By Ray Rogers
There are cleanses—and there are cleanses. What’s on offer at We Care Spa in Palm Desert is no mere lightweight seasonal reset: This nutritive liquid fast goes far beyond the usual clearing away of sugar, caffeine, alcohol, gluten and processed foods, employing daily colonics to really purge whatever’s been stuck. It’s an intense protocol, but highly effective. I came out feeling refreshed and reinvigorated—and rededicated to overall health.
If you don’t have excess weight to lose, you won’t see much of a difference on the scale. If, like me, you go in carrying a mini muffin top, you’ll see serious results. I lost 8 pounds and kept most of it off. But that’s just a surface-level result. This program has done far more for a discrete, devoted clientele over the past four decades since Susana Belen first started We Care Spa in 1986 after seeing a dramatic turnaround in her own health, thanks to a holistic program of juice fasting and colonics.
This not-so-secret spot where Hollywood stars go to slim down quickly and reset—Liv Tyler and Matt Bomer are devotees—is also a place of deep, transformative healing. Some come as a last resort when dealing with serious illness, others to kick-start a healthy new path. The week I was here, I attended a communal fire ceremony with a mother and her two charming 20-something kids, who were here for a week of healthy family bonding. A pair of best friends make an annual pilgrimage from the Southwest to recharge—one was there to help her stay on the course of sobriety. I also met a woman who came here to slim down to fit into a wedding dress when she was in her 20s, returned after a cancer diagnosis later in life, and is now a regular.
Many repeat clients use it as an annual reset. It’s easy to see why people keep coming back. As you enter the secluded desert oasis, a short drive from the Palm Springs airport, the scent of jasmine wafts on the wind, and little desert hares hop down the manicured pathways. If you come in a rare desert rainstorm, as I did, you’ll be immersed in the earthy, musky scent of the creosote tree—rainfall triggers the release of the powerful fragrance from its resinous leaves.
There’s a deeply calming energy every which way you turn. On its grounds, you’ll come across a beautiful walking labyrinth, designed to realign both hemispheres of the brain. Go down another path, and you’ll find the infrared sauna and the cold outdoor shower.
The protocol of the nutritive fast and daily colonics is no joke, but you adjust quickly as your body learns to go with the flow. I’ll admit I was worried I couldn’t make it through the week, so I stashed away emergency supplies in my carry-on: instant mushroom coffee, protein bars, mixed nuts, and a small amount of dark chocolate, not to mention some THC sleep gummies. I didn’t use any of it. I felt plenty nourished from the daily detox shakes, blood-purifying and liver/kidney-supportive teas, fresh green and carrot juices, and nightly pureed organic vegetable soup dinners, spruced up with curry powder and other spices kept in the cupboards.
Throughout the days, guests are also fortified by excellent daily yoga, lymphatic and deep tissue massages, and informative nutrition and wellness workshops, many of which are still led by Belen, the indefatigable 87-year-old founder of We Care. Long before the space became a luxury haven, the lobby of the current resort was once Belen’s modest living room, where early clients convened for workshops.
It’s not just about weight loss here; overall physical, mental and spiritual health is examined and nurtured throughout a stay at We Care. The program is about healing—not fitness—with an emphasis on rest and meditation. You could fill your days with fortifying activities, from leisurely desert hikes to laps in the outdoor heated pool, to any number of healing modalities on offer. I barely had enough time to squeeze in the daily protocol of jumping on the mini trampoline outside my suite or standing on the oscillating plate in the gym—an experience that brought to mind Lucy and Ethel’s weight-loss shenanigans.
I had a profound acupuncture session for heart opening and welcoming in love. The expert practitioner, Bill Bastian of Fulcrum Wellness, arranged needles in triangles across my back, strategically placed as if to open my wings, he told me. One was centered on D4, which he informed me is “the gateway to the kingdom.” Others formed a shape he called “Stroking the Dragon’s Tail.” 
I felt tended to and cared for throughout the stay, thanks to the many incredible wellness practitioners on the We Care team, who helped guide me on this journey. Particularly powerful were nutritional and life coaching sessions with Bridgette Becker—who suggested a four-day gallbladder and liver flush while here to further rid the body of toxins—and a biofeedback reading with Jesse Jordan, who tested for mold, heavy metals and pesticides, among others (thankfully, I was in good shape across the board), and gave me specific pointers on how best to handle a few minor health issues from the reading.
The hydro-colon therapists all made the week’s more delicate experiences go smoothly with professionalism and a healthy sense of humor (shout-out to Mitzi for her caring presence and droll asides). A facialist named Nancy—who looked like the fountain of youth personified—made my skin positively beam, working with all-natural Agent Nateur products. Yoga sessions with a teacher named Yogini Brittany, who draws inspiration from the ancient Egyptians in her Kemetic Yoga-informed classes, felt empowering and strengthening. As I told one particularly strong and intuitive massage therapist, Nicole, after a thorough session that left me in a state of bliss: “You’re a goddess and you made me feel like a god.”
I wasn’t the only satisfied customer. There were laughs and camaraderie shared with people from many walks of life–including some super-driven tech and wellness entrepreneurs and everyday kindhearted folks working hard to heal themselves. On my last day, I met a guest named Heather from Laguna Beach, who was midway through a 16-day stay, her fourth trip to We Care. “At first I thought the name of the place was sort of corny,” she admitted, “but once you get here and do the program, you realize the name actually suits the place—they really do care.” wecarespa.com