A new spa has opened in Edgecomb.

Denise Dow opened her new business, Island Spa, at the Sheepscot Harbour Village and Resort on November 6. She said she is providing a service that is not only relaxing and glamorizing, it's beneficial to peoples' overall health and well-being.

“People think a spa is just for pampering,” Dow said. “That is so not true. It's good for your body.”

Dow, a licensed massage therapist and nail technologist, had a small private practice in Bath and managed the spa at the Sebasco Harbor Resort in Phippsburg before opening her business in Edgecomb. Aside from massages, pedicures and maincures, she also offers facials, using all natural products.

“I'm not here to make a million dollars,” Dow said. She wants to make people aware of all the benefits of massage. “There are so many things massage does for you,” she said. “I want people to be comfortable, just relax and be themselves.”

As for pedicures, she said, “People don't take care of their feet. They stand on them all day and let them get dry and calloused, and do nothing to sustain them.” She said a pedicure can make a huge difference in a person's overall feeling of well-being.

And if the big comfortable chair with a mini-tub of warm water for the feet in the salon is any indication, a pedicure will be pure ecstasy.

A new offering, Dow's own invention, is the “Sticks and Stones” massage. She combines hot stones and warm bamboo with a Swedish massage to create “an overall incredible feeling.”

A feeling of relaxation settles in upon entering Island Spa. You're greeted by soft, soothing music, subtle aromas that are changed to mimic the season, and a perfect temperature. An overall feeling of peace pervades.

As one recent testimonial stated, “Denise made me feel like I was worth a billion dollars. I'm forever ruined ... spoiled.”

Go ahead. Spoil yourself. Do your body a favor.

The spa is located at 306 Eddy Road. For more information, call 207-882-8100.