Davidson, NC Spa and Massage

Our Segway-plagued, Twitterfried, modern hyper-world has stress levels at an all-time scientific high. With today's Groupon, treat yourself to a relaxing two-course beauty menu of delicious pampering procedures. For $45, you'll rest cozily like a beauty burrito in an herbal wrap and then get kneaded like sugar-cookie dough with a custom massage of your choice at Essential Kneads Therapeutic Massage Center, a $90 value. You'll also receive 10% off any other service or gift certificate on the day of redemption.

Zen Massage's licensed therapists run their nimble fingers across backs and shoulders, healing fatigued muscles with eight massage modalities inspired by Eastern and Western traditions. While gliding strokes promote overall relaxation, firm taps hone in on stubborn knots in upper backs and rough-hewn peg legs. Zen Swedish and deep-tissue massages penetrate muscles with varying degrees of pressure, and neuromuscular therapy stimulates specific trigger points to call a truce between bickering body systems. A reiki energy treatment or blend of pure, essential aromatherapy oils coddles the senses while soothing strokes bring peace to beleaguered muscles.

Abi Goldberg wanted to open her own spa to honor her entrepreneurial father's memory after he passed away. In 2012, Abi used her family's business instincts to rebrand her salon. Chroma, formerly La Chique, now features industrial chic decor with aqua-colored accents for a more modern, serene setting. Clients can still count on pampering Image Skincare facials and customized cuts, as well as wine and beer to sip or pour out in respect for recently lost locks. Abi also maintains the boutique's stock of handcrafted jewelry and accessories she personally selects from expos in New York and Atlanta.

While a husband’s compliment may turn his wife’s day around, very rarely does it turn into a business. But that’s what happened when Pat Helmandollar’s husband called her a savvy business woman. Since 1967, Helmandollar has used her beauty savvy to work inside salons, own three businesses, teach stylists from all over the world, and helm a team of licensed beauty professionals.

Stylists cut and color hair or add texture, hair extensions, or hair tinsel that decorates strands and gives cats something else to eat. Alternatively, estheticians can remove tension in the face with heated basalt stones and cold marble stones or render a customized chemical peel to get rid of dead skin cells and smoothen skin. Massage therapists balance chakras by blending visualization and touch or add luxury to massages by laying down a literal bed of roses for clients to rest upon in candlelight, rather than the more common industrial torch light used in other salons.

Aside from using their relaxation- and beauty-inducing treatments as a tonic for stress, the salon and day spa also contributes to non-profit causes. Savvy makes donations to the Make A Wish Foundation and rewards clients who give more than $5 worth of monetary or toy donations by entering them into a drawing for one gratis service per month for an entire year.

Skewed chakras can settle back into place at Cora Bella's Aveda Salon & Spa, where chakra-balancing Aveda services pamper both muscles and nails. Deep-tissue and foot reflexology work augment meditative prompts during a chakra-balancing massage, whereas focused kneads and soothing aromas accompany the chakra-themed hand and foot treatments. These calming offerings, in addition to other styles such as the fusion stone massage, strive to restore serenity in body and thought.

Meanwhile, junior and senior stylists in the salon reshape 'dos into sleek or voluminous arrangements. They oversee perms, applications of color, and careful trims, as well as nourishing add-ons of botanical Aveda hair and scalp therapies.

The staff at Simply Sassy Kids Spa knows that children aren't immune to stress, whether it's caused by school, sports, or convincing their parents to eat broccoli. That's why its colorful, pastel-hued salon aims to relax young girls and instill them with positive self-images. They accomplish this through services that add kid-friendly touches to spa classics, such as mani-pedis with bubblegum hand soaks and fizzy, ice-cream-scented footbaths. The pint-sized pamperings—which also include updos and makeup application—delight girls during everyday visits as well as parties, which let kids nibble cupcakes atop cushy beanbag chairs.