Massage in Concord

Owner Ali Bourgault’s signature deep-tissue and energy-balancing massage is a sample of the services offered at A Healing Vibration. After softening recalcitrant muscles with a blend of deep-tissue and Swedish massage kneads, Ali targets deeper problems, recalibrating bodily energies with a multipart regimen that includes reiki, polarity therapy, a foot soak, and a chakra clearing. Bourgault—a licensed massage therapist who has received certification for holistic massage and deep-tissue therapy from Spa Tech Institute—employs this blend of traditional and unorthodox techniques to help alleviate her clients’ pain, stress, and fatigue. To complement her holistic ways, she also makes dream catchers, jewelry, and skincare products that are crafted from natural and organic ingredients whenever possible.

Divine Skin Care's licensed aesthetician, Debby Farley, has 30 years of industry experience, which she calls upon when administering chemical peels, facials, and skincare treatments that combat everything from acne to signs of aging. Facials bolster clients' complexions with nourishing blends of vitamins and hydrating treatments, and microdermabrasion treatments help stimulate collagen production and reduce wrinkles.

The "five" in Five At Peace Massage Studio represents the five senses, each of which is systematically awakened during the spa's sumptuous facial, massage, and body treatments. The sounds of classical music, rhythmic beats, and crashing waves suffuse the treatment rooms and lobby with their calming, mesmeric influence, encouraging clients to begin the relaxation process like a starting gun loaded with aromatherapeutic blanks. A complimentary glass of tea, coffee, or wine fills the nose and taste buds as the liquids energize and relax in preparation for the spa pampering ahead. As an aesthetician performs decadent coffee- or chocolate-infused body treatments, clients breathe in the sweet and smoky aromas and unspool tension while their skin is exfoliated and plumped with moisture. Exotic massages spur achy muscles toward healing, including sports-specific therapies and a Thai herbal compress, during which the massage therapist applies cloth soaked in a warm herbal mixture to the joints to help boost mobility by easing swelling and loosening too-tight connective tissue. Aestheticians turn their healing hands to the face, where rhythmic cleansing can work to purge congested skin during the detoxifying facial, or bring back a youthful glow during treatments such as the caviar-and-pearl facial, a favorite with clients showing signs of aging or turning into a sea lion.

A licensed aesthetician and nail technician, owner Cris-Anne works alongside stylists and a massage therapist to attend to all of clients' indulgence needs. Certified in sugaring techniques, Cris-Anne uproots unwanted strands with an all-natural sugar paste devoid of the harsh chemicals, resins, and bumblebee dander that's found in many waxes. Stylists evict dead ends and dull colors in the salon; in the spa section, aestheticians cleanse and exfoliate faces, and expert kneaders force chronic pains to leave the body.

Madeline, better known as Maddy around The Skin Renewal Studio, has worked as a certified massage therapist and aesthetician since 1982. Her decades of experience with skin- and bodycare become obvious as she unfurls a range of beauty and massage services for clients. She uses bioelectric rejuvenation to erase fine lines and contour the skin during nonsurgical face-lifts; waxes unwanted hair from the face and body; and alleviates aches, pains, and stress with soothing deep-tissue, Swedish, and raindrop-therapy massage treatments.

Despite excelling in the world of beauty and massage therapy, Maddy has proudly declined to park herself on her laurels. Currently training to become a personal coach, she hopes to help clients cultivate a sense of inner strength by realizing what she’s known all along: beauty starts from the inside, but that doesn’t mean you should swallow makeup. Her studio even symbolizes this notion. The interior drips with aesthetic splendor in the form of hardwood floors, dark wooden tables, plush salmon-colored chairs, intricately patterned rugs, and plants and flowers.

It looks a little like a remote control standing on two short legs, but the PulStar device is designed to gently align spinal segments. At East Coast Chiropractic, Doctors April and John Kosinski rely on this device when correcting subluxations in the spine that can lead to a host of ailments. They prefer this technological method above traditional hands-on adjustments for its gentleness; the PulStar involves no harsh cracking or neck popping.