The new Natural Body Spa in Arlington gets the little things right.
Natural Body, an Atlanta-based franchise, already has a location in Potomac. The same owners of that franchise opened a branch in Ballston Common mall in April. While spas this new often have kinks to work out, the Arlington spa, thanks to the owners’ experience and a corporate playbook, hit the ground running.
On two visits—the first just weeks after it opened—I found a professional, efficient staff that was quick to lead me to a quiet waiting area and offer water. Natural Body isn’t a slick modern space but a candlelit New Agey haven heavy on aromatherapy scents and potions.
During my massage, my therapist, Allison, actually read the health questionnaire I had filled out—something many spa therapists don’t seem to bother with. After rubbing the kinks out of my back, she draped it with a heated blanket. When I flipped over onto my back, she gently placed on my face a cinnamon-scented eye pillow.
Allison’s strokes were very good. It was not the best rubdown I’ve ever had, but I’ve had a lot. And at $70, it was well priced.
I liked my massage better than my $70 manicure-pedicure combo. Natural Body’s pedicure procedure is very popular—you recline flat in a chair instead of sitting up. I will admit it was relaxing, almost surreal. But with an eye pillow on, I couldn’t see a thing, and that bothered me. I’d feel the technician doing something but sometimes couldn’t tell what. I also love flipping through gossipy magazines like Us while getting a pedicure. If you do, too, this isn’t the pedicure for you. But if you think ordinary pedicures are boring, try this.
When my eye pillow was removed and the chair righted, I beheld a decent polish job, although the polish stopped shorter on each toe’s nail bed than I would have liked, leaving a gap. The manicure that followed was rushed and didn’t clean up my cuticles enough, but I do like that Natural Body doesn’t cut cuticles.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
