Day Spa

After receiving two calls from an alarm system company about the Howard County day spa she owns, Lynn Shannon made the five-minute trip in her pajamas in the middle of the night to see whether anything was wrong. When she arrived, she found Lynn's Day Spa on fire. "I saw the flames shooting out of the roof," said Shannon, who has owned the Columbia spa for more than a decade. The blaze occurred about 1 a.m. yesterday at 10720 Little Patuxent Parkway. No one was injured, but the fire caused about $1 million in damage, according to county fire officials.

Eight-month-old Brooklyn Metzbower from Abingdon was named 2013 Harford's Most Beautiful Baby as part of the fourth annual "Celebree Presents Harford's Most Beautiful Baby" contest, hosted by Harford Family House and SARC. As the winner of the contest, Brooklyn received more than $11,000 in cash and prizes, including a full year of pre-school valued at $9,700 donated by title sponsor Celebree Learning Centers. The grand prize package also featured a $1,000 cash prize from Susquehanna Bank, a photo session with photographer Anni Oh valued at $1,150, a six-week swim session with Kid's First Swim School, eight classes to MyGym and gift certificates from Tiny Toes, Subway and Mars Food Stores.

JoAnne E. Young, the popular receptionist at About Faces Day Spa in Towson, died Tuesday of bone cancer at Stella Maris Hospice. She was 51 and lived in Conowingo, Cecil County. Mrs. Young kept watch from her desk just inside the door of the spa, on the upper level of the Shops at Kenilworth, where she worked for more than a decade. The spa was founded in 1978 by Helga M. Surratt. With diplomatic aplomb, Mrs. Young raised the level of customer service to a high degree as she made and changed appointments, soothed the anxious, accommodated the desperate and functioned as cashier.

The renewal of spring didn't come without elbow grease, whether it included the laying of mulch and plantingof flowers, or the cleansing of grime from window screens and patio furniture. Now that the chores are completed, it's time to indulge yourself, or a loved one, with a little personal sprucing and relaxation from one of the myriad spa services offered in Howard County. Notice that a spa is missing? E-mail Jennifer Broadwater at jbroadwater@tribune.com to be included in our online spa guide and future editions.

A popular Columbia day spa closed last week, leaving hundreds of would-be patrons holding holiday-time gift certificates that could be worthless. Holistic Skin & Body Care Center closed Dec. 10, declaring bankruptcy after several months of poor revenue failed to meet high overhead costs, according to owner Laura Solash Gensler. After nine years in business, the day spa had been on shaky financial ground for the past several months, Gensler said. A poor economy compounded by the terrorist attacks in New York and at the Pentagon pushed the company over the edge.

The name Farashe - "butterfly" in Moroccan - hints at the transformation that the owners of Columbia's newest day spa are so keyed into. Ranjana Bhasin and Nanousa Sidhu have taken a dream and turned it into a business, and created a haven for meditation and manicures in a shell of office space in Town Center. Now they are hoping to sustain a successful day spa in the location where one closed about a year ago by offering rich aromas, decadent surroundings and a dose of Eastern traditions.

Nestled in the shadows of towering apartment and office buildings along a busy stretch of Joppa Road, the salon would be easy to miss if it didn't look like a house that has sprouted from nowhere with its creamy beige vinyl siding and covered porch. Most of the customers who find their way to Usha's Salon and Day Spa in Towson are like 16-year-old Jasmine Osima and her mother, Joan, of Owings Mills. Mother and daughter began making biweekly visits about a year ago after a family friend raved about owner Usha Gupta's increasingly popular use of threading, an ancient facial hair-removal process.

They might not be discussing it with their buddies in the locker room, but more men are getting their nails buffed and faces exfoliated in spas they once considered reserved for their wives and girlfriends. Blame it on Gentleman's Quarterly magazine or the five gay men on the popular television show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, who turn slovenly men into fashion-conscious hunks. Or maybe it's the metrosexual fad - a phrase the British media popularized to describe soccer star David Beckham and his painted fingernails.

Lynn's Day Spa chosen to manage facilities for CA Lynn's Day Spa of Columbia has been chosen by the Columbia Association to lease space and manage the association's day spa at the Columbia Gym. Lynn's also will provide massage services at the association's Athletic Club and Supreme Sports Club. The association has provided the services until now. Lynn's Day Spa will honor valid association gift certificates purchased before the transition.

The renewal of spring didn't come without elbow grease, whether it included the laying of mulch and plantingof flowers, or the cleansing of grime from window screens and patio furniture. Now that the chores are completed, it's time to indulge yourself, or a loved one, with a little personal sprucing and relaxation from one of the myriad spa services offered in Howard County. Notice that a spa is missing? E-mail Jennifer Broadwater at jbroadwater@tribune.com to be included in our online spa guide and future editions.

This year we had an unusually high number of responses to our readers’ poll which tells us that our readers are more passionate than ever about the businesses and services that are available around town. And though you’ll probably find several repeat winners, there are a lot of new establishments making a very good impression. Thank you all for taking the time to fill out the ballots and send them in with your thoughts and opinions. This poll not only provides the magazine with vital information about our readers’ likes and dislikes, it also provides a very targeted guide to what is very right in Harford County.

The economy hasn't been kind to Christal Perry's pocketbook, but she's not letting that show in her hair. The private-school teacher's side job as a settlement agent has suffered because fewer people are buying homes, but the Randallstown woman keeps one regular meeting on her schedule - with her stylist, every other week. "It's a luxury I tell myself I deserve," said Perry, 35. But for many customers, the recession is evidenced by roots of a different hue and do-it-yourself treatments.

After receiving two calls from an alarm system company about the Howard County day spa she owns, Lynn Shannon made the five-minute trip in her pajamas in the middle of the night to see whether anything was wrong. When she arrived, she found Lynn's Day Spa on fire. "I saw the flames shooting out of the roof," said Shannon, who has owned the Columbia spa for more than a decade. The blaze occurred about 1 a.m. yesterday at 10720 Little Patuxent Parkway. No one was injured, but the fire caused about $1 million in damage, according to county fire officials.

Nestled in the shadows of towering apartment and office buildings along a busy stretch of Joppa Road, the salon would be easy to miss if it didn't look like a house that has sprouted from nowhere with its creamy beige vinyl siding and covered porch. Most of the customers who find their way to Usha's Salon and Day Spa in Towson are like 16-year-old Jasmine Osima and her mother, Joan, of Owings Mills. Mother and daughter began making biweekly visits about a year ago after a family friend raved about owner Usha Gupta's increasingly popular use of threading, an ancient facial hair-removal process.

When Evangelin Pesci started at Renaissance Hair Studio & Day Spa in Cockeysville 10 years ago, she told salon owner Sharon Rose that one day she would do hair on television and show the world what it's really like to be a hairstylist. If creating a praise-winning style using a scary pair of hedge clippers is what a hairstylist's life is like, then it's safe to say she's achieved her goal. ON TV Bravo's Shear Genius airs at 10 tonight.

There are two pretty significant dates on Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese's calendar. One of them is April 3, the night of the NCAA women's championship game in Cleveland. The other big date is May 4, the day Spider-Man 3 opens for wide release. "I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. I will be there at midnight," says Frese, whose love of films was probably bolstered by her 2005 marriage to videographer Mark Thomas, a University of Maryland alum. The couple live just outside Columbia.

Looking to nail down a place you can count on for a terrific manicure or pedicure? Here's a list of five we'd recommend around the Baltimore area. The prices and services vary, but each has something special to offer. About Faces Salon & Day Spa, 110 W. Timonium Road, Timonium A classic mani/pedi will run you $54, but for an additional $21, you can get the spa treatment, which includes a 10-minute massage and a refreshing cool mint mask. The hit: This is Kelly Ripken's manicure spot.

When Evangelin Pesci started at Renaissance Hair Studio & Day Spa in Cockeysville 10 years ago, she told salon owner Sharon Rose that one day she would do hair on television and show the world what it's really like to be a hairstylist. If creating a praise-winning style using a scary pair of hedge clippers is what a hairstylist's life is like, then it's safe to say she's achieved her goal. ON TV Bravo's Shear Genius airs at 10 tonight.

Susie O'Neill Esthetician About Faces Day Spa and Salon, The Shops at Kenilworth, Towson Age --44 Years in business --16 Salary --About $40,000. O'Neill is paid on commission, getting 50 percent of the cost of the service plus tips. How she started --After working as a makeup artist for different cosmetic companies several years ago, O'Neill decided to get her esthetician license. At the time, the license required 400 hours of training and an exam. She began working for About Faces 15 years ago, about one year after getting her license.

When asked about her favorite spa experience, Renee Blizzard of Bel Air describes a spa in a hut built out over the water in Bora Bora, where she had a massage. She said she was face-down on a table looking through a glass floor at fish swimming in the crystal-clear water of the ocean below her. When asked which spa is the most exquisite, she describes one in Cancun, Mexico, with a brick wall covered with flowing waterfalls and tearooms and meditation rooms, and any other type of room a patron might need or want.