The Ecology of Stress
We’ve always known New York has the ultimate climate for producing anxiety. Scientists are only now understanding why, picking apart the triggers of tension in our daily lives in order to help us calm down.

Tension Treatments for Every Personality Type
From the type-A executive to the beaten-down barista, six prescriptions for reestablishing control of your life.

One Seriously Stressful Day
What to do when everything goes wrong.

The Body Unwound: 15 Ways to Take Care of It
A head-to-toe guide for treatments that undo the damage.
Six New Spas
Japanese ritual baths and a three-story waterfall, a prewar apartment turned spa, and four more new city spas.
Trends in Anti-Anxiety Drugs
Dr. Robert Levy, a clinical associate professor at NYU School of Medicine, on the current contents of the anti-stress medicine cabinet.
TREATMENTS

Speedy Recovery Plan
I overdid it, but I’m too busy to take a break. How can I fake a weekend in St. Barts?
January 10, 2005

Beauty on a Budget
I hate spending hundreds on a day at the spa only to be disappointed, but I’m wary of those dirty massage chairs on Prince Street. I’m willing to give up luscious, La Mer–stocked locker rooms, but I want my services to be solid. Where can you get a deal in this town?
November 15, 2004

Shock Treatment
Electro-therapy is the current standard in skin rejuvenation.
July 19, 2004
 
COSMETIC SURGERY
Nip Tuck?
Enough with the Botox, the fillers, the $500 Clé de Peau. I’m going for the real deal: plastic surgery—on my face. How can I minimize post-op bloat?
October 25, 2004
Cosmetic Surgery: Etiquette Among Friends
Navigating the nuances of plastic-surgery conversation.
August 16, 2004
Beauty's Best Docs
New York’s finest plastic surgeons, cosmetic dermatologists, ear-nose-and-throat docs, and dentists.
October 6, 2003
GYMS & FITNESS

Step Is Back
The archetypal eighties fitness class returns to New York gyms.
September 20, 2004

Diet-Book Breakdown
A taste of the lean season's new titles. Plus: Do they work in New York?
January 16, 2006

Beauty & Fitness Gurus
Put your body in these experts' hands. Our rundown of some of the city's best skin-care technicians, massage therapists, personal trainers, fitness instructors, pilates teachers, and yoga instructors.
January 19, 2004
SPA PROFILES
Airport Facials
Weary travelers, rejoice: Suddenly, JFK has two spas.
August 23, 2004
 
MAKEUP & SKINCARE

Seven Ways to Makeover
 What “give me a new look” means, at a selection of cosmetics counters around the city.
October 17, 2005

Salve Me
Cold weather and suffocating heaters equal constantly chapped lips. Which balm is best?
January 17, 2005
Best Makeup Lessons
Become your own makeup artist with tricks from the pros.
November 24, 2003
 
HAIR
Shampoo Review
Which fragrant cleansers are all they’re soaped up to be?
December 6, 2004
The $600+ Haircut
A daring ’do cost a ton of dough.
March 1, 2003
         
BEAUTY LISTINGS
  New York Spas   Cosmetic Stores/counters  
  Best Plastic Surgeons   Hairstylists  
  Best Dermotologists   Barber Shops  
 
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SPA TRIPS
Best of the West
From a Provençal-esque village to a Californian facsimile of Japan, five classic Western spas for every taste. January 19, 2004
Island Spas
Anguilla’s always had great beaches, but the hot island paradise has added spas and a splash of spiritualism. January 19, 2004
Spiritual Retreats
You don't have to trek the Himalayas to get a soul recharge: From the Catskills to the Berkshires, our own hills host a soothing array of spiritual retreats, yoga camps, and New Age spas. January 2002
 
BEST OF NEW YORK: BEAUTY
Antiaging Treatment
The Polaris WR, a machine using radio frequencies, has surfaced, and doctors Neil Sadick and Howard Sobel are the first to offer it in New York.
New Fitness Class
 If treadmills bore you to tears, Marcelo Ehrhardt has a way to keep your attention: Commotion!
• Hair Salon for Redheads
• Sunspot Removal
• Pedicure
More...