Beauty & Spas in Hoover

Escape Day Spa co-owners Carrie Wheelock and Alicia Liddon know how therapeutic a day at the spa can be. Wheelock, an experienced massage therapist, has witnessed the restoration and healing power of touch while both giving and receiving massages. Liddon, on the other hand, is not only an aesthetician, but also a wife and mother of three who understands the daily stressors of family life. Her passion for healthy skin has helped ground her and was her inspiration for opening her own skincare clinic.

At the spa's new location in Edgewood, the duo and their team perform treatments that range from multimodality massages and facials with organic Babor products to mother-of-pearl body scrubs and mani-pedis with vegan SpaRitual polish. They also create spa packages that allow romantic couples, pairs of best friends, or celebrities and their egos to enjoy chocolates and champagne while relaxing together.

The barbers and stylists on Butler's executive grooming team are specially trained to deal with the rugged majesty of a man's hair and skin. They use high-end grooming products, such as Jack Black, Molton Brown, and Anthony, to ensure the classiest haircut ($38) possible. The hot towels and pre-shave oils of Butler's signature hot-lather shave ($30) are so relaxing you might need to be pinched when prompted for your choice of straight razor or Mach-3 razor. Escape to the comforts of Butler's manspa while meticulous manicurists rejuvenate your nails ($25). Finally, understanding the symbiotic relationship between a gentleman and his hard shoe, Butler's shoeshiner will give your foot-protecting friends the luster they deserve ($7).

Jim Ostrosky, erstwhile fashion consultant for the local Fox affiliate and fashion writer for the Birmingham News, now brings his eye for texture and color to bear on the manes of clients at his intimate home salon. More than three decades in the industry inform his oversight of a team of stylists who wield organic products from Aveda instead of threatening hair into obedience with vats of liquid nitrogen. As they craft new 'dos, the stylists employ advanced techniques such as halo brick and paneling to create highlights or keratin smoothing treatments to banish frizz. In addition to snipping locks into classic coiffures, the professionals delve into new styles and trends, such as feather extensions, a traditional espionage tactic for blending in while hiding in a chicken coop.

Pay a visit to a full-service salon such as Profiles Hair and Nail Studio, and vent your stress directly through the ducts on your fingers and toes. At Profiles, visitors can have a wide range of digits pampered, limited only by the number of phalanges they possess. With a complete manicure and pedicure ($60), the gracefulness of every hand or foot motion will be enhanced, from scratching chalkboards to poking holes in paper walls and using toenails to pry the tops off cans of sauerkraut. Using OPI and Essie polishes, one of Profile’s trio of experienced and friendly nail stylists will attend to your 10 palm fronds for half an hour, then commence a 60-minute pedicure that includes an organic-coconut-oil-fueled knee-high leg massage, leaving you cleaner than a freshly scrubbed bar of soap and trimmed more neatly than a doorframe.