At Morningstar Healing Center, muted lighting and soft music work in unison to create an oasis from the outside world. In a tranquil and calming atmosphere, the staffers work to relax and beautify the body with a range of services for the corpus and face. They specialize in seven types of massage, including exotic treatments such as Polynesian massage, which combines pressure from the hands, thumbs, and forearms with soothing coconut oil. They also smooth faces with microdermabrasion and facials that harness the power of vitamins and special antioxidants to help reduce wrinkles and obscure fine lines.
Zen Massage’s friendly licensed therapists knead muscles back into doughy bliss with 80 minutes of connective strokes. Swedish massage is one of the most popular types of knead, stimulating circulation and reducing emotional and physical stress by melting tense muscles like the sun melts scoops of ice cream. Each massage is customized to patient preferences, so therapists can use light, medium, or firm pressure. Hot stones placed along stressed areas allow for the release of deeply buried tension, while aromatherapy uses blended essential oils to calm the senses. At the close of the massage, therapists wrap customers in hot towels, allowing the sultry heat to melt newly-plied muscles into non-hydrogenated muscle butter.
The certified stylists at Lashful frame eyes with mink lashes to achieve looks ranging from elegant to seductive. Their uncanny attention to detail comes in handy during extension applications, when they meticulously attach each artificial lash to a real one to achieve the most natural look possible. Sensitive eyes need not wince in fear, as the adhesive material with which they apply lashes is specially formulated to not perturb the eye with harsh irritants or teasing optical illusions. The stylists also dip natural lashes in a semipermanent tint that—much like the extensions—gives eyes the glamorous look of freshly applied mascara.
Sunlight filters in through Scandalous Hair Studio & Spa’s two walls of windows, illuminating the intimate boutique so that it stands out amid the other neighborhood stores. Perched on the corner, the all-purpose salon and spa greets visitors with an exposed brick wall that gives way to a row of styling stations where stylists pace around salon chairs as they plan out customized haircuts and color treatments.
Just a few yards away but a world removed from the lively bustle of the salon floor, aestheticians stationed in private treatment rooms cultivate glowing complexions with Wilma Schumann skincare products. Among the most popular spa services, aromatherapy massages melt away stress, and European facials fight signs of aging, acne, and embarrassing face-plant dives off the Eiffel Tower.
The proprietors of Gleason Wellness and Rehabilitation Center believe that however predisposed the body is toward wellness, it often becomes blocked by age, stress, and unavoidable external forces. Surgery is a common answer to health concerns, but it may not be the right one. That’s why Dr. Gleason’s licensed therapists offer less-invasive avenues to attain wellness, such as acupuncture, physical therapy, and private chiropractic care.
Helmed by Bena B. Won, a registered nurse and acupuncturist who blends Eastern and Western beauty practices, Sunrise Alternative Medical Clinic and its sister practice, Sunrise MedSpa, help patrons increase health and achieve individual cosmetic goals. The clinic’s diverse service menu runs the gamut from weight-loss programs to IV nutrition, with acupuncture treatments and chinese herbal medicines available to reroute off-balance energies or treat underlying causes of nagging discomfort. On the med-spa side, laser treatments from Cutera, facials, and injectables including Botox, Radiesse, and Juvéderm keep bodies looking as youthful as a mannequin’s undying sense of wonder.