From birthdays to holidays to a hard winter's pick-me-up, the gift of a spa day has become a plains favorite, and the region's salons build their calendars around it.

Against the gray and white of the plains winter, the nail salon offers a small, bright indulgence, and the trade has flourished in the cities of the region.

In a region of hard physical labor, massage therapy has found a ready home, easing the strained backs and worn joints of farmers, riggers and townsfolk alike.

Blending the clinic and the salon, the medical spa has established itself in Fargo and Bismarck, bringing advanced aesthetic treatments to the northern plains.

As the short days and long cold test the spirit, the plains have embraced a broader idea of well-being, and the beauty trades have become part of the answer.

Long after the cities turned to unisex salons, the traditional barbershop endures across the plains as a place of grooming, gossip and community for the men of the town.