Mount Juliet, TN Spa and Massage

Some bartenders double as confidants, listening to a litany of customers' troubles as they pour drinks. Carolyn Trumm was one of these bartenders until, deciding she'd rather work in the daytime, became a licensed massage therapist to help relieve stress without pouring spirits. Trumm relishes deep-tissue work, as it most quickly relieves the most chronic muscle pain, and she savors the gratification that comes from seeing clients leave feeling unburdened and finally able to shrug each shoulder independently.

In her nook in the back of Angie and Co Salon and Day Spa, Carolyn loosens knotted muscles with Biolage lotions as well as oils made by a local merchant. Shades of midnight blue and gemstones, along with hand-painted peacock feathers, grace the walls, and the room is dimly lit with candles from local purveyor Ates Candles, which Carolyn also offers for purchase. All this is set to a soundtrack Carolyn likes to call "ocean rock"—the sounds of waves set to instrumental music with a rock flavor, mixed with the distant humming of lobster choirs.

This one-hour treatment starts with a friendly massage therapist applying copious quantities of organic shea butter in long, therapeutic strokes. During the treatment, you'll be cocooned in a warm wrap, which helps your body absorb the shea butter's vitamins and fatty acids while a massage therapist gently kneads your scalp and mesmerizes your mind with stories about books of short stories. When your body is finished bathing in a buttery baste, it will be cleaner, healthier, and more velvety than a smooth operator's excuses.

At Angie & Co., savvy stylists employ Matrix and Redken products to transform tresses with new styles and fresh hues. Their scissors flit through manes as they practice the latest techniques, crafting bobs or layered 'dos. The salon team also waxes away unwanted fuzz, brightens nails with polish, and employs expert massages to melt stress, like butter on the blushing face of an embarrassed teenager.

The service menu of These Hands Massage reflects the skills of owner Mark Wilson, a licensed massage therapist who also practices reiki and chakra balancing. He engages 15 years of professional experience to lead a trio of therapists who dole out 13 types of massage and body treatments. Techniques range from basic Swedish massage to Mark's signature integrative treatments, which blend massage with energy work in order to treat both body and mind. Patrons can augment their service with complimentary aromatherapy, which infuses skin with scents of peppermint or lavender more easily than sleeping in a garden.

Eight years ago, fellow massage students Terrie and Bret Lonow watched the rising sun from the back of Bret's pick-up truck, sipping coffee and imagining a future together in business. Today, the friendship has blossomed into a marriage and the dream into a reality. The pair of therapists helm Massage Way, where they employ flowing strokes, targeted pressure, and hydrating oils or lotions to fend off the physical, mental, and spiritual manifestations of stress—such as soreness and the development of a third brain lobe to house surplus worries. Swedish, deep-tissue, sports, and reflexology modalities ease pain and cultivate relaxation in a warm, serene room with quiet music, and treatments in the massage chair prompt similar benefits in briefer periods of time.

As you step into Magnolia Spa’s cozy, soft-pastel confines, the experienced staff of hip chicks will envelop you in a relaxing mist of pampering, extremely relaxing to humans and toxic to any stress-powered brass golems. After they get the cuticles tingling on your arm paddles with a manicure and renew your land fins with a pedicure using eco-friendly Pure Fiji products, they'll keep you from floating away by gently pinning you down with soothing hot stones. Invigorating aromatherapy using essential oils from Nashville-based Devi Essentials will finish by taking you away to a magical land of well-manicured humacorns galloping through moisturizing fields. Call ahead to schedule your appointment.