Sheepskin Gifts closes, Relax Station kiosk opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too has cleared out of its space on Level 1 at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Like See's Candies and other seasonal stores, this was to be expected after the holiday shopping season ended - - although you'd think the temperatures outdoors would keep them in business through the spring. Meanwhile, massage spa Relax Station from the Old Navy wing of the mall has set up an auxiliary kiosk to serve shoppers in the center of the mall. Look for it on Level 1 outside of J.Jill. 

Sheepskin Gifts & Alpaca Too

BioTec USA Skin Care to reopen August 1 at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

BioTec USA Skin Care's Westfield Montgomery Mall location in Bethesda is temporarily closed. The clinic is scheduled to reopen next Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Look for BioTec next week on Level 2 of the mall, next to Avalon in the Nordstrom wing.

Journey Within Wellness Center to open in Rockville

Prepare to embark on the journey within. The Journey Within Wellness Center is moving into the former PureBeauty Salon in the ground floor of The Sterling at 11755 Rockville Pike. Services offered will include float therapy, massage therapy, cryotherapy, infrared sauna, steam room, Thai body stretch, and intravenous injection therapy. The original Journey Within Wellness Center in Columbia boasts celebrity clients from the Baltimore Orioles, NFL, USFL among others. Journey Within is expected to open in June 2023.

LaserAway opens in Rockville

LaserAway has opened at 926 Rose Avenue, in the ground floor of the Canopy by Hilton hotel at Pike & Rose. This was previously the location of Taylor Gourmet.  LaserAway is a laser hair removal practice with locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia. It also offers botox treatments, tattoo removal, photofacials, dermal fillers, Thermage skin tightening, Coolsculpting fat removal, Clear + Brilliant laser treatments and other skincare services. 

Advanced Massage opening in Rockville

If you need an advanced massage, just the spa for you is opening soon in Rockville. Advanced Massage is coming soon to the Edmonston Crossing shopping center. It takes over that empty space at 1028 Rockville Pike, between Rockville Auto Tag & Title and Angkor Nails & Spa. Advanced Massage is apparently not to be confused with Massage Advanced, which also has a Rockville location at 821 Hungerford Drive.

Signage installed at LaserAway in Rockville

The permanent sign has been installed at LaserAway, opening soon at 926 Rose Avenue, in the ground floor of the Canopy by Hilton hotel at Pike & Rose. This was previously the location of Taylor Gourmet.  LaserAway is a laser hair removal practice with locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia. It also offers botox treatments, tattoo removal, photofacials, dermal fillers, Thermage skin tightening, Coolsculpting fat removal, Clear + Brilliant laser treatments and other skincare services. 

REWILD, Ever/Body open at Cabin John Village in Potomac

Cabin John Village is welcoming two new tenants to the shopping center in Potomac. REWILD is a houseplant store similar to The Sill that opened recently at Bethesda Row. A wide selection of plants is joined by planters, pots, accessories and plant-themed gifts and decor. They offer a free replanting service with purchase. Look for REWILD at 7937-C Tuckerman Lane, and watch a video preview of what you'll find.

Ever/Body is a spa offering treatments for skin, hair and body. Services include laser facials, Hydrafacial, Botox, Emsculpt NEO and more. Find Ever/Body at 11325 Seven Locks Road, in Suite 690.

Online ads lead Montgomery County police to illegal massage parlor in Rockville

Montgomery County police detectives with the department's Vice and Intelligence unit have arrested and charged a New York woman with prostitution and sex trafficking. Police say online ads featuring photos of "scantily-clad Asian women in lingerie" led them to an unlicensed massage spa in the 14800 block of Physicians Lane in Rockville. Detectives have not publicly identified the name of the spa; there are three spas on that block.

Starting last November, V&I unit detectives began watching the spa, and noted male clients entering and leaving the business. Using evidence gathered, the detectives were able to obtain a search warrant for the spa premises at the end of December. They executed the warrant on January 4, 2023. Inside, they found an alleged sex trafficking victim, who told them that 63-year-old Yang Jiang had allegedly told her she could make extra money by providing sexual services to her massage clients. 

“This arrest is the third incident in recent months involving an illicit spa and human trafficking in Montgomery County.  This underscores the real and rising threat posed by human trafficking in the region,” MCPD Police Chief Marcus Jones said in a statement Monday. “Victims of human trafficking are not always forced into trafficking by brute, physical means. Victims are often coerced into being trafficked over a period of time through deliberate, psychological tactics used by their traffickers, so the signs of trafficking may not always be obvious. There are several ways that victims of trafficking can obtain help and can contact either the police department directly or the Montgomery County Crisis Center.”  

Anyone with information regarding Yang Jiang is asked to contact the Montgomery County Department of Police Vice and Intelligence Unit at 240-773-5958 or contact Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous.  

Police urge anyone who is a victim of sex trafficking to contact the Montgomery County Crisis Center. The Crisis Center provides free crisis services 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Services are available to you by telephone (240-777-4000) or in person at 1301 Piccard Drive in Rockville (no appointment needed). Alternatively, you can call 911.

LaserAway to open Rockville location

LaserAway is opening a location in Rockville at Pike & Rose. It will be in the former Taylor Gourmet space in the Canopy by Hilton hotel at 926 Rose Avenue, off Rockville Pike. LaserAway is a laser hair removal practice with locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia. They also offer botox treatments, tattoo removal, photofacials, dermal fillers, Thermage skin tightening, Coolsculpting fat removal, Clear + Brilliant laser treatments and other skincare services. 

Assault at Rockville spa

Montgomery County police were called to investigate a report of a simple assault at a spa in the Upper Rock area of Rockville Friday evening, September 23, 2022. The assault was reported at a business in the unit block of Upper Rock Circle at 8:45 PM Friday.

BioTec USA opening Montgomery Mall location

BioTec USA, a skin care clinic offering a range of products and spa services, is expanding to Montgomery County. A new location will be in Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Founded by Science Director Tanya Gospodinova, BioTec has an existing location in the Foxhall area of Northwest Washington, D.C. Look for BioTec soon on Level 2 next to Avalon, right outside of Nordstrom.

European Wax Center update at Fallsgrove Village Center

European Wax Center looks just about ready to start waxing at Fallsgrove Village Center in Rockville. The spa is way ahead of neighbor Bethesda Bagels in its construction. Texas-based European Wax Center was founded in 2004, has over 800 spas nationwide, and recently went public and exceeded earning forecasts.

Olio Nails & Spa opens in Rockville

Olio Nails & Spa is now open at the Research Row shopping center in Rockville at 1403 Research Boulevard, Unit 102. They are easiest to find if you enter the shopping center from the W. Montgomery Avenue entrance, as they are on the back side of the building that Robeks Juice will be in, a side you can't see from the center's most-popular businesses Chick-fil-A and Onelife Fitness.

Rockville construction update: The Red Door Salon & Spa at Pike & Rose (Photos)

The signage for The Red Door Salon &Spa has been installed and lit at 934 Rose Avenue at Pike & Rose. It is located on two levels at the bottom of the new Canopy by Hilton hotel and 930 Rose condo building. The spa and the hotel are both expected to open soon.