Manhattan Beach, CA Spa and Massage

Holden Zalma knows the toll that exertion can take on muscles. Before he received his massage license, he helped to train USC's football, basketball, and swimming teams while he studied to be a physical therapist. After graduation, Holden founded MetaTouch, where he shares his burgeoning 16 years of massage-therapy experience with others. His philosophy is simple: scout out symptoms, hunt down their root causes, and treat the body as a whole by ignoring its unsightly seams. He and his staff of trained practitioners accomplish this task by blending techniques—such as massage, stretching, exercise, and acupuncture—to relieve pain, improve performance, and reduce the risk of future injuries.

Named one of 2009's Best Spa Brands by users of SpaFinder, Spa Chakra unleashes one of three rejuvenating and relaxing two-hour packages with the delicacy of a mother hen atop a pile of egg shells:

In his early days as a massage therapist, Sean Struxness was struck by the stark contrasts in quality between high-end and low-end spas, noticing a large gap between the two. He founded The Massage Spot to fill that gap, partly because he no longer wanted to mow the gap's out-of-control grass. Though it forgoes the locker rooms and showers that full day spas may offer, Struxness's mini day spa doesn't skimp on the tranquil atmosphere, as it features flickering candles, soothing music, and a relaxing zen area. The service menu isn't lacking, either; The Massage Spot's team of professionals performs haircuts and deep conditionings, nine types of facials, spa pedicures with aromatherapy soaks, and Western and Eastern styles of massage therapy.

Lipstic Salon & Spa's customizes beautifying treatments to each client, using imported products including Académie de Beauté from France and Davines from Italy. Warm lighting spills over clients as they cross Lipstic's floors, flanked by organic tones and wooden accents, and sink into treatment chairs where five coloring options render locks more luminous and healthy than a supernova on a diet of oatmeal. Before clients abscond to beach vacations, waxing specialists groom manly backs and shoulders as well as womanly bikini areas and underarms. Clients then revivify their visages with a choice from more than a dozen facials and peels that bolster collagen production and imbue epidermises with skin-tightening, age-defying nutrients. To cap off a day of relaxation or soothe away the stresses of chauffeuring children from soccer practice to their stockbroker's office, the multitalented staff also doles out mani-pedis and calming massages.

Spalon Lifestyle founders Philip De Vo and Jaclyne Le began studying skincare and relaxation therapies after quitting corporate jobs that left them feeling physically and spiritually depleted. Now, the duo of pampering proprietors jet-set around the world, sharing their stress-relief expertise at foreign salons and international trade shows. At Spalon Lifestyle, their home base, a skilled staff wields an arsenal of spa services to carry on their quest for tranquility, much like the extremely relaxed knights of King Arthur’s massage table

Lymphologists and lumberjacks concur that a Swedish massage is an invaluable ally in the ongoing quest for total health. Swedish massages employ several styles of expansive and ebbing strokes to relieve tension, mellow the muscles, and restore free-flowing fluency to the toxin-dispersal chutes of the lymphatic system. During effleurage, the hands smoothly circle the skin like epidermal ice skates as a primer for renewed venous and lymphatic circulation. The petrissage and tapotement strokes knead and knock on pressure points in the humanhide, while friction strokes untie the knots in the shoelaces of your muscle fibers. The vibration stroke goes all "cell-phone setting during a ballet" on the back and the limbs to get blood and muscles moving. The lesser-known high-five move at the end of the Swedish massage generates camaraderie and coolness.