In May 2025 I suffered a major loss, and while funeral planning my friends got together to gift me a massage in my area. Unfortunately it was for this unprofessional business, with ILLEGAL policies, and now I am being threatened. After months of grieving and a lot of recent life transition, I finally was settled enough to redeem my services. To my surprise Shakerra refused to book my services and said it had "been too long." I explained that the card itself says valid through "open end" meaning there was no expiration date. She refused to book me, argued with me, and said she is not refunding my gifter because "deposits and booking are non-refundable." Shakerra cannot make up business policies as she sees fit, especially ones that are not legal. The State of Maryland and the Federal government are clear on their stance regarding gift cards not being allowed to expire for at least 4 years. Also none of these policies are listed on her booking site Booksy. She stated the site won't let her add an expiration date. Likely because Booksy knows the LAW. Eventually Shakerra hung up on me, and then called my gifter! I am outraged that she thinks any of this behavior is okay. She called to tell them that I misunderstood her policies and that she told my gifter the card had expired. Shakerra will contend that she called my gifter in December to explain that the card expired. This is not how that conversation took place and this conversation took place less than 8 weeks ago, not several months ago as she continues to repeat. She said I had not booked yet to which my gifter explained I was out the country but also that there was no expiration provided. Shakerra advised at that time that it was fine and I could still book. She admits this herself in response to the reviewer below that she thought was me. Notice she provided no time frame in that response on WHEN this alleged "grace period" was. Just an example of how she runs business because all of this is irrelevant due to the fact that the state & federal law says differently and so does the gift card itself. You cannot "extend grace" for a policy that is not on your booking site. You cannot "extend grace" for a policy that's illegal. And she has since created a post on Instagram about her "policies" publicly admitting she does not intend to follow the law regarding gift cards. I gain NOTHING from this review. I am not getting a gifted service and the money isn't mine to get refunded. I simply want to prevent others from dealing with this nightmare of a business. And I want my friends who were trying to do something nice at a hard time in my life to get a refund. That's it. A few minutes before posting this review, I received a text from the owner threatening me for going public with this issue. I will not stand for this or be bullied. read more

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Great experience at Ivory Essentials. Shakeara was super personable, and made my massage experience very comfortable. The space is located in a salon suite, and it was perfectly warm. The heated table was also a great touch. She checked in about pressure several times as I asked for some knots to be worked out. While that doesn't often make for the most relaxing massage, sometimes it needs to be done. Even with the working out, it was a great experience. I have no doubt that if I asked for a simple relaxing experience, I would have received just that. And for those looking for more therapeutic services, she has the strength without question! Also, it may be seemingly small, but when she left the room for me to get dressed after the service, she offered for me to send a text when I was ready. I appreciated this as I'm sometimes rushing unnecessarily to make sure I'm dressed before the therapist returns. It was a nice offer that I took advantage of. Would def recommend Shakeara read more

I've had a lot of Swedish massages and this was absolutely the worst I've ever had. If you've ever had a massage where you've spent the entire time wishing it was over, this is your place. Basically, I need a massage from that massage. Muscle pain after an hour Swedish is a first for me; I did tell her multiple times it was too hard. That being said, if deep tissue is your thing- this is your place. It was also a first for me that the therapist took a few text breaks and her phone went off during the Apt. Cost wise, this is probably the highest cost I've seen yet it was absolutely the least professional. read more

An Absolute Nightmare -- Avoid at All Costs! If I could give zero stars, I would. This was hands down the most rude, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional experience I have ever had. And to top it all off -- blatant discrimination. She unapologetically picks and chooses who she wants to work with. If you're white? Be prepared to be "evaluated" before you're even considered worthy of her time. She rescheduled my original appointment -- fine, things happen -- but when I showed up for the mutually agreed-upon new time, she canceled on me ten minutes before the session. Ten. Minutes. No regard. Just a flippant message. Need directions? Don't even bother asking. Her response: "You have the address. Figure it out." Yes, really. And don't expect to plan anything in advance -- she straight-up told me she won't know her availability until the day of. And even then, she may just decide minutes before your appointment that she "can't take you." She operates with the kind of arrogance that says: "Your time means nothing -- only mine matters." And God forbid you use a Groupon. The moment she sees you're not paying full price, you're treated like a second-class citizen. She'll push you to the bottom of the list -- if she gets to you at all. It's obvious her only priority is squeezing every last dollar out of the people she does choose to serve. She is a walking red flag. If you're thinking about booking with her -- don't. Unless you enjoy being ghosted, disrespected, and completely disregarded, steer far, far away. read more

Ivory Essentials - And this is owners response after she saw my negative review on her. Suit your self - Massage Therapy Near Me - Owings Mills, Maryland

Very unprofessional. Does not honor gift card with no expiration date. Threats made by the owner No policies listed on booking site. Do better read more

I just left this establishment, and the experience was both unprofessional and unhygienic. I had scheduled a massage, but upon arrival, the massage therapist was holding her dog. The dog attempted to jump on me, and when I expressed concern, she insisted the dog was harmless. She left the room for me to undress and returned with the dog still present. I asked her to wash her hands before beginning the massage, and she responded by saying I could leave, as it was her establishment and her dog needed to be "comfortable." She then stated, "No, I can't do this. I need to be comfortable," and canceled the massage before it even started. SHE HAD ATTEMPTED TO MASSAGE ME WITHOUT WASHING OR SANITIZING HER HAND AFTER HOLDING HER DOG. The treatment room itself was also unclean: the trash can was full, and the overall environment did not reflect any standard of cleanliness I would expect at a professional massage business. I've never experienced anything like this before at any wellness or massage establishment. read more

I arrived at Ivory Essentials and Spa 15 minutes prior to my 3 pm appointment. I was texting her for her suite number when I received a text from her cancelling my appointment 10 minutes before my scheduled appointment. She said she just found out that I had cancelled a previous appointment and she has a strict no call no show policy. But when I arrived at the suite, it was closed, no one was there. She had to know she wasn't planning on providing me with a service way before 10 minutes before the appointment that she scheduled for me based on her availability. I had scheduled an appointment through Groupon in June. I had a family emergency and that appointment totally slipped my mind. I received a call and text message from her about the missed appointment. I responded to the text and apologized and just ate the cost of that service. No complaints or trying to reschedule that missed appt. was totally on me. I paid for that service through Groupon. I scheduled a 2nd appointment for 12 pm on July 21st. She sent me a text at 11:20 saying she needed to reschedule. I suggested the next day and asked what was best for her. She said she had 3pm on July 24th. I confirmed and I thought all was well. When I received an email from her with information about the services and the cost being $150, I texted her to confirm that she knew I paid through Groupon. She did not respond to that text. She did not respond any further about the service scheduled for July 21st. The next time I heard from her was 10 minutes prior to my appointment with the no call no show policy that she had supposedly just found out about. I asked her if she was cancelling at the last minute. When I explained that I didn't show because of a family emergency she that was no excuse and she also said I was gas lighting and manipulating. I paid for a service. I expected a service. I've never met her, and we don't know each other, and things happen that are out of people's control sometimes. I thought it was unprofessional and should have been handled differently. I am now out of the cost for 2 services and was not offered any compensation for her cancelling the 2nd appointment. read more

I received a deep tissue massage. My upper back was soooo knotted up, lol. She definitely worked through the knots to release a lot of the tension. Additionally, she gave me tips on how to stretch my back and how to sleep. All products that were used were vegan. I will definitely return. read more

Thank u for me Nd my husband massage we surely needed tht everyone she gave us a massage 2 days before our wedding Nd i recommend her she even do makeup Nd she did my makeup for my wedding beautiful business keep up the good work read more