Everything You Missed at Shop TODAY Stages: Scalp Massages, Talks With Brooke Shields and More

On Thursday, March 26, Shop TODAY hosted its second Shop TODAY Stages, a Health & Wellness summit, at the scenic City Winery Hudson Valley in Montgomery, New York. Experts, celebrities, fans of TODAY and more gathered together for a day filled with fun, meaningful moments and, of course, plenty of free swag.

More than 200 people traveled from near and far for the event. While some guests drove from their upstate homes, others came from as far as North Carolina and Indiana to experience the day. (We also saw plenty of familiar faces who joined for the last Stages event and wanted to make sure they were there for round two.) But for anyone who couldn't make it, we're sharing all of the highlights that you may have missed.

In the morning, our VIP guests were granted special early access to Shop TODAY’s Brand Bazaar, where they could get a blowout courtesy of John Frieda, sip on juices from NatureMade, get a personalized tumbler from Eddie Bauer, relax with a scalp massage from Brooke Shields' hair care brand Commence and so much more.

In between panels, all attendees had the opportunity to check out the bazaar and explore and sample the products and experiences from the day's sponsors.

For our first panel of the day, board-certified dermatologist and TODAY contributor, Dr. Michelle Henry, led an eye-opening conversation about women's health with rheumatologist and medical contributor for NBC News, Dr. Natalie E. Azar; integrative medicine physician and founder of nol+, Dr. Taz Bhatia, and psychotherapist and author Niro Feliciano. They provided plenty of doctor-approved tips for our guests — no appointment required.

They touched on topics across the health spectrum, from treating insomnia to bone health and microdosing GLP-1s. But the biggest topic of the hour was around aging and the many changes that come with it, including menopause.

Azar explained that there are two main ages where "our body's cells kind of do a deep dive in the wrong direction," and that's ages 44 and 60. Around 44 is also when metabolism changes, while the latter age is when our immune systems tend to take a hit. But we don't have to just sit back while it happens.

"We can't stop the aging process ... but there are certainly things that we can do to offset the negative impacts of cellular aging," said Azar. "And it's going to be the stuff we've always talked about: good nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental hygiene, all of those things matter a great deal."

On the exercise portion, the experts emphasized the importance of strength training, but it's not only important for overall physical, muscle and bone health, but Feliciano said there's also a mental factor as well.

"Strength training, in particular, can be a form of mindfulness," Feliciano shared. "And mindfulness increases our cognitive clarity and our cognitive strength, because when you are lifting something heavy, you cannot think about anything else. You’re trying to survive that moment and not get hurt. So it is a form of single-tasking. And as women, we do not single-task. 
I mean, we survive our lives by multitasking, right? So single-tasking is really important for bringing back our concentration, our memory [and] our focus."

The gut also plays an important role in overall health, especially as you age. Bhatia shared with the audience that the gut is "ground zero" when it comes to both inflammation and immune health. And in terms of things you can do right now to start boosting gut health, she said: "It all starts with food is medicine."

"We do understand that processed foods, food additives, food dyes, all of these things that are in a bag or a box are impacting microbial health, and then pushing that train towards more of an inflammatory profile," Bhatia said.

We loved the conversation between Shop TODAY executive editor Adrianna Brach and actress Brooke Shields, where they discussed her long career in Hollywood and her more recent role as founder and CEO of Commence. They also touched on why the multihyphenate decided it was the right time to further expand her vast resume by creating a hair care brand and her journey to founding the brand.

"We knew there was white space that we were filling, that we were servicing women through this change in their lives without shame," Shields shared. "We are not just menopause. I mean, it's great that we are talking about menopause. I'm so happy about the freedom with which that is being talked about. But we don't jump over this, just to be menopause. So it was important for me to share with women the desire that I have for them to feel more empowered and to live this era of their life without shame and with excitement."

While taking this new leap later in life has been "terrifying," it's also taught her lessons "about myself, about my reliance, about learning something new and about jumping into something I had no knowledge of." And as she reminded the crowd, “It’s never too late for a pivot.”

After a break and more opportunities for perusing the Brand Bazaar, Shop TODAY contributor Makho Ndlovu sat down with TODAY lifestyle and commerce contributor Jill Martin for a moving conversation about Martin's ongoing journey after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, which she had discovered after undergoing testing for mutations in her BRCA genes.

She has shared her journey with the public, from diagnosis to now being in remission but still undergoing surgeries to repair damage caused by radiation therapy. And multiple guests stood up and shared what Martin’s openness and bravery had meant to them, and how it inspired them to get their own gene tests. (Let’s just say, the tears were flowing during this part of the day.)

While the last few years have been tough, she said, “I feel like God gave me that magic to be able to spread the word."

She later added, "The nicest thing someone can say to me is, 'I went to get tested because of you.' It makes me feel like the energy it took for me to come here today was worth it."

While plenty of people could relate to her story, it also was a reminder that everyone is fighting their own battle. "You never know the severity of what someone is going through and everybody is going through something," Martin said.

The panel ended on a light note, with Martin updating the audience on her dating journey (she's on the apps!). As for what she's looking for in a future partner, she shared: "I work really hard, I make my own money. I don't want kids now — I can't have kids now ... so I'm looking for a good time, with a really nice person who loves my family."

We ended the day with City Winery wine and snacks and guests mingled while enjoying the sunny afternoon. And, of course, everyone walked out with a bag full of goodies from brands across the wellness and beauty spaces.

Shop TODAY Stages is a lifestyle event hosted by Shop TODAY that we are bringing across the country from peaceful escapes to college campus takeovers. The events typically feature a mix of panel conversations with TODAY talent and editors, as well as experts and celebrity guests.

For those in college, we'll be hosting our Shop TODAY campus takeover, The Leap, on April 7, 2026, at the University of Miami. Ticket information will be available soon.

Our most recent Shop TODAY Stages event brought celebrities, brand founders, viewers, TODAY talent, doctors and more all together in one room.

• Brooke Shields, actress and founder and CEO of Commence

• Jill Martin, TODAY Lifestyle and Commerce Contributor
• Adrianna Brach, Shop TODAY executive editor
• Makho Ndlovu, Shop TODAY contributor and on-air expert

• Dr. Michelle Henry, Board-Certified Dermatologist and TODAY Contributor
• Dr. Taz Bhatia, integrative medicine physician and certified nutritionist
• Dr. Natalie Azar, rheumatologist and NBC News Medical Contributor
• Niro Feliciano, author and psychotherapist

Each guest took home a gift bag filled with more than $500 worth of editor-approved products. Inside were top products from brands like Bala, Dry Idea, Lancer, Magic Molecule, Merit, Necessaire, Biom, Homecourt, Moleskine, Tangle Teezer, The Outset and more.

Guests who purchased a VIP ticket had even more goodies in their gift bag. In addition to the above brands, they received products from Beachwaver, Solawave, Salt+Stone, Tal Hydration and more. You can check out the full list of products that guests received here.

Along with the panel conversations, Shop TODAY Stages featured activations throughout the space, which gave guests the opportunity to get pampered and get some more free products. For the beauty mavens, there was a John Frieda styling bar where guests were treated to a blowout and a scalp massage station from Commence. Eddie Bauer had engraving tumblers for guests and NatureMade was serving up tasty concoctions. People could take photos while lounging on one of Leesa's comfortable mattresses or you could stop by Womeness and Shapermint's booths to learn more about the brands.

There were two ticket varieties, VIP Admission and General Admission.

• All-day Programming: Guests got the opportunity to hear from our TODAY talent and contributor-led panels featuring experts and special guests.
• Food & Beverages: We savored fresh meals and refreshing drinks throughout the event.
• Access to the Shop TODAY Brand Bazaar: Guests explored and sampled top products and experiences from Shop TODAY’s most beloved brands.
• Giveaway Bag: Everyone took home a curated bag of premium giveaways from our gifting sponsors worth more than the price of your ticket!
• Cocktail Hour: We closed out the day with a cocktail hour and light bites.
• VIP Treatment: Expedited priority check-in and reserved priority seating was available to our VIPs. Upon check-in they also got early access to the Brand Bazaar.

• All-day Programming: Guests got the opportunity to hear from our TODAY talent + contributor-led panels featuring experts and special guests.
• Food & Beverages: We savored fresh meals and refreshing drinks throughout the event.
• Access to the Shop TODAY Brand Bazaar: Guests explored and sampled top products and experiences from Shop TODAY’s most beloved brands.

• Giveaway Bag: Everyone took home a curated bag of premium giveaways from our gifting sponsors worth more than the price of your ticket!
• Cocktail Hour: We closed out the day by with a cocktail hour and light bites.