FAIRBANKS Sara Grocott has been drawn to creams and potions since she was a teenager spending her allowance on drug-store anti-aging cream.

Later, when she worked in a greenhouse, Grocott would go around reminding her co-workers to wear sunblock.

She eventually went to beauty school to study skin care.

In 2015, she opened Spruce and Feather Skincare and Lash, offering help with skin problems and pampering with facials. She provides beauty tips and services such as waxing and semi-permanent false eyelashes.

The skin care studio is tucked in a neighborhood off Geist Road in the same building as a licensed massage therapist.

Grocott sees both men and women by appointment only and is booked out by a few weeks.

I am told by clients that I am their little secret, said the 36-year-old who grew up in Fairbanks and attended West Valley High School and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Her fees range from $55 for a facial to $180 for a full set of false eyelashes. Waxing starts at $20 for a brow wax.

Grocott also offers a line of high-end skin care products by Rhonda Allison.

She attended the Aveda Institute in Portland after studying art in college and deciding to pursue a trade so she could have a steady paycheck.

It made sense for me to make sure that I had a job out of art school, she said.

Studying dermatology in medical school was never appealing.

I didnt want to tell people that they have cancer or prescribe pharmaceuticals, she said.

Spruce and Feather is tastefully decorated with vinyl flooring, mid-century modern furniture and numerous plants.

Grocott has cultivated a spa atmosphere with aromatherapy and relaxing music.

You come in and it is just about you, she said. We lock the door. The service is about this being your space and your time.

One of the most rewarding moments for Grocott was when a 90-year-old woman enjoyed her facial so much that she wept.

I love art and I love flowers and I love beautiful things, and I love making people feel good, Grocott said.

Contact staff writer Amanda Bohman at 459-7587. Follow her on Twitter: @FDNMborough.

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Beauty expert wants to help people look good and feel good - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner