European Day Spa of Fredericksburg

When Carissa Ballard was a little girl, she revamped her dolls' hairdos and slathered her brothers' faces with her own special concoctions. Her youthful experiments gave way to an interest in alternative health and herbology and eventually led her to become a registered massage therapist with specialties in lymphatic drainage, reiki, and craniosacral therapy. When she isn’t honing her massage talents in educational courses and apprenticeships, Carissa volunteers her skills as a clinical aesthetician to organizations such as Look Good...Feel Better, a nonprofit dedicated to boosting the self-esteem of cancer and burn survivors.

With such a diverse skill set, Carissa needed a place where she could consolidate all of her talents under one roof. Thus, she opened European Day Spa of Fredericksburg in 1998. As its name implies, the spa invokes the most luxurious corners of Europe, from the opulent interiors of Paris to the plush kneading tables of a Roman pizzeria. Its slate of skin-therapy and body treatments includes spa packages with add-ons such as carriage rides and rooftop wine preludes.