This New Wellness Escape Has Sound Therapy, Facials, and Tea Meditation — With Stunning Views of the California Desert

Her linen dress swaying in the wind, Patricia Vernhes drew a bath in a small tub overlooking the Morongo Basin, in the desert near Joshua Tree, California. Beside the tub were 20 quartz singing bowls, and all around were sweeping views of the boulders of Pipes Canyon. 

Vernhes is the founder of the skin-care brand and wellness retreat Mojave Desert Skin Shield. But her life didn’t always look this serene. Until 2015, she was a pop singer and songwriter making her mark on the London music scene. “Leaving the business didn’t mean leaving the love of sound,” she says. “Acoustics and the therapeutic potential of music have always been my passions.” 

After studying ayurvedic yoga therapy and apprenticing at Integratron — Joshua Tree’s fabled sound-bath temple — Vernhes moved to the area permanently and opened the retreat. After finding that her skin suffered in the harsh desert environment, she had the idea to launch a product line geared toward people in dry climates. Vernhes now offers à la carte experiences, including sound therapy, a 100-minute fascial massage, and tea meditation. Treatments incorporate her signature products, like the Nourishing Oil, a blend of camellia oil, avocado, parsley seed, sea buckthorn, and other botanicals. 

Last month, Vernhes, who now has a second practice in Los Angeles, launched the first of what she calls “integrated wellness retreats,” which can host up to eight guests for a four-night immersion. The program includes many of her regular offerings, plus infrared therapy, hikes to the nearby mesas, and Pilates. “The desert is like a blank canvas,” Vernhes says. “It allows focus and clarity. I call it ‘mental hygiene.’ ”

Experiences at Mojave Desert Skin Shield from $175; four-night retreats from $1,200.

A version of this story first appeared in the April 2024 ssue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "Good Vibrations."