Beauty & The Body is a restorative skincare and bodywork studio for women and their families, owned and operated independently by Gretchen Newman, a licensed Esthetician, Massage Therapist, and Herbalist.
She specializes in wholistic skin therapy rituals that integrate hands on bodywork modalities with plant based therapeutic ingredients. This integrative and wholistic approach allows her to treat an array of skin conditions and facial musculoskeletal afflictions, providing an alternative to invasive cosmetic procedures and ingredients.
Her treatments focus on delivering a nourishing experience while assisting the skin and body to age with grace. The brands that she has intentionally chosen to repair and maintain radiant complexions are plant based, herbalist formulated, and always cruelty free.
Medicinal herbalism is at the foundation of her offerings, which encourages her as provider to always return to the medicine of the Earth.
This approach also encourages her to consider the environmental impact of her services and product recommendations. She will always make efforts to mitigate the carbon footprint of her business as much as possible, while reducing her clients' exposure to toxic chemicals and reducing our collective reliance on environmentally destructive skincare ingredient sourcing.
This effort to be in harmony with the beauty of a healthy Earth comes from a deep reverence for life, that is reflected in both individual and collective well-being. External beauty is a reflection of inner wellness—and we are only as healthy as the planet we call home is.
Together, through consumer demand we can slow the exploitive and extractive skincare ingredient sourcing industry by only buying from brands that uphold the ethos of planetary health as collective well-being.
We live in a culture that is increasingly poorly designed for female physiology; it encourages constant output and high performance that is wildly incompatible with cyclical female physiological needs—this overarching cultural standard has led to increasingly high rates of ‘burn out’ for women.
When burn out is combined with chronic stress, under nourishment, and endocrine disturbing toxins in cosmetic products used, it further entrenches burn out symptoms by highjacking the body’s electrical system, leading to a constant chasing of symptoms with pharmaceuticals and bandaid treatments.
What if the solution to chasing anti-aging strategies and skin treatments was actually to slow down, use clean products, and focus on repairing our bodies through various forms of nourishment?
We as a whole healing sanctuary here at Beauty & The Body, both clients and myself as a your practitioner (Gretchen) are calling in a much needed return of slower lifestyles and gentler skincare for self and the planet.
Yes, I will congratulate you on taking a bath in the middle of the day.
Yes, I will tell you to not go back to work after your facial so that you can nap.
Yes, I will tell you that it’s time for your husband to make you dinner so that you can rest.
Yes, I will tell you to throw that fragranced product in the trash.
Yes, I'll tell you that you’re doing too much skincare.
Yes, as your practitioner, I will encourage rest, doing less, while gaining capacity for more of the life you want.
Your greatest self will come about when you allow yourself to receive, heal, and just be with your body.
How We Got Started
Beauty & The Body was born out of a longing to share the benefits of therapeutic massage and bodywork with women. The offerings available today reflect a decades long journey of gathering wholistic bodywork and herbal modalities that center women’s wellness beyond what is traditionally available within the industrial medical complex. We offer restorative services that not only tend to the needs of soft tissue and skin health, but serve as an anchor for those women who understand that wellness is a path of life, not a final destination. The foundation of our practice is therapeutic touch and compassionate listening, we are witnesses to the journey while providing a safe, warm, and nurturing space to unwind and reconnect with the wisdom of the body.
“My hands are my greatest tools, guided by my teachers, protected by the plants.”
Gretchen Newman
Founder, Licensed Massage Therapist, Licensed Esthetician, and Folk Herbalist
Gretchen describes her way of living as one that is in continuous evolution through the traditional academia path and through the many curiously woven lessons that life ultimately provides for. She comes from a matrilineal line of British-American medical professionals, pharmacists, healers, and artists, and a patrilineal line of German-Canadian engineers, welders, veterans, and global explorers. All of which have guided her in both learning about the divine makeup of the human anatomy, and helping her clients to achieve a level of body and health literacy that improves their own sense of well-being.
Scientia potentia est
Knowledge is power
In August 2019, she graduated from The River Valley College, earning a certificate of 750 hours of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. After graduation, she obtained a certification in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. In November 2019, she went through training to facilitate Maya Abdominal Therapy and currently holds a certificate from the Arvigo® Institute for the Anterior Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy.
When Gretchen was 19 years old she obtained her Usui Reiki I & II certificate from Reiki in Paradise in New London, NH. Her reiki attunement was a powerful force of personal healing which set her on the path that she walks today as a bodyworker. In 2012 she completed a 200hr Vinyasa Yoga Instructor certificate from At Om Yoga in 2012. For many years she specialized in gentle and restorative yoga at her private space in New London, NH. From 2019 forward she focused on therapeutic yoga for Lyme Disease recovery at Putney Moves in Putney, VT.
While living in Putney she completed a three-year Plant Spirit Medicine and Traditional Herbalism apprenticeship at the Gaia School of Healing. Following her apprenticeship, she continued to reside on the land for several years assisting with classes, growing, harvesting, and producing herbal medicine. In between educational pursuits and global travel she has participated in traditional medicine ceremonies held in Central and North America, which deeply inspire her offerings today.
In May of 2023 Gretchen graduated from Empire Beauty School with a 600 hour certificate in Esthetics. In esthetics school she received an LED light therapy certificate, microdermabrasion certificate, IMAGE skincare product & chemical peel certificate, and lash artistry certificate. Her passion in skincare is within the integrative space, combining both modern scientific skincare knowledge with ancient wholistic techniques. She utilizes both botanical and clinical skincare, helping clients to achieve their best skin ever through education and consistent intentional skincare services.
She continues to learn and grow her practice with many amazing bodywork and skincare techniques that enhance one’s experience of life by bringing ease to the body and nourishment to the spirit with beauty. She has additional training in lymphatic drainage, gua sha, acupressure, fire cupping, massage cupping, and holistic skin care from notable global teachers and industry leaders.
Her current offerings reflect a life-long journey of gathering techniques from her many trainings and experiences. She helps her clients connect more deeply to their innate body wisdom through restorative intentional bodywork and sacred beauty rituals, while offering specialized support for reproductive wellness and digestive health. It is her goal to help people find relief from the discomforts caused by modern lifestyles by re-weaving traditional healing wisdom into their lives. Her practice is grounded in education and empowerment to help people make the best decisions for themselves and the earth, benefiting their personal wellness today and the well-being of generations to follow.
Gretchen is an active member of the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals and Associated Skin Care Professionals.
She has been a guest practitioner at Shou Sugi Ban House in the Hamptons, NY for several high seasons, and was featured in Hamptons Magazine in 2022 for her work in wholistic women’s wellness.
When Gretchen is away from the studio she studies plant medicine, chips away at her academic pursuits, rows racing shells down the Merrimac River, plays with her array of precious animals, immerses herself in nature, rides horses, and plants beautiful gardens.