ROSCOMMON — The Polished Beauty Bar recently opened in downtown Roscommon, offering a “one-stop shop” for beauty and wellness services. The business is comprised of five separate women-led operations, including three owners who are 21 years old or younger.
Founder Emmerson Miller established the bar with a focus on enhancing natural beauty rather than using artificial enhancements. The facility currently offers nail services, massages, facials and spray tans.
Emmerson, who also serves as the lead nail technician, began her journey into the industry after receiving supplies as a gift. She practiced her skills on family members before pursuing professional certification. “So that is when I started looking into certificates and I actually got nail supplies for Christmas,” Emmerson said. “And that’s when I started doing my mom and my sister’s nails and kind of started to realize, maybe I could do it as a profession.” Emmerson noted that she wanted to return to the area because Roscommon has always been very supportive.
The business model prioritizes natural aesthetics over artificial enhancements. Emmerson does not offer acrylic nail services and the beauty bar does not provide fake eyelashes. “We hope that clients feel very comfortable and come,” Emmerson said. “And we always say that. We hope they let us enhance their natural beauty. That’s what we say. So we are more natural. Like, I don’t do any acrylic. We do only gel and the institution doesn’t do any, like fake eyelashes or anything.” Emmerson said the team was initially nervous about whether clients would embrace the natural route, but she reported that the response has been positive.
Carrie Yale is a licensed massage therapist at the shop who balances her business with raising five children in a shared family environment. Her sister is a local lawyer and their families live and work together in the Roscommon area. “This town has welcomed me with open arms,” Carrie said. “Me and my sister, she is a lawyer and she started her own defense term soon. I had my mother and my husband is with us all together. We have five children, so we raise them all together and it’s amazing.”
Carrie noted that the business structure allows her to maintain a flexible schedule for her family while meeting client needs. “I have flexible scheduling to see my kids and also other people’s schedules,” Carrie said. “I guess, I was just here all weekend, so people only have the weekend, so people only have the evenings. And the time when I’m in school, I can get the rest of my people in there.” Her services range from 30-minute sessions to two-hour treatments. She offers several modalities including Swedish, deep tissue and prenatal massage, as well as specialty treatments like hot stone and cupping.
The massage services cater to a wide demographic, ranging from local athletes to seniors. Carrie has worked with competitive bodybuilders, including those pursuing Mr. Universe and world record titles, as well as clients as old as 80 who require lymphatic drainage. She noted that specialty treatments like cupping are particularly helpful for athletes and individuals with scar tissue from surgery.
Haircut services are scheduled to begin at The Polished Beauty Bar in May. Emmerson Miller expressed interest in eventually expanding her career into education. “I’m very proud of myself, I have to say,” Emmerson said. “And my family’s been very supportive. And, yeah, I’m very excited. And I think that I could take a lot further. I would love to teach nails one day. Maybe open a school or something.”