Day spa services are therapy for body and soul

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By Melissa Willett
Staff writer

When Beth Miller quit her job as respiratory therapist to buy a day spa, people thought she was crazy. She didn?t have a massage therapy license or business background.
But that didn?t stop her from looking at the spa one day and deciding to buy it the next. When she told her husband, Kevin Miller, her plans, she was surprised when he didn?t freak out. Instead, he asked what they needed to do next.
They borrowed the money and made minor decorating changes to reflect more of Miller?s style for her new business, Between Heaven and Earth Therapeutic Day Spa.
Inside the small lobby, the soft glow of candlelight flickers against bronze-colored walls. Classical music plays quietly all throughout the spa. Teal-painted rooms for pedicures and manicures branch off the short hallway. In other rooms, creamy vanilla walls surround white thermal blankets that drape massage tables.
?I used to do spa days with my patients,? Miller said. ?I?d go in, wash their hair, do their nails, the girly stuff.?
Her former patients have become some of her most loyal customers, usually treating themselves to the ever-popular massage.
Miller says massages are therapeutic not only for the body, but for the soul.
Miller?s business offers a variety of them: Swedish, deep tissue, expectant mother, hot stone, reflexology, couples massage, sports, and even medical massage.
But she anticipates her newly introduced inch-loss body wraps will be what brings the customers in.
?We guarantee you lose 6 inches off the overall body,? Miller said.
In September she plans to introduce lypossage, which is a wrap that detoxifies the skin and contours the body while reducing the appearance of cellulite and increases overall inch-loss to more than 6 inches. It?s just another way she plans to slowly grow her business.
Miller said she never expected to own her own business at 28, or to be turning a profit within two years.
?There?s been days we?ve rolled 20 or 30 clients getting services in one single day and it always runs smoothly,? Miller said. ?It amazes me.?
Even though she and her co-workers stay busy, they believe in having fun ? a lot of it.
Miller, Shanna Richardson and Elaine Rosser host spa parties for bridal parties, anniversaries or co-workers getting together.

?Really just any excuse to have a party,? Miller said. ?If you get six or more people together with two or more services each, then we?ll lock the door and go to the back and party. You can set up food and bring in wine. It?s just your party; you can be as loud as you want.?
Richardson recently graduated from massage therapy school in Raleigh and Rosser has been in the business since August.
Each has her own specialty. Miller does foot reflexology. Rosser specializes in hot stone and expectant mother massages. Richardson likes medical massages.
?We all enjoy our jobs now,? Miller said. ?At the hospital, I was always replaceable. Here, I work for myself.?

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=237322