Restoring Beauty

A historic fire station becomes home to an impressive new spa

In  May 2010, a last-minute bank deal saved the historic Dilworth Fire Station No. 2 from the wrecking ball. Last fall, entrepreneur Marcel Starck transformed it into an upscale salon and spa. Now you’ll find imported mother-of-pearl styling stations, a glossy color bar where hair-changing chemicals are mixed like martinis, and an extensive selection of botanical beauty products on the first level. Upstairs, a Moroccan-themed mani-pedi lounge and a serenity room filled with suede chaise lounges welcomes those awaiting massages or wrinkle-erasing injections in one of the treatment rooms down the hall where, before each treatment, a special camera photographs every age spot and wrinkle so that clients can see with vivid (and sometimes horrifying) clarity the “before and after” of their beauty experience. However, possibly the most surprising—and impressive—transformation here is the one of a 100-year-old fire house into one of the city’s most sophisticated spas.
1212 South Blvd., 704-334-8087, resalonandmedspa.com

Try This Treatment: The Jet Peel Facial

The technology behind this skin-renewing treatment (which isn’t available anywhere else in the state) is a “power washing” wand, which uses saline and highly pressurized oxygen to exfoliate every inch of skin before applying an infusion of the beauty-boosting solution of your choosing (try a vitamin A and E blend for moisture and antiaging). The jet wand can be used on your face, neck, hands, or anywhere else that you want to look a smidge younger and fresher, but you may want to bundle up your legs and feet to stay warm under the wand’s icy cool spray (blankets are also provided). 60 minutes, $150.