Albuquerque Beauty and Salons

Between 1st & Tan's sleek modern walls, a team of tanning concierges escort patrons to private rooms equipped with tanning beds. Like Jackson Pollock in his glitter-glue period, the beds dole out shimmering color in quick sessions, with the most powerful of their three tanners taking just 10 minutes, as long as it took Mr. Pollock to do his best work. The Mystic tanning booth, meanwhile, takes a UV-free route, misting occupants with a bronzing solution laden with aloe vera and green tea extract, the same solvents J. Pollock used to sign his autograph on a hot day.

At La Piel Medi-Spa, vampire therapy isn’t a program to help you cope with life amongst the undead; instead, it uses your own blood to give your face a more youthful appearance. The procedure begins as a staffer draws your blood and separates it with a centrifuge. The resulting fluid is then used as a natural filler to address the telltale signs of aging: brows covered in wrinkles, eyes ringed by dark circles, and lips that still say “gams” and “sock hop.” All of La Piel’s treatments⎯including laser hair removal, Botox, and microdermabrasion⎯serve this same aesthetic purpose and are overseen by certified family nurse practitioner Carla Franco. Carla has more than 26 years of nursing experience, having worked in such fields as cardiology, urgent care, and clinical research.

Keith West-Harrison can't squeeze his job title on one line of a resume. Yes, he's an aesthetician. But he's also a lifestyle coach, celebrity beauty advisor, humanitarian, and self-proclaimed "eco-urban shaman." In 2009, New Mexico Business Weekly included Keith's name on its annual "40 Under Forty" list, celebrating his entrepreneurial excellence and achievements at his airy, urban spa, Great Face and Body.

Amid gleaming hardwood floors, international decorations, and lots of black leather, the team at Great Face and Body caters to the skin needs of all ages. Specialists freshen frontages with both preventative and restorative facials, ranging from 20-Something treatments to the None-of-Your-Damn-Business facial for clients 60 or older. Services employ only organic and sustainable beauty products, which Keith and his posse develop and handcraft in the store using many locally cultivated ingredients. The spa also integrates 5,000-year-old Native American, African, and Ayurvedic wellness principles to provide a challenging tongue twister to any reporters who stop by for interviews.

At the three locations of Sun Care Spray Tan & Skin Care Salon, customers use sunless spray booths, light therapy, and tanning beds to help get toned and bronzed. Beds of varying strengths and Mystic Tan booths allow customers to add color to their skin without napping on freshly painted benches in the park, and beds filled with pink-glowing bulbs help to tone skin. The salon's red-light therapy aims to painlessly promote circulation, fortify cellular walls in order to increase firmness, and banish eczema, stretch marks, and acne.