Beauty & Wellness
The art of living well, from Asheville spas to Charlotte salons.
When Home Becomes a Spa: The Rise of Wellness Residences
Developers across the state are marketing saunas, cold plunges and circadian lighting as standard — blurring the line between where you live and where you recover.
The Appalachian Apothecary Tradition Finds a New Audience
Rooted in generations of mountain folk medicine, Asheville's herbalists are bridging old knowledge and modern wellness — carefully, and with a botanist's rigor.
Charlotte's Fitness Scene Discovers That Recovery Is the New Workout
Cryotherapy, compression, red light and contrast pools: the city's boutique studios are selling what happens after the exercise, not during it.
A Poor Dip Set, Pressure to Tip, and a Promised Discount Met With Irritation at Luminous Nails & Spa
A client paid $45 for a dip on her natural nails, left with work she felt she would have to pay to redo, was pushed to leave a tip, and met with irritation when she asked for the 10 percent discount the salon had texted her. A look at quality, letting tips be a choice, and honoring your own offers.
Told the Fix Would Be Free, Then Charged $65 After a Gel-X Set Failed in Days at Alpha Nail Spa
A returning client whose Gel-X set began popping off within days was told over the phone that the removal and a natural-nail service would be complimentary, then was charged $65 after sitting through the whole appointment. A look at durable work and honoring what you promise.
The Forgotten Mineral Springs the Carolinas Are Rediscovering
Once the destination of nineteenth-century health pilgrims, the region's thermal and mineral springs are being restored as destinations for a new era of wellness travel.