Alpine, CA Spa and Massage

Like a professor knowledgeable on tulip mania, alien black oil, and a myriad of seemingly esoteric subjects, Massage Envy's certified body therapists ably converse with the gamut of muscle ailments. They'll unravel tense coils of accumulated inner stress through a perfectly catered treatment for individual clients' needs. Swedish massages offer gentle rubbing for muscular soothing and improved circulation, whereas reflexology focuses on a patient's crawling paddles, delivering relief to hands and feet to extend goodwill throughout the entire body. A prenatal massage is ideal for expecting mothers who could use a little relief from carrying another person inside them, and a sports massage provides tension relief and injury prevention for an athlete's body.

At Spa 33, each staff member plays a specific role in the spa’s healing and beautifying disciplines, from custom massages to aesthetics and makeup application. Clients in need of a massage can match their needs with one of four massage therapists, all of whom are identified on the website by their general degree of massage pressure on a scale of 1–10. Using this scale, clients can seek out a therapist who can offer a gliding, gentle massage or one who breaks up muscle knots and tendons in mid-clash. In addition to massages, complexion-beautifying spa services draw from ingredients known to have healing properties, such as pumpkin and European roses. The spa offers extended hours on Thursday and Friday, and appointments can be booked online.

Amid a background of soft music and dimmed lighting, ERoma Skin Care and Day Spa's skin specialists administer soothing spa treatments designed to revitalize and restore. Essential oils, heated stones, and focused pressure bring the body to a state of total bliss during relaxing and therapeutic massages. Licensed aestheticians lavish faces with skin treatments that feature cameos from mineral-rich vitamins and masks, and vichy showers in the wet treatment room rain warm water on the body as specialists apply body wraps and dry brushes to disarm overprotective 'Mom' tattoos. The body's outer perimeters, meanwhile, emerge fully groomed after a date with a hairstylist or nail technician, and spa packages welcome clients for extended stays that include a buffet of invigorating body and skincare services.

Sandi Carr-Calderone opened There She Glows! Day Spa with one main goal in mind: give her guests a spa experience to remember. She and a small staff of two—a massage therapist and an aesthetician—start the serenity as soon as clients walk in, encouraging them to leave their cares, cellphones, and shrieking imaginary friends at the door. From there, Sandi creates a relaxing experience by pampering clients with facials, massages, and body waxing. All of the services take place in a spa lushly decorated with hardwood curio cabinets, flowing greenery, and wall sconces that create a warm ambiance. Those who find themselves not wanting to leave can take a little bit of There She Glows! home with them: the spa sells its own proprietary, botanically-based line of skin care products.

Once Victoria DeJohnette became a licensed aesthetician, she immediately set her sights on her sister, who battled ever-worsening rosacea for years. "Her rosacea was at the fourth stage—the point where you get welts, a lot of acne, and a lot of congestion that gets out from the skin," she says, adding that many people never reemerge from that stage. Drastically, she decided to try resurfacing treatments. The progress was gradual, but the change was dramatic. Today, Victoria says, "you would never even know that she had rosacea."

That experience fueled Victoria's interest in the medical side of skincare, focusing on rosacea, aging, and acne. Though her pale green room tucked inside JDM Salon is serene, especially with its billowy curtains and flickering candles, she says her treatments are a far cry from spa facials. "It's more like coming to a doctor's office, only in a salon atmosphere," she says. She focuses on resurfacing skin with peels and diamondbrasion—a skin-resurfacing treatment using a microdermabrasion machine that's modified with tiny, diamond-cut bumps on its nozzles. She uses only pharmaceutical products during her procedures and hosts detailed consultations that include advice on what kind of diet is best for skin.

As her clients come back for treatments, Victoria notices the lines on their face softening, the size of their pores shrinking, and their skin's tone evening. She says that though it may not happen overnight, with a combination of home care and professional work, skincare transformation is possible. It's these transformations, like her sister's, that make her job worthwhile. "That's why I'm in business," Victoria says. "That's why I'm satisfied."

Tova Galgut of Tova’s Beautique & Wellness Center enlists her triple-threat credentials as a massage therapist, aesthetician, and electrologist to heal and beautify clients from the inside out. The tissue mender uses a slew of massage modalities, from deep-tissue kneads to hand-and-foot reflexology, to create custom massage recipes that fit each of her client’s needs. As an aesthetician, Tova rejuvenates visages with cleansing European facials and acne treatments designed specifically for teenage skin. The beauty purveyor also attacks unwanted fuzz with swift face and body waxings or suggests a more permanent solution in the form of electrolysis, which permanently wards off growing hair no matter the phase of the moon.