Parma Spa and Center for Health, Fairfax

In the lobby of Parma Spa and Center for Health, a sculpture of a woman balancing on a jade-colored orb acts as an axis for a spiraling, gleaming ribbon. The statue represents the Ayurvedic philosophy of health, a belief that the client will be "on top of the world" physically, spiritually and aesthetically. Ayurvedic medicine strives to prevent illness by a proper balance of wellness before disease happens. "Well-being is physical, mental and spiritual," owner and founder Dr. S Nicky Singh says in a feature on WUSA 9. "I believe in this with a passion. There is a need for people to look at themselves preventatively." The lead team for Ayurvedic is headed by Dr. Thara and Dr. Ather, with a fellowship in anti-aging medicine and heads the Aesthetics department. Rosalinda Sutherland heads the Eastern therapeutic touch therapies.

In addition to med-spa-quality services such as Dermafusion facials, fraxel treatments and some of the newest innovative skins care services including liquid facelifts, staff members trained in Ayurvedic medicine perform massages and body treatments with healing herbal oils that invigorate and detoxify the body. Physicians are on-hand to supervise, and they also provide health care ranging from counseling to cardiology. "The presence of physicians reinforces the idea that there's a quality to what we do," Dr. Singh says.

The ambience at Parma is of old world elegance. Oversize gilded mirrors reflect the twinkling lights of an imported Venetian chandelier, which in turn casts light over Italian linens, chamois robes, and a Limoges tea service filling steaming cups with herbal tea. "We're not trying to create a place which is just glamorous … The idea was to show that we worry about every little detail," she says. A place where time waits for you for a change and you leave rejuvenated.