Pampering Yourself:

The Incomplete List of Be-Good-To-Yourself Services and Treats

Massage (And Assorted Specialties)

  • Lamar Bliss Massage and Traeger 322-8922
  • Annie McLaughlin Massage and manual lymph drainage 386-4944
  • Valerie Summer Massage, connective tissue, 379-1955
  • Nancy Chase Swedish Massage 324-5272
  • Laurel West Reflexology, Reiki 394-7352
  • Jody Wallace Massage, Tarot readings 386-3725
  • Helen Langford Massage 322-4368
  • Mary Snider Swedish/Neuromuscular Massage 764-0980
  • Jamie Briggs Massage 287-0770
  • Shannon Van Kirk Massage 244-3276
  • Julie Foster Massage 591-3375
  • Helen Kenny Swedish and Sports Massage 265-3369
  • Sherri Grant Massage 386-2273
  • Tracy Baxter Massage 379-0866
  • Erin Cougler Massage 528-5971
  • Alice Poole Massage 386-2971

Acupuncture

  • New Possibilities Shelby Connelly 395 Arbuckle Pond Rd Colton 262-2622

Beautifying the Bod

  • York Street Spa Ottawa Facials, massages, pedicures, etc (613) 562-2121
  • Carol VanderMark Dynamic Designs Salon 9 Hale Rd, Canton Facials 386-8414

York Street Spa is dreamy. Right down in the Byward Market, this place does a good job of pampering you. Afterwards, try out the Chateau Laurier for high tea. *sigh* I checked out Carol VanderMark in the phone book but haven’t been. I’ve heard good things.

Yoga

The North Country Center for Yoga and Health (The Yoga Loft), 89 Riverside Drive, Canton

The Center offers classes and workshops in various forms of Yoga (Gentle Yoga, Deeper Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Pregnancy Yoga, and Teen Yoga), Introduction to the Shamanic Journey, Meditation, Tai-chi, Reiki, Fitness Through Conscious Movement, Chanting, Chautauqua (a talk group), Therapeutic Touch, Integrated Energy Therapy and Authentic Movement. For more information or to be added to the center’s mailing list contact Pat Glover at 379-1418 or pglover@northnet.org.

Jazzercise

Instructor: Jane Khondker Phone: 265-0849 (call for schedule)

  • Potsdam Location: 22 Depot Street
  • Canton Location: Banford Gym, 99 State Street

Prices:

  • 8 weeks unlimited classes, $82.00
  • Monthly, unlimited classes, $35.00
  • Each walk-in class, $7.00

Hair

Finding someone to cut and style your hair will be one of your first concerns. For years I went to Tony, at Hair to Please, in Potsdam, until, on his suggestion, I tried Vidal Sassoon when I was out of town and got hooked. Candace at Candace’s Shapes & Colors on Miner Street in Canton is extremely popular with faculty and students alike. Both of these hairdressers are good about layering hair, working with color and highlights, and being subtle. You will not come out looking like a poodle.

  • Shapes and Colors by Candace 14 Miner, Canton 386-3990
  • Today’s Hair 22 Depot, Potsdam 265-0018
  • Susan’s Hair Shop Miner Street, Canton 379-9342
  • Hair to Please 72 Elm, Potsdam 265-4372

African American Hair Care

Most of us have experienced the anxiety, sometimes downright dread, of moving to a new location and among all the other adjustments having to find a new hair stylist. When we move to a new location, most of us, ask our new colleagues and friends about hair stylists and salons and we rely on word of mouth to point us in the right direction. And usually within a couple of months (maybe shorter, maybe longer), we find a new stylist with whom we are at least satisfied, if not ecstatic. And as new colleagues arrive we continue the process by recommending our new (by now old) stylist to new colleagues and friends. However, for black folk, especially African American women, moving to the North Country this process can be daunting. When I arrived at St. Lawrence in the Fall of 1998 there were no African American women on the faculty. When I looked around to ask about hair salons there was virtually no one to ask. After a bit of consulting around campus and in the community, I discovered that most black women either did their own hair or went "back home" to get their hair done. Mostly, they wore braids. However there are some places around that can provide good to excellent hair care for African Americans. Below is a beginning list:

Hair Care Salons:

  • Shapes and Colors by Candace 386-3990 14 Miner Street, Canton, New York
  • Scissor Hands 241-1313 155 Rideau Street (at Dalhousie St.), Ottawa, Ontario Scissor Hands has a barber shop on one side and a full service hair salon on the other. Walk-ins are welcome, although they are usually really busy on Friday and Saturdays.
  • Miss Gail's Hair Creations 613-789-3000 222 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa This is a full service hair salon. A barber is also available. Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10:30-6:00 and Saturday, 9:30-5
  • Ebony Beauty Salon 613-733-8671 Located in Ottawa also

Hair Care Products

  • The Brewer Bookstore has a small selection.
  • Rite Aid Drugs has a small selection
  • Sally's in Massena and Watertown.
  • Tropicks, 381 Dalhousie Street (corner of Rideau), Ottawa, Ontario, 613-241-3333. Tropicks has a full selection of hair care products, plus cultural books and magazines.
  • Pharma Plus, Rideau Shopping Center, Ottawa. Although this is a drug store, it has a good selection of basic black hair care products at good prices.

Hair Removal

  • Sugar Works and Electrolysis by Joan 386-3507 Owner: Joan Hastings

“It takes longer than it takes. It just does.”
Carol Budd, Biology