Johnston, IA Spa and Massage

Even as a young girl, Kate had a knack for kneading away stress. Her talent for easing aches and pains—along with her gift for playing piano—even earned her an appropriate nickname: “Magic Hands.” Later in life, after 13 years of working in retail, Kate realized the full potential of this nickname when she shifted gears and began working as a professional massage therapist.

Today, Kate presides over Soothe Massage Therapy, where she prides herself on customizing treatments for each of her clients. “I like to start out by just having a conversation,” she explains before describing how she uses knowledge of a person’s occupation and lifestyle to respond to individual needs. Rather than limit herself to a single modality, Kate relies on Swedish and deep-tissue techniques to soothe nerves and heal shoulders sore from carrying around backpacks or suits of metal armor.

To help her clients relax, Kate has decorated her studio in a soothing, neutral palette. The notes of a piano or classical guitar mingle with the quiet burbling of a fountain as she begins to work her magic, stroking away tension and removing loose change lodged between shoulder blades.

Today's Groupon gets you $100 worth of services for $50 at Sanctuary Spa d' Sante, a Highland Village retreat that Citysearchers voted Best Facials and Best Massage in 2006. Sanctuary's holistic treatments use carefully crafted techniques, aromatherapy, and seaweed-based products to cleanse, stimulate, and soothe stressed skin. Its huge menu of services includes facials, massage, hydrotherapy, waxing, sunless tanning, and an audio treatment that teaches you how to fly an airplane. Running From: Ghosts or monsters Potential Haven: Boarded-up old mansion

Seven's Spa Sanctuary & Salon's throngs of aestheticians and stylists coddle skin and whisk away split ends in soothing spa treatments. Stylists step in to refurbish outdated 'dos with deftly wielded shears, whereas aestheticians keep skin smooth with waxing, facials, and Botox treatments. The multidisciplinary staff comes together in daylong packages that combine a full slate of traditional spa services, including facials, massages, haircuts, ghost hunting, and manicures.

Our staff of beauty and wellness professionals offer a wide variety of specialized services that include skin care, massage, hair and nails. As a Redken 5th Avenue Salon, our hair stylists are frequently trained on the latest in contemporary styles. Each visit begins with a personal consultation.

Cloud 9 Massage Therapy owner Zachary Flick's resume includes nearly a decade of massage-therapy experience, rounded out by his other care-focused roles as a husband and dad. In the comfort of a private room, the licensed massage therapist promotes healing with a full menu of nuanced techniques, ranging from long, flowing Swedish strokes to soft-tissue prodding through myofascial release. Stressed businesspeople can enlist Zachary's skillful digits for corporate-style chair massages, enhanced by relaxing music and aromatic oils designed to blend well with the scents of mediocre coffee.

Licensed massage therapist Ashley Roen draws on a degree from the Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School to send calming ripples across clients’ stiff muscle ponds. To ensure that each treatment is tailored to do the most good, Roen asks that clients vocalize their needs or that muscles simply twitch incessantly in the desired treatment area. She draws on modalities such as long, Swedish flowing strokes or reflexology to ease tension, whereas more deep-tissue techniques access lower-layer connective tissues. Roen’s signature two-person massage is ideal for loving couples or superhero-villain duos who've decided to let bygones be bygones.