Spa treatments improve health, image

However, a few customers are more memorable - a woman who had her scalp ripped off after she caught her ponytail in a grain auger, a man that suffered grease burns on his head as an infant and a kindergarten teacher from Lebanon that wanted to keep a full head of hair while battling cancer.

“My favorite (is) what I can do for cancer patients,” she said. “They come in scared of what they are going to look like while undergoing (chemotherapy). They leave being able to cross that off the list and can focus on getting well.”

Of course, Preston said, most of her clients are still men and women simply going bald and wanting to maintain a youthful, healthy appearance.

Preston, owner of Exclusive Salon, 1944 E. Sunshine St., Ste. F, is one of many area businesspeople catering to the growing spa, health and beauty market.

Betsy Isroelit, spokeswoman for New York-based Spa Finder, a spa travel and marketing company, said the annual international spa market is $50 billion - and she said that doesn't even include hair replacement shops like Preston's.

That growth, she said, is fueled, perhaps in large part, by the aging baby boomer population. “You've got a lot of people who have money (and) who are coming of a certain age, and they're very interested in maintaining their health and their looks,” Isroelit said.

Haden Long, general manager of Esthetiques Skincare Spa & Clinic, said local spa business has matched national growth.

“In the past 10 years, the amount of spas in business has multiplied tenfold and has only now begun to level off,” she said. “As the country ages, we fight to stay younger looking and feeling, and we use whatever means we have to do that.”

Esthetiques Skincare Spa & Clinic, 1332 E. Republic Road, owned by Tim and Cheryl Busch, offers facials, manicures and pedicures.

Long said the spa's most popular service is the full-body Swedish massage.

“This is a basic massage that loosens tight muscles, helps with cramps, headaches, allergies and is pure relaxation,” said Long of the 50-minute service with a $65 price. “It is growing more popular for men, and we also do many couples' massages in which the couples are in a room together being massaged by separate therapists.”

Leisa Wardlaw, owner of Body Enhancement Clinic, 2902 S. Lone Pine Ave., offers facial treatments, massages, acupuncture, reflexology, reiki and chakra energy therapy, waxing, steam therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

She said a cellulite treatment called endermologie is her most popular service.

“It is (a Food and Drug Administration) approved treatment to combat the appearance of cellulite,” Wardlaw said. “The equipment has a treatment head that provides suction and a rolling of the skin tissue.”

She said the procedure increases circulation and blood flow.

Most of her clients, she said, are between ages 25 and 55 and pay $800 for 16 sessions.

“Clients wear a special suit that is provided for each treatment,” Wardlaw said. “Before and after photos are taken to track the results.”

Springfield ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery, 3555 S. Culpepper Circle, offers both traditional facial plastic surgery and non-invasive procedures, according to office manager Sylvia Glenn.

Glenn said they perform rhinoplasties, brow lifts, face lifts and liposculpture.

Non-invasive procedures include Thermage, Radiesse and Botox.

“People really like the non-invasive procedures because no down time is involved,” Glenn said. “This is great for busy people.”

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