News Photos by Darby Hinkley Alpena Salt Spa and Facial Studio is now open in Alpena in Harborside Center.

Seeking a respite from the daily grind? Search no further than Alpena Salt Spa and Facial Studio, a new business open in Alpena.

The spa, located at 150 N. State St. in Harborside Center, offers salt therapy using a Halo Generator salt booth and salt room. The room features a floor made of salt rocks, warm, soothing lighting and zero-gravity lounge chairs in a relaxing setting suitable for couples or groups of up to eight people.

The spa had a soft opening Oct. 5, and a grand opening celebration is planned from 2 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16. An open house will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1. Both events will feature prizes, and food and drinks. A grand prize drawing will be held Dec. 2 for dinner and an elk tour for two, and a one-night stay at Thunder Bay Resort in Hillman.

According to owner and licensed esthetician Lisa Parlberg, dry salt therapy, or Halotherapy, is beneficial and safe for children, adults and animals. It removes toxicity from the respiratory system and improves lung function and skin appearance, and boosts immunity, she said.

“Salt therapy is based on the principle of prolonged exposure to the microclimate found in natural salt mines or salt caves,” Parlberg’s brochure explains. “Alpena Salt Spa uses patented state-of-the-art technology to reproduce the atmosphere of a salt cave with a monitored therapeutic microclimate machine.”

Parlberg recommends weekly treatments in either the salt booth, which is highly concentrated and offers 20-minute sessions, or longer 50-minute sessions in the salt room.

“The state-of-the-art machine micromills the therapeutic, pharmaceutical-grade salt, 99 percent sodium chloride, … because it’s super-concentrated, you only stay in the booth for 20 minutes,” Parlberg explained. “As you’re breathing that, you’re taking it into the lungs and respiratory system, and it’s detoxing, so it’s going to increase your lung capacity.”

The dry salt particles have anti-inflammatory properties, which may help to widen the airway passages. Continued salt therapy accelerates the transportation of mucus, which helps eliminate residual tar and foreign allergens that cause a variety of ailments and conditions, such as asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, ear infections, bronchitis, allergies, colds, sinusitis and smoker’s cough.

Salt therapy has been used in Europe for more than 50 years, and many hospitals there use this therapy to treat respiratory illness, she said.

“It’s just phenomonal what it can do,” Parlberg said of salt therapy. “It’s nature’s gift to us, basically.”

Parlberg said she has been researching salt therapy for about six years.

“My daughter had given us a gift on our anniversary for a couple’s massage inside a Himalayan salt cave in Asheville, North Carolina,” Parlberg said. “So that was just really neat. It was beautiful and comforting, not to mention we were getting that benefit of breathing that in while we were getting our massages.”

In addition to salt therapy, Alpena Salt Spa and Facial Studio offers light and sound therapy using 60-minute sessions in the Legato Lounger Relaxation & Meditation Chair with SoSound. This therapy consists of sitting in a comfortable reclining chair, and listening to high-quality, relaxing instrumental music through special headphones that are attached to the chair, sending vibrations to the beat through the recliner, while soothing colored lights flow across an otherwise dark room.

Also offered at the spa are an infrared sauna, ionic detox foot bath, a wide variety of facial services and treatments specialized for men, women and teens, face and full body waxing, massage therapy with Belinda Page, and Salty Yoga with Debra Ludwiczak-Henry. Call for appointments, class registration and pricing.

Parlberg offers a hand, arm and scalp massage with every facial, with one goal in mind as she works: Help the client de-stress.

“If you fall asleep while I’m giving you a massage, that’s one of the best compliments you can give me,” Parlberg said. “Americans, we are way, way, way, way overstressed, and stress causes disease and illness. So, let’s just take an hour, once a week or so, and relax and de-stress. It’s going to do so much for your mind and body.”

Groupon specials are available for a limited time, by searching for Alpena Salt Spa in the Groupon app, or at Groupon.com.

For more information, visit www.alpenasaltspa.com, email lisaparlberg@gmail.com, or call 989-340-1761 or 989-321-1547.

Parlberg and her husband Patrick moved to Alpena two years ago from Birch Run. They have two adult daughters, Lindsay Parlberg and Alexis Parlberg, and a 2-month-old granddaughter Zoey Lynn Gaddy, all of Raleigh, N.C.