Toledo Spa and Massage

Pure NV Salon & Day Spa keeps Detroit-area minds and muscles mollified with a soothing mosaic of full salon services. A mane-molding menu of hair services keeps locks lopped, styled ($27–$32) and colored ($35 and up), while the one-hour relaxation massage smoothes over bunched-up back dough with gentle kneads and pepperoni slices. The relaxation massage is tailored to every individual’s specific needs, and the value can be used toward a more expensive massage, such as therapeutic or hot stone. The anti-aging facial utilizes a wrinkle-wrangling serum to restore skin's natural moisture and vibrancy, and the spa manicure/spa pedicure combo pampers feet and hands with cuticle treatments, nail filing and polishing, and soothing massages.

Jessica Elkins's eponymous spa is a tribute to her love of plants, nature, and beauty. During her aesthetics training, Jessica worked in the bodycare department of a natural-foods market, assisting clients as they selected lotions, rinses, or cucumbers. She then turned her attention to biochemistry, a field of study that explores the chemical processes in living organisms. By learning how cellular components interact, Jessica broadened her ability to resolve or diminish skin conditions with specific products. At the spa, Jessica works alongside aestheticians who perform custom facials with natural ingredients from Europe or minerals from the mines of Moria. Wax technicians specialize in Brazilian and eyebrow services, and cosmetologists perform makeup applications with mineral pigments.

The laid-back, tranquil ambiance at Essentials Day Spa complements the relaxing massages that take place therein. Guests hear calming sounds and breathe in fragrant, soothing aromas as they arrive for a private couples massage or a Night Cap massage, which targets the scalp, neck, and feet to promote better sleep. For relief from pregnancy pains, women bearing a prescription signed by a doctor or board-certified stork can schedule a prenatal or postnatal massage performed by a licensed massage therapist who is also a Doulas of North America–trained birth doula.

Away from the massage table, the Essentials Day Spa crew also performs facials, mani-pedis, and onsite or on-location spa parties and travels to offices to deliver stress-reducing corporate-wellness massages.

At International Therapeutic Massage, the staff values well-being above all else. They dedicate the full appointment to the massage, refusing to subtract any time for changing, a consultation, or a quick game of patty-cake to warm up the therapist’s hands. Once a client stretches out in one of 10 treatment rooms, the therapist goes to work using various techniques—deep-tissue, hot-stone, or Swedish, for example. These techniques are designed not just to alleviate pain and discomfort, but also to improve mental well-being, promote self-healing, and enhance the immune system.

At Tamara Spa + Wellness—named one of the Best Spas in Detroit by Hour Detroit in 2010—the licensed staff has been saving jeopardized digits and parched pores with in-depth treatments for 35 years. Comprising 10,000 square feet, the spa boasts nearly 30 private treatment rooms in which to enjoy soothing massages enhanced with soft lighting and soothing music. Or, try the rain forest water journey treatment—a therapeutic punch of eucalyptus steam made all the more serene by the addition of falling water and the gentle harmonies of an all-toucan jazz trio. Candlelit whirlpool tubs invite bodies to soak away inches or stress in baths filled with milk and honey or firming and toning tonics, and miniature pedicure tubs welcome feet to soak away walking woes with help from soothing sea salts and oils. A dozen or so facials see the spa's aestheticians personalizing each step to suit skin's specific needs, leading a writer for Spa Magazine to declare, "My skin never looked and felt so good."

Nestled within Breathe Pilates and Fitness Studio, Katnandu Aesthetics transforms exteriors with everything from manicures to waxing. At the helm is skilled aesthetician Rebecca Belisle, who draws on more than 12 years of experience as she embellishes nails with bright gel and acrylic overlays or renews facades with skin-smoothing microdermabrasion. Whether doling out services in her studio or travelling to customers' homes, Rebecca enjoys meeting new people every day and strives to set them at ease as she deftly applies mascara and shadow to help faces stand out in wedding photos or department-store surveillance tapes.