Beauty & Spas in Salem

The aestheticians at Serenity Salon welcome clients into a salon whose eggshell-blue walls surround peach-colored manicure stations and sumptuously cushioned pedicure chairs separated by swoops of blue and white chiffon. Nail artists enhance fingertips with bright polish and refresh weary soles with footbaths before layering toenails with a sweet pink or the blushing red of a fire engine caught practicing its dance moves on the station's pole. While banishing fuzz from bikini areas or upper lips, waxing technicians maintain a friendly rapport with clients.

If the atmosphere inside The Cat's Meow strikes first-time visitors as particularly familial, the reason may be that the salon’s proprietors share more than aesthetic expertise—all three of them are sisters. For more than 20 years, Melissa Raynak, Pixie Melton, and Meghan Mowbray—along with their team of aestheticians and nail technicians—have pampered skin and nails with treatments that range from basic facials and express pedicures to all-inclusive spa-day packages. In each of their skin-therapy treatments, the spa’s aestheticians employ professional products that eschew mineral oil, lanolin, and allergens such as gluten to ensure that skin responds positively. Armed with bottles of OPI polish and paraffin wax, they turn their attention to fingers and toes to soften calluses and fluff nail beds.

From her station at Avalon Salon, Lori Tickenoff spruces up hands and feet. She crafts healthy, eye-catching nails with files, polishes, and thimbles as guests relax in massage chairs and soak their tootsies in Jacuzzi tubs. The salon has an edgy vibe that springs forth from its fashion-forward hairstylists and tanning specialists.

Shiatsu is a Japanese term that means simply “finger pressure”, which is exactly how this massage modality releases tension from muscular tissue. Licensed massage therapist Robert Ellestad opened his practice to bring the relaxing, therapeutic qualities of Shiatsu massage to bodies of all shapes and sizes. In addition to this pressure-point-focused style, he soothes bodies with the gentle series of Swedish massage strokes. His Thai massage sessions incorporate a series of facilitated yoga-like stretches that work out stiff muscles and joints while the client lies on a mat or hovers slightly on a flying carpet.

The team of trainers and aestheticians at Vitality Wellness Center helps guests restore beauty both inside and out with an array of services tailored to fitness, skincare, and mental well-being. Zumba, yoga, and belly-dance workouts take place in an airy studio with wooden floors, colorful murals, and a smoothie bar, allowing students to replenish lost electrolytes and continue campaigns of eradication against perfidious fruit. An on-site infrared sauna revs metabolisms, and body wraps purge toxins by enveloping limbs in mud, aloe vera, and seaweed. Vitality Wellness Center's aestheticians further pursue the center’s relaxing mission by sloughing dead skin cells from faces and dusty masquerade disguises during skin-pampering facials.

Owned by a family of licensed massage therapists and clinical hypnotherapists, Liberty Massage and Wellness Center has helped clients to unwind and recharge for 15 years. Along with massages, body wraps, and facials, Liberty Massage calms the mind through alternative treatments including hypnosis, psychological acupressure, and kitten nuzzling.