Beauty & Spas in Concord

Throughout her personal-training career, Vikki Artuso always longed to start her own gym. With the help of her brother, an army veteran, she opened Better Body Women's Fitness with the goal of offering women a relaxed environment with plenty of resources to get fit. Today, she channels 20 years as a professional trainer with her experiences as a wife and mother into equipping her gym to welcome all women, whether they're new to fitness or looking to push themselves further. When ladies walk into Vikki's fitness center, they don't have to fend for themselves. The staff is on hand to answer questions, provide guidance, and help them learn to use the cardio equipment, weight machines, free weights, or cable machines. Vikki, Joy, and a team of instructors also lead group classes that get students swinging kettlebells, hustling to step aerobics, and furiously pedaling spin bikes away from the motorcycle class that takes place one room back. In addition to coaching one-on-one workouts, personal trainers also help their clients meet their fitness goals with nutrition guidance tailored to their lifestyles. Complimentary childcare hours enable clients to focus on reaching their sweat quotas as their kids do activities, play games, and put together puzzles in a space with a window for them to see the gym. There is also a separate room for infants, who prefer to lift weights alone.

Elements Salon and Day Spa represents the power of community. Its staff is comprised of independent specialists, all of whom continue to hone their talents in a shared space—a quaint salon that, on the outside, resembles a house on a small hill. Its team members combine their skill sets into a melting pot of cosmetic services that include precision haircuts, color services with Goldwell products, and special-occasion updos. Meanwhile, a nail technician prepares digits for vigorous handshakings with mani-pedis and acrylics and a waxing specialist leaves skin smooth and fuzz-free.

Given their emphasis on collaboration and solidarity, it's no surprise that the staff of Elements Salon and Day Spa also host benefits for the community at large. For example, they raise funds for breast-cancer awareness through an annual bake sale, where they dole out desserts, cotton candy, and discounted pink hair extensions.

At Bliss Beauty Lounge, bliss is genuinely a priority––each salon service comes with a luxurious scalp and temple massage, free of charge. However, beauty is an equally high priority for owner and stylist Natasha Miller. She specializes in edgy, razored pixies and precision color, and by collaborating with aesthetician Egypt Alston, she has created a salon with options beyond hair treatments. The team strips away unwanted stubble with custom waxes, for example, and enhances eyes with eyelash extensions, rather than by shrinking eyeballs.

Within the cream and burgundy oasis that is Euphoria Body Salon, a team of beautifiers with more than 50 years of combined experience get to work primping, pampering, and painting. Nail technicians administer mani-pedis decadent enough to warrant names like "whipped strawberry," handing each client a glass of bubbly before massaging hands and slicking them with polish. Dermaplane facials resurface tired façades, and hairstylists cut and color the coifs of women, men, and children.

Stationed inside the tranquil Crescent Heights Hair Design studio, stylist Tonya Hatley cares for clients' hair and nails. She colors strands with eye-catching highlights, snips tresses into stylish coifs, and texturizes locks with perms and beach-wave curling treatments. She also puts a bold twist on french manicures by tipping nails in bright colors, such as blue and red, and adding nail art.

Edie Toison has more than 30 years of experience in the beauty industry, which she pours into custom cuts and sleek blowouts at her eponymous salon. Edie lends the space a homey feel, too, bringing in occasional home-baked goodies—like peanut butter pound cake—for her clients.