Without spas, terrycloth bathrobes would have to make ends meet by taking part-time jobs as car-wash rags and Muppets. Help keep bathwear gainfully employed with this Groupon.
$60 for $120 Worth of Spa Services
Expert hands rejuvenate skin and muscle with 90-minute age-defying facials ($125) and relaxing 60-minute Swedish massages ($85). The full spa menu also includes waxing ($12–$90) and Shellac nail-polish treatments ($45 for hands; $65 for feet).
Aqua the Day Spa
It's quiet in Aqua the Day Spa. No cell phones or pagers are allowed to remain active in either of the two locations, so all you hear is your pulse slowing to a steady, soothing beat and the tiny noises made as expert hands open bottles of designer beauty products. Open since 1998, owners Susan and Ralph Barnette struck the right, Enya-like chord in 2003, when they first earned the title of Best Day Spa in the Jackson Free Press's annual "Best Of" roundup. The team of aestheticians and massage therapists have swept that title every year since, deflating the competition in proportion to lifting spirits. Paraben-free Skin Authority and scented Tokyomilk tonics nourish skin with vitamin-rich Moroccan clay and soothing mango, or exfoliate dead cells with bamboo salves scented with ylang-ylang. The staff's nimble hands blend these into custom treatments, including those to combat aging and the strange shadows creeping over men's skin, and work aromatherapeutic elixirs into muscles with nine different massage modalities. OPI and Shellac nail polish transform hands and feet into fashion accessories, a project helped along by smoothing wax.