East Lansing resident Michelle Billings, right, gets a pedicure Tuesday afternoon from Angie Fowler at Cartouche Face & Body, 300 N. Clippert St., in Lansing. Billings said she wouldn’t go to any other place for a pedicure.
Lansing — On a normal work day, no client comes to see Danielle Hicks in a bad mood.
As a massage therapist at the day spa Cartouche Face & Body, 300 N. Clippert St., in Lansing, Hicks said people usually are happy to see her, and it’s rewarding to see clients with chronic pain issues reap the benefits of a massage.
“Let’s say I’ve got a client who does a lot of computer work (and has) upper back pain,” she said.
“Generally with continued massage they can feel relief from that back pain, feel generally less stressed.”
Hicks, who has been a massage therapist for three years, said her goal is for clients to feel at ease during their visit.
“I want my room to be a place of comfort for my clients,” she said.
“As soon as they step in the door, (I want them) to feel like they can relax completely.”
Hicks’ massage room is lit by one small light on the wall, with curtains tied back in the corners and a framed painting next to the massage table.
She said she does several types of massage, depending on where the client has pain or tension.
Some massages work deeper into the muscles and increase circulation, some alleviate knots and others simply are for relaxation.
For a first-time massage client, Hicks said she would first ask if there are any areas of tension.
“I would do just generally a relaxation massage, and I would let them know if at any point they want more pressure or less pressure, I’ll adjust as I’m working,” she said.
Owner Janice Hunt agreed the day spa’s goal is for clients to relax and enjoy the experience. In addition to massage, Cartouche offers manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing and other skin-care services.
One of the rooms used for pedicures looks like a living room, with gigantic leather chairs on either side of a coffee table covered in magazines.
Hunt said a standard pedicure, a popular service, includes trimming and filing the nails, pushing back cuticles, soaking the bottom of the client’s feet, a foot massage and polish.
Hunt has owned Cartouche for about 10 years, and she worked there for 10 years before taking over the business.
The Lansing resident said she had her cosmetology license and was a stay-at-home mom for a while before deciding to get back into the skin-care business.
Hunt said since she began, the biggest change has been that more day spas have popped up in the Lansing area, which sometimes makes it hard to compete.
However, she said Cartouche does see many regular clients including people who work in downtown Lansing, several who have been coming there for a decade or longer.
“We’re just keeping up on (the business),” Hunt said. “Because it’s just one owner, I don’t think we’ll expand or anything.”
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The week before spring break, Hunt said she had a rush of college students coming in mostly for Brazilian or bikini waxes, which she said are two of the spa’s most popular services.
“(But there are also) people that come in every month to get pedicures,” she said.
Many clients visit Cartouche to avoid the environment of a salon that also cuts and styles hair, Hunt said.
“People like to come in because there’s not hair, the smell of perms and the noise,” she said. “They think it’s a very relaxing atmosphere.”
