Beauty & Spas in Artondale

When licensed massage therapist Karen Garry first opened Sand Dollar Spa & Massage, it only made sense that her husband, Matt, join the team. After all, she’s not the only massage therapist in the family. With his expertise in sports therapy and her skill at creating relaxing spa treatments, the duo managed to transform a humble practice into a booming success, even garnering a nomination from King 5 as one of the best massages in western Washington.

Though the staff aim to create an environment of healing and ease, choosing which treatment to enjoy can be rather difficult. They offer nine massage modalities, including Swedish, volcanic stone, and a four-handed treatment, during which two massage therapists work on a single client. Spa treatments, such as sugar or sea-salt scrubs and seaweed body wraps, rejuvenate bodies from the inside out with skin-softening formulas. Across the spa, in-office teeth-whitening sessions can enhance smiles by up to eight shades in 20 minutes, or 1/200,000 of the shelf life of a Twinkie. Committed to supporting their community, Karen and Matt donate both their time and gift certificates to local organizations, such as Evergreen Primary School, University Place Volunteer Center, and Charles Wright Academy.

Spa Vita Bella resides inside a charming building with a sunny outdoor patio and cozy treatment rooms. The soft lighting and well-trained therapeutic technicians create a soothing atmosphere for glycolic facials, hydrating body treatments, discreet hair removal, spa manicures, and more. A purifying deep pore facial ($65) uses Eminence Organic Skincare products to refurbish flesh-emoticons with a deep cleansing, gentle exfoliation, steaming, and extractions—removing pore blockage, treating blemishes, and calming the skin. Otherwise, purge bodily impurities, poisons, and naturally occurring diet sodas out through the toe-roots with a therapeutic detox foot bath ($40). A brow or lash tint ($20 each or $30 for both) demolishes gray hairs in your eye-caterpillars so that you look less likely to heckle muppet shows from a balcony. You can also prep for a night's revels with a Jane Iredale natural mineral makeup application ($35) followed by a classic manicure ($20) and pedicure ($35).

At Artistic Plastic Surgery Center, Dr. Khash A. Dehghan and a team of specialists educate clients on the risks and benefits of aesthetic, cosmetic, and surgical procedures before performing treatments that enhance outward appeal. Drawing on more than a dozen years of experience, Dr. Dehghan modifies or enhances nearly any area of the body with procedures including chin augmentation, facelifts, and rhinoplasty. Anna Johnston, a Euro Institute of Skin Care graduate, makeup artist, and medical aesthetician, supplements the center's surgical procedures with spa services such as derma planing or chemical peels, which remove dull, dead cells or dry, flaky milk moustaches.

The stylists, technicians, and aestheticians at 4Ever Nails & Salon have clients covered, whether clients want to upgrade their everyday do or desperately seek a way to pare down a morning makeup routine. Stylists are equally adept at cutting and styling hair for seniors as they are with adults, kids, and life-like ventriloquist dummies. Aestheticians concern themselves with hair residing below the hairline, waxing or threading away fuzz from the arms, brows, upper lip, and cheeks, and then turn their focus to skin, expunging impurities with steam and extractions and applying fruit masks to leave faces soft and kissable. Manicures and pedicures can last longer with coats of shellac or gel polish, which can resist chips for up to three weeks, while clients can throw away brow, lip, or eye pencils for good with the shop's permanent makeup services, which impart a subtle or sultry look that stays put 24 hours a day.

Aesthetician Asha Teeter's fascination with beauty began when she waxed her cousin's eyebrows—at the tender age of 14. Her mother had a strict rule against wearing makeup, which Asha cleverly circumvented by learning techniques such as waxing, tweezing, and eyebrow shaping. After graduating from school, she gained some hands-on experience at the elbow of a 20-year skincare veteran, who helped her take her first steps into the world of professional beauty.

Asha’s years of experience—both professional and extracurricular—seem to have paid off. She now works within the relaxing confines of Kyva Beginnings Wellness Spa, beautifying her clients’ skin with a menu of European facials, pumpkin peels, and waxing services. The same spirit of innovation that empowered her as a teenager has led her to explore more advanced treatments as a professional. Her far-infrared sauna treatments aim to detoxify the body and burn calories, and her ionic footbaths draw out toxins and relax soles after record-breaking dance-a-thons.

Nominated for 2010’s Best of Western Washington award by Evening Magazine, Angelo Mendi Boutique Salon owner John Bolton crafts personalized hairdos with a house-created cutting technique rarely found in the Pacific Northwest. Dedicated to spreading their trimming skills, John and his team of stylists tour New York, Beverly Hills, and other cities teaching their modern approach to haircare and gleaning further knowledge. When not globetrotting, the hair gurus remain nestled in Tacoma’s Stadium district, employing a stable of Enjoy products to foil, highlight, and craft specialty coifs. Consultations before cuts survey client preferences, and each stylist spouts after-cut tips to ensure effective at-home styling and to keep the endangered hairstylist language alive.