Look Like A Million For as Little as $5

Life’s little luxuries can be had on the cheap, if you know where to look.

Facials, massages and pedicures may not be a staple in many of our budgets. It can be tough to justify spending money on spa services for ourselves without getting sticker shock. But luckily, there are some local places that offer pampering without the primo price.

Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School on Pleasant Street in Upton offers deeply discounted services at its salon. Haircuts, color, facials, pedicures and manicures are done by students by appointment. A cut is in the $10-$12 range, for example.

Services are offered to residents of Grafton and the school’s 12 other towns. Call for an appointment at (508) 529-7758. The school also offers discounts on auto repair work, done by students.

Westboro’s Spa Tech Institute’s quality services for a bargain price are “one of the best-kept secrets around,” says the institute’s Tim Starkey.

One-hour massages run $25 to $35, waxing is offered as low as $5. “We have people who have been coming here for 10-plus years,” said Starkey. “Usually they will only tell two or three of their closest friends.”

The student clinic services are a school requirement, offering students the benefit of practicing things they learn in class, such as communication and assessment, he said. The student clinic phone number is (508) 366-8437 to book an appointment. The Spa Tech Institute is at 227 Turnpike Road, at the intersection of Route 9 west and Route 135, Westboro.

Bancroft School of Massage Therapy, at 333 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, also offers student massages to the public for $35 an hour. To book an appointment or inquire about hours, call
(508) 757-7923.

With a bit of planning, your spa secret can be that you don’t pay much at all to look and feel like a million bucks.