Live Oak, CA Spa and Massage

Juliet Bettencourt draws on years of experience in skincare and massage therapy to soothe bodies with treatments that blend the principles of both within a relaxing spa environment. After her own struggles with acne compelled her to help others, Juliet enrolled in beauty school, where she began to augment her uncommon empathy for patients with vast reserves of skincare knowledge. Today, she matches that unique combination of compassion and clinical precision with products from Raya Cosmetics and other trusted brands that cater to normal and sensitive skin types. When she isn’t flushing out pores and polishing cheeks during facials, Juliet unties knots of tension with massages, waxes away unwanted fuzz, and waters tattoos of roses that have begun to shed their petals.

Spa Pajaro Dunes joined Bella Salon and Spa in 2008, merging the relaxing massages made famous at the original location with spa services performed by licensed aesthetician and makeup artist Jennifer Schacher. Pulling from advanced skincare knowledge gleaned while working for a renowned plastic surgeon, Jennifer works tirelessly to combat acne, fine lines, and poor skin tone using only vegan products that contain no animal byproducts and dress only in fruit leather. Additional spa indulgences range from hot-oil scalp massages to aromatherapy-based foot soaks, as well as 30-minute energy-work or reiki sessions, which may be added to any massage

A long-time musician, Lanakila Iesu can transform any human body into an instrument. The licensed massage therapist manipulates muscles with flowing Swedish-massage strokes blended with Hawaiian health practices to root out physical and mental stress. Lanakila infuses each European treatment with assisted stretching common in Thai massages and elements of lomilomi, a traditional Hawaiian healing technique.

MaryAnn Sumaraga could barely get out of bed. With an impending back surgery on the horizon, she visited an acupressure therapist in hopes of relieving some of the pain caused by her chronic sciatica. Six weeks later, she cancelled her back surgery, and marched effortlessly into the classrooms at the Holistic Life Institution of Massage and Natural Health, ready to dedicate her life to helping others the way her acupressure therapist had helped her.

After discovering the healing properties of massage, MaryAnn went full throttle, absorbing additional expertise in bodywork, energy work, and Reiki. With 1000 hours of practice under her belt––not to mention additional certifications in homeopathy, herbology, and iridology––she creates tailored, client-centered treatments that often blend massage, aromatherapy, and nutritional advice. She views each client as biochemically unique, and tends to them only after she has a full picture of their pain, so that she can treat it with more specificity than with what she refers to as "cookbook approaches," which are often tailored to the therapeutic needs of tense gingerbread men.

Certified massage therapist Christine Esler specializes in sports medicine, so she fits right in among the athletes at Bike Dojo, the spin class studio in which she works. One need not be an athlete to benefit from her treatments, though. Her Swedish, deep-tissue, and shiatsu techniques relax tense muscles or biceps that won't unclench from a strongman pose or a guy holding up the humidifier pose. To ease the path of her healing hands, Christine daubs skin with her own signature blend of aromatherapeutic oils. Lavender-scented or unscented oil are also available.