Pawtucket, RI Spa and Massage

After running a reiki and reflexology booth at a health expo, Joanne Salem decided to create a permanent wellness center. She officially opened the doors to Changing Lives in 2010, and since then she has helped to reduce numerous clients' aches and stress levels through advanced healing and relaxation techniques. Joanne has experience working with all manner of people, with past clients including a woman who previously wouldn't let anyone touch her feet and another woman whose plantar fasciitis was so severe that she felt like she "was walking on rocks."

Changing Lives also regularly hosts wellness-related events and seminars, led by Joanne or a life-sized cutout of Richard Simmons.

Kristen, Rainee, and Karen, the team of trained professionals at Ultimate Sports Massage, know the strain sports can put on a body. They help prevent and heal sports-related injuries with their namesake specialty massage, which can be customized to address everything from lingering pain to lagging range of motion. In addition, they also prep athletes for competition with kinesio taping services, and mend game-sore bodies with the icy embrace of a cold plunge bath. The team also caters to non-athletes with relaxing traditional bodywork, soothing hot stone therapy, or Shivaki Thai massage—a blend of acupressure and yoga-like poses that helps reduce tension.

A graduate of Costin's School of Cosmetology, Signature Salon owner Sonya Tootell has styled hair for more than 12 years. She combines her experience with that of a full team of hairdressers that create both modern and classic hair designs. Stop by, and they can transform your look with feather hair extensions, color treatments, and other services. Also on staff are some skilled aestheticians, who pamper clients with skin treatments designed to wipe away the signs of aging, such as Saved By the Bell plotlines written on your forearms. Products from Soma, Pure Rituals, and OPI enhance the treatments.

It can be argued that American glamour hit a peak in the 1920s. Built in 1922, The Providence Biltmore melds the unabashed elegance of that bygone era with a modern standard of service and commitment to the global community. The landmark hotel's spa deploys Amala products to cleanse skin with ingredients sourced exclusively from global fair-trade farmers, and Pure Fiji elixirs nourish and moisturize epidermal surfaces and smartphone screens with pure coconut oil and flower extracts. Spa director Deb Garman told American Spa magazine, "My staff is so excited about the products we carry that advising clients how to take home the spa experience is simple."

The seasoned aestheticians, stylists, and massage therapists at David James Salon & Day Spa dedicate themselves to performing personalized services within a wide range of spa and salon treatments, from facials and makeovers to coif upkeep and mani-pedis. Customized facials follow careful skin analyses, with a medley of visage-rejuvenating sessions to help target fine lines, alleviate acne, and refresh skin dried out from attempts at tanning under life-size magnifying glasses. The spa’s mud wraps, full-body scrubs, hot-stone treatments, and mélange of massage modalities work to de-stress and detoxify physiques from toe to head. Hair humanitarians tend to coifs with fresh, fashion-forward cuts, coloring services, deep conditioning, and straightening treatments to banish follicular curly fries. The professionally trained staff is consistently educated and trained on new styles and techniques, in order to keep services updated with the latest trends.

Verdant plants, potted orchids, and a built-in stone fountain signal a natural atmosphere at Air Salon & Spa, which spruces up bodies with organic products—including Davines and Alterna Hemp—and environmentally friendly practices. Dedicated to being a zero-impact business, the salon furnishes its waiting room and stations with an assortment of reclaimed materials and vintage pieces, relying on soy-based inks for written correspondence and drafts of the Constitution. The walls sport coats of low-VOC paint, and the staff cleans and maintains the space using nontoxic, earth-friendly cleaning products. As a result of this commitment to eco-excellence, patrons can breath deeply as they undergo manicures or hair treatments in comforting massage chairs.