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Our Facility
Owner Amanda Tarver founded Women's Massage Therapy because she was tired of working in places that didn't care about their employees, and more importantly didn't care about their clients. Her practice, which opened in June of 2011 in a small office on the 5th floor of the Carlson building in downtown Evanston, has many of the same luxuries you may find in a day spa such as a heated table, hot towels, weighted eye pillows, aromatherapy oils, and hot tea, but is also dedicated to providing quality services and products tailored to fit individual needs.
What sets Women's Massage Therapy apart from some of the other places that offer massage is that you aren't getting the same assembly line massage as the people before and after you. Your therapist will listen to your needs and work intuitively to get to the root of the problem. She won't just massage whatever is hurting, but will try to figure out what is causing the pain, and work to treat the cause rather than just alleviate the symptom.
The office has a small waiting area, a massage treatment room, and a smaller 2nd treatment room. It is a shared space with Women's Massage Therapy operating out of it on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Ellie Pickering of Bodyscapes uses it Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Bodyscapes offers a variety of services such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and massage therapy.
All of the sheets and towels are washed using chemical free laundry soap from Meliora K, a locally owned and operated business dedicated to providing cleaning products containing natural ingredients. Before your appointment, you can choose from one of several oil blends made from natural carrier oils like jojoba, almond, and grapeseed. Each aromatherapy oil blend is made in house, and contains essential oils rather than artificial fragrances. You can also choose an unscented oil if you prefer. Locally made Crunchy Life body butter is also used on feet and hands.
What sets Women's Massage Therapy apart from some of the other places that offer massage is that you aren't getting the same assembly line massage as the people before and after you. Your therapist will listen to your needs and work intuitively to get to the root of the problem. She won't just massage whatever is hurting, but will try to figure out what is causing the pain, and work to treat the cause rather than just alleviate the symptom.
The office has a small waiting area, a massage treatment room, and a smaller 2nd treatment room. It is a shared space with Women's Massage Therapy operating out of it on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Ellie Pickering of Bodyscapes uses it Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Bodyscapes offers a variety of services such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and massage therapy.
All of the sheets and towels are washed using chemical free laundry soap from Meliora K, a locally owned and operated business dedicated to providing cleaning products containing natural ingredients. Before your appointment, you can choose from one of several oil blends made from natural carrier oils like jojoba, almond, and grapeseed. Each aromatherapy oil blend is made in house, and contains essential oils rather than artificial fragrances. You can also choose an unscented oil if you prefer. Locally made Crunchy Life body butter is also used on feet and hands.
I tried Women's Massage via an Amazon Local deal. I've tried several massage places with varying success. This was a total score!
The space is clean and easy to find. Parking is easy: there is a lot adjacent to the library across the street ($1-$2) in addition to metered street parking.
Amanda is very holistic and responsive to the needs of the individual's body. She doesn't transcribe to the mostly Western philosophy of "no pain, no gain." She'll go deep and coax your muscles, not force them. It's not a superficial touch, either - she just has a way of doing it without forcing it.
She followed up the massage with sharing some helpful observations and suggestions. She's extremely knowledgeable and kind.
R.W.
Our Philosophy
At Women's Massage Therapy, we believe that all people deserve massage. While we limit our clientele to women only for massage, it is important that we are clear that ALL women are welcome. We are 100% supportive of the LGBTQ community and consider the term "woman" to refer to anyone who identifies as female regardless of biology. We are happy to work with women in any stage of transition, and encourage you to call with any questions regarding massage treatments.
We also work with the philosophy that massage should never hurt. It is true that soreness or tenderness can be normal, but pain is not. Our view of pain is very simple:
Pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. If you feel pain, it means that something is wrong.
That being said, pain can be a good thing, in that it alerts us to a problem, but it should not be the goal. You may have been told that the more something hurts, the better it is working. This is absolutely not true. You should always leave a massage feeling better than when you came in. We employ many deep tissue techniques in a manner that is pain free, rather than just applying more pressure to force our way into your tissue. We believe in treating every body with respect and kindness, and the results tend to speak for themselves. For more information about deep tissue massage vs. deep pressure massage, read this post.