Beauty & Spas in Carver

Avalanches of tension once spilled over Jennifer Stogryn's neck and shoulders, causing debilitating headaches that plagued her for years. Relief didn't come from pain-masking medications or wearing really soft hats, but from the healing touch of holistic bodywork. With her discovery of the therapy's potentially life-changing effects, she went on to learn the techniques herself by studying at the DoveStar Institute. After receiving hands-on training in Swedish, Kriya, reflexology, and hot-stone bodywork, Jennifer furthered her studies with a yearlong intensive in the art of Reiki—an energy-based treatment designed to realign the body's pathways—and is now a Reiki Master. Jennifer also manipulates the delicate auras herself, balancing inner energies through light touches in an effort to optimize health and happiness. During other bodywork, she focuses on basic bodily ailments in hot-stone, Amma deep-tissue, and pregnancy massages that pair with stints on an Amethyst BioMat, which suffuses bodies with far-infrared rays to promote the purging of toxins and relief of pain.

While most kids hope to smell freshly baked cookies when they walk through the front door, Jannell Brown's two children may be more likely to arrive home to the fragrance of homemade soaps and bath bombs. Brown––a state-certified science teacher, massage therapist, and owner of the green-leaning Sol Spa––has been teaching kids and adults to concoct their own spa products for decades, and creates custom blended recipes for customers in her spa's onsite spathecary. She combines her signature sugar scrubs, herbal toning creams, and natural lotions with natural and organic potions from lines such as Pevonia, and blends them into indulgent treatments ranging from manicures and pedicures to massages that incorporate heated Cape Cod beach stones.

The spa's soothing services cater to the needs of kids, teens, and adults, and prompted the editors of Cape Cod Life magazine to call it the best day spa in the lower cape in 2010. The garden-like interior combines calming green plants and a peaceful, oceanside mural that doubles as a backdrop for impromptu revivals of South Pacific, while an in-house boutique brings the focus back inland by showcasing the work of local artisans.

Elizabeth Carroll struggled with skincare problems as a teenager and a young adult, inspiring her to experiment with different blemish-concealing makeup lines. She eventually began to figure out how the various products managed to provide coverage and block UV rays from the sun and low-flying spaceships without clogging pores. She applied this knowledge when designing her own foundations, highlight powders, and eye shadows, which consist of inert, vitamin-rich mineral compounds that contain no fragrances, synthetic colors, or petroleum-based products.

When she isn't designing new makeup formulas, Elizabeth lends her skills to Shear Inspiration Salon, working as an aesthetician. She exfoliates mugs with her signature dermaglow microdermabrasion treatments and performs custom facials that uniquely hydrate and cleanse.

The beauticians at Miss Mary Cosmetics & Day Spa perform facials, waxes, nail treatments, and lash-extension applications. The spa's brazilian manicures infuse nails with keratin to help moisturize hands and strengthen nails. During brazilian pedicures, clients slip on booties lined with a blend of six revitalizing moisturizers. Sundry waxing treatments for the face and body remove unwanted hair, a great way to prep for the beach or develop empathy for eggs.