Cortland, NY Spa and Massage

Rooted in the ancient salt chambers of Eastern European, Salt Sanctuary helps heal the body through exposure to a sterile and unique microclimate. Guests spend a soothing spell in either the rustic salt cave or the modernly appointed salt room, breathing in a safe and non-allergenic atmosphere that helps ease the symptoms of allergies, respiratory illnesses, and skin conditions. Salt Sanctuary’s cave boasts heated floors, reclining chairs, and a soothing in-room sounds system while the salt room includes a coffered ceiling and decorative, Himalayan-salt finished walls.

Tonia Reed's first salon was modest. With only two stations and one other stylist, the beauty specialist found that her burgeoning skills and thriving client base were becoming too much for the space to handle. In 2004, she became enamored of a large Victorian-style home, and the site of In Vogue Salon & Spa was born. Decked in stately chandeliers and dark-wood bureaus, the salon surrounds its experienced hair, skin, and massage professionals with the same vintage inspiration that originally took hold of its owner. Clients take in a cup of flavored coffee or tea before basking in a massage or facial in a private treatment room or gazing into gilded mirrors as stylists sculpt locks and enrich them with vibrant colors. To polish the rest of clients' statures, technicians wax away unwanted hair and pull from a shelf of OPI products to groom and shape fingernails before they start biting themselves.

Blissful Beauty Bar owner Amber Leigh Cole has worked her glamorizing magic on faces and bodies across the country, bringing the success of her original Salt Lake City eye bar––Blissfuleigh Iced––to sister locations in New York. Amber is a certified eyelash-extension specialist and a master aesthetician; her employees all boast similar certifications, and undergo an intensive three-month training before getting the go ahead to enhance exteriors with microdermabrasion, slimming body wraps, and airbrush tanning. House-specialty eyelash extensions are applied individually to the natural lashes, making lash lines look fuller and flirtier without dressing them up in mascara or low-cut cocktail dresses. The team can also dip lashes in a hard coating that adds drama and thickness for four–six weeks, applying it to natural lashes or as an extra enhancer to bottom extensions.

One look at Brittany Sirota's resumé confirms her extensive knowledge of the body's inner workings: between earning a national-board certification and state massage licenses in both New York and Maryland, she somehow found the time to also become a certified personal trainer. Brittany puts all of that knowledge to good use at Solace Healing, where she soothes bodily aches and pains with custom massage techniques, holistic energy treatments, and taps of poetic Morse code. When she isn't untying knotted muscles, Brittany works them out during personal-training sessions that tone the body's contours and promote flexibility.