Panama City, FL Spa and Massage

Before moving to Florida to open Spa 98, Gabriela Voiculescu trained in Bucharest, Paris, and New York, and cut her cosmetology teeth as the owner and therapist of three highly rated med spas in Georgia. The savvy skin therapist holds licenses in three states—New York, Georgia, and Florida—and appeared on Good Morning America as a beauty consultant. Her latest pampering project, Spa 98, offers results-oriented skincare treatments that enhance exteriors with Gabriela’s own G Formula line of cleansers, moisturizers, exfoliators, and Father Time repellents. Hair-removal services include LHE hair reduction as well as full-body waxing with a French formula specially designed for sensitive skin.

A wildly successful alternative to traditional day spas—its more than 300 locations blanket 36 states and half a dozen countries—Planet Beach is a futuristic relaxation station where state-of-the-art machines administer all the spa and tanning services. These friendly automatons sometimes replace familiar treatments, as in the Luminous facial, a light-based service that delivers blemish-busting results similar to those of a conventional facial. But other equipment maps out new spa territory entirely: the Hydro-Derma Fusion chamber moisturizes the whole body with nutrient-rich steam in order to offset the effects of a dry climate or a rear-end collision with a salt truck. Other machines whiten teeth, spray-tan skin, and massage muscles.

Planet Beach operates on a gym-style membership system, meaning that members purchase packages or pay flat monthly rates. As members spend more time at the spa, they get to know the helpful assistants who are always on hand to demonstrate how to use the equipment without activating its ability to cry.

Doctor of Chiropractic Shawna Hogan’s biggest complaint about health care is that “patients are so often rushed in and out of doctors’ offices today without ever feeling that they are being listened to,” she says. “My objective is to go the distance so that every patient feels that he or she is a priority.” 

That attitude has helped her clinic, Regatta Chiropractic and Laser Center, flourish with a variety of patients, including multiple physicians, children, and pregnant women. When she’s not administering chiropractic treatments, such as manual adjustments, massage therapy, and cold-laser therapy, she’s helping clients slim down with Zerona noninvasive laser body contouring. In addition to making patients feel confident that they could slip through jail-cell bars any time they want, the Zerona treatments help patients struggling with back pain attributed to excess weight.

Aesthetician license# FS883182 Salon licence# CE9990143