

This may be the perfect time to squeeze everything in. My favorite skin clinics: Belo for body scrub with bleach, Obagi Oxygen facial, Firm Plus and Belo Shape; Aesthetic Science for body scrub with massage and bleach, glutathione injections, Refirme and warts removal; and Godiva Skin Station for diamond peel for face, neck and back.

The beauty salon is my favorite temple of transformation. Take out your pad and make a checklist of things you need done. I suggest you bring your snacks and food because it may take the whole day.

Remember not to be too impulsive with the styling as the resultant mistake will linger long after the weekend is over. I know how girls can talk each other into doing something crazy like shaving their head, going super short or getting a mohawk at a particular atmosphere.

Going crazy with the hair extensions can get you deep into debt as it ranges from P15,000 for very few basic strands and can go up to P200,000 for the Rapunzel and Lady Godiva mode. Dreadlocks, if you are a corporate girl, would be a big waste of money as well.

Wax unwanted hair on the upper lip, underarm, legs, arms and go all out with a Brazilian bikini wax. Have eyebrows professionally threaded or groomed.

Have a foot spa with pedicure and paint those toes a sexy or any crazy color you always wanted to try like royal purple or vampire red. That goes for your hands too.

Change your hairstyle but don?t do anything too drastic. Just have a trim or add strategically placed bold highlights to frame your face.

Try out the permanent blow-dry perm so you need not worry about styling your hair for the next three months. You literally fall out of bed looking groomed and great.

Permanent Blowdry is offered in Basement Salon Power Plant Mall, Makati, and Shangri-La Edsa, Mandaluyong; Park Jun, Glorietta, Makati; and Louis Philippe Kee, One McKinley, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

E-mail the author at kinnysalas@ yahoo.com