Newburyport, MA Spa and Massage

Within a tranquil, ocean-themed spa, licensed massage therapist Carol Parker and a team of professionals reduce stress with a variety of massage modalities and refreshing spa add-ons. Parker continuously builds on the education she acquired at The Salter School to bring relief to weary muscles. In addition to standard modalities such as Swedish, sports, and hot stone, Parker practices shiatsu finger-pressure massage and heat therapy with warmed seashells or seared T-bone steaks. Therapists light candles and play soft music to set a tranquil ambiance for couples massages and tailor hand movements to alleviate discomforts during pregnancy services. To heal the community in a more figurative sense, Parker regularly donates her therapeutic services to athletes raising money for charitable causes.

Willow Salon, Spa, & Shoppe feels more like a cozy living room than a salon. Wood floors, exposed-brick walls, and a roaring fireplace provide a backdrop for hot cups of tea from a tea bar, adding an unusually homey vibe to the act of polishing nails or styling hair. Its services, though, are strictly professional: stylists sleeken hair with nourishing products such as Moroccanoil and Global Keratin, and nail technicians leave mirror sheens with OPI, Essie, and Butter lacquers. Walk through the french doors in the back of the salon, and you'll find yourself in the spa room, where skincare products lining an old-fashioned white hutch power a slate of facials and the company's secret microdermabrasion cyborg. Customers looking for a single pampering session aren't the only ones who can enjoy the warm environs, either, as the salon also hosts celebrations for birthday girls of any age, bachelorette parties, and even cigar- and scotch-tasting events for men.

Blush Salon and Spa's seasoned, licensed staff revivifies hair, skin, and nails with an all-encompassing lineup of beautifying services. Clients sip complimentary wine, coffee, or tea as stylists chop and color tresses with aplomb and technicians sheath meticulously manicured nails in shellac gel or gold-plated thimbles. Spray-tanning and makeup applications enlist airbrush technology to waft color onto epidermises, and soothing massages oust pent-up tension. Sleek black furnishings contrast the salon's vibrant blue walls, which are bedecked with colorful artwork and an alabaster floral sculpture.

Black and taupe accents complement the mint-hued walls of Eye Candi Concept Salon, creating a simple yet elegant beauty retreat. Inside this tranquil space, beauty specialists target all aesthetic and relaxation needs with a full menu of makeup, hair-removal, threading, and massage treatments. Lashes receive an extra boost in volume and length with semi-permanent extensions, mascara, and perms, and talented makeup artists teach beauty seekers the art of applying eye makeup. Hair-removal experts use an organic sugar concoction to gently remove stubble from the face and body or twist and retract cotton threads to add the perfect arch to brows or mustaches. While the beauty purveyors cast their magic, massage therapists tackle internal well-being with stress-melting deep-tissue, hot-stone, and therapeutic treatments.

At G. Skin Therapy, licensed clinical aesthetician and professional television makeup artist Glenda Engelbach uses advanced technology and clinical-grade products to beautify skin. After receiving a degree from the Catherine Hinds Institute of Esthetics, Engelbach went on to complete post-graduate certification at the renowned International Dermal Institute. She is also certified in a number of innovative facial techniques, such as dermaplaning, and in the use of therapeutic and organic lines that include PCA Skin and Dr. Hauschka Skin Care. This combination of expertise in high-quality methods and products helped her earn recognition on Applaud Women magazine's 2011 Readers' Choice awards in the Best Facial category.

Engelbach employs the Trios intense-pulsed-light system to rejuvenate skin, remove hair, and clear complexions of acne. She also addresses skin concerns such as rosacea, age spots, and wrinkles, as well as sun damage caused by literally living under a magnifying glass.

At Zinc Spa and Nail Bar, complimentary aromatherapy turns the lion’s share of the spa services into all-encompassing sensory experiences. With paraben-free products such as LaLicious and Keyano Aromatics, body wraps and massages can transport clients to the tropics with mango scents or to a florist's yacht christening with whiffs of rose and champagne. Technicians at the nail bar also understand the importance of sensory stimuli and let their clients watch flat-screen TVs as coats of Essie and OPI polish dry to mirror finishes. The spa makes sure to tuck extras into every service—aromatherapy neck pillows vie for clients' attention against a complimentary beverage. This people-centered philosophy extends to the planet as a whole. The spa's botanically based, cruelty-free skincare and nail formulas can be brought back for refills at a 40% discount.