Amarillo Spa and Massage

David Rabson at Therapeutic Massage Techniques choreographs slow waltzes with his fingers—strengthened by years of piano playing—his hands kneading sinews to bolster health and elicit relaxed sighs. At the clinic, which is nestled inside Perkins Family Chiropractic, Rabson aids spines with muscle-melting massage sessions and Swedish techniques. Therapeutic Massage Techniques also offers facial lifts, which stimulate collagen production, boost circulation, and make complexions glow more radiantly than a baby polar bear at a laser-light show.

Each professional at Bare Necessities boasts years of experience in services that range from aesthetics to skincare to hairstyling. Though refreshing facials are their specialty, the beauty experts also enhance bodies from head to toenail with services such as waxes and manicures. They also add a dash of relaxation to makeovers by seating clients in massage chairs surrounded by earth-toned walls, floral accents, and Technicolor geometric designs that double as instructions for making flightless paper airplanes.

When a person loses one sense, the need to compensate for its loss can actually increase the acuity of the four others. Such is the case with Aaron Reed, whose lack of eyesight has allowed him to develop other talents—most notably, his ability to listen. After spending six years as a motivational speaker and discovering a passion for working with and helping others, Reed began practicing massage therapy. Today, he continues to draw on his uniquely perceptive sense of touch to unwind muscular tension and soothe bodily aches.

Reed has mastered Swedish, deep-tissue, trigger-point, and Thai massage and blends these modalities in custom massages geared toward his client’s specific needs. To get to know these needs a little better, he begins each visit with a 15-minute consultation. Then, he invites clients to relax in a private room suffused with the aromas of scented candles. Clients can request to play music of their own or simply relax to a soundtrack of birds chirping, trees rustling in the wind, and sore muscles howling at the moon.

Licensed massage therapist Matthew Harter helps alleviate his clients’ discomfort from muscular knots, kinks, and tightness. Through therapeutic massage, he helps them break free of muscle tension while combating the seeds of chronic pain and tightness. His relaxation and hot-stone massages elicit blissful looseness in the body, feelings of well-being, and aid in relief from stress. Athletes and clients who enjoy active lifestyles can also enlist Matthew for a sports massage, which can help the body excel on the field or court or at the off-track-betting window.

Accomplished cosmetologist Nalini Patel helms her eponymous day spa, a technology-driven beauty center that earned the distinction of CityVoter's Best Day Spa in 2009. Genial employees use their indoor voices to welcome clients into the spacious, wood-floored spa, where private treatment rooms and manicure chairs shaped to resemble cupped hands promise a relaxing experience. Along with familiar day-spa offerings, skilled beauticians wield advanced prettifying technologies (among them, infrared wraps and micropigmentation hair simulation) to help clients achieve their desired appearance. Patel also applies permanent makeup, which reduces the duration of morning beauty routines and can convey a variety of emotions without intrusive mental effort.

Since graduating from the ACE School of Massage Therapy, licensed massage therapist Adriene Marcos has focused her sights on eliminating muscle aches and helping clients achieve deeper levels of relaxation. At her independent practice, Adriene cultivates blood circulation with long, flowing Swedish strokes, and accesses deeply rooted hurts with trigger-point deactivation techniques. After tight sinews soften beneath the polished heat of a hot-stone massage, clients can request deep-tissue kneading to remove tension from muscles or free a pet genie from the confines of its cramped bottle.