Bakersfield Spa and Massage

Upscale Massage

Nestled inside Dolce Salon, licensed massage therapists Kaye Palomarez and Jesse Ramos enact a range of soothing services. Eschewing every child’s dream of becoming the first astronaut to play in the major leagues, Kaye instead focused her energies on massage therapy at an early age, devoting time to mastering various massage modalities such as Swedish, polarity, and reflexology. Kaye and Jesse’s dexterous digits also specialize in aromatherapy and shiatsu acupoints, services that can be combined to create custom massage experiences and party packages for special events such as bridal showers, bachelor parties, prison breaks, and vacations. Additionally, Kaye works to assuage more than just muscular tension by involving herself with community-oriented philanthropic organizations such as Empty Bowls and the Katherine Harvey Foundation.

The husband-wife team behind Salon Gianna founded the high-ceilinged spa space to fund research for rare childhood diseases after their daughter—the salon's namesake—was diagnosed with a congenital cell-growth disorder. The salon's aestheticians pamper guests with a range of services and use the proceeds to support work at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. Éminence organic facials nourish skin with ingredients both potent and natural, such as the clear-skin facial's probiotic yogurt mask or the paprika and fruit-acid exfoliant of the anti-aging facial.

Invigorating scrubs and body wraps extend skincare to the entire physique, reenergizing skin as much as jogging through a coffee storm. Massage therapists lull tense muscles into a relaxed state with deep-tissue and Swedish techniques, and nail technicians dress up hands and feet with chic Rockstar toes or long-lasting shellac polish. Stylists can customize tresses with new hues and cuts or remove unwanted strands during waxing sessions.

In Japanese, “shizen” means “nature,” an entity that owner Yumi Youn strives to channel every day through relaxing and meditative qualities in each of her services. As owner of Spa Shizen, she wears many hats, performing skincare, hair, and waxing services for her loyal clientele. One of her specialties is applying eyelash extensions, which she meticulously affixes one lash at a time using Eyelash Lab synthetic lashes. Yumi also offers classes to teach students tricks of the trade, such as creating a natural-looking brow arch and mixing a personalized skincare mask using only shredded Halloween masks.

Taking its French translation of "private spa" seriously, Spa Prive performs many of its treatments in private rooms cut off from the waiting area's more social arrangement of silk-like chairs and floral paintings. Muted lighting accompanies clients throughout the spa as they indulge in aesthetic and relaxation services that employ the power of Repêchage, PCA Skin, and Bioelements products. Licensed aestheticians treat acne with specialized facials, administer PCA peels on faces and backs, and landscape bodily forests with waxing services. Fingers and toes lose their troublesome hangnails and back-talking cuticles at the skilled hands of nail technicians, and Swedish, deep-tissue, and pregnancy massage release tensions from the body and into the wild.

The aesthetic experts at Spa Shizen pamper patrons from head to toe with a bag of visage- and digit-enhancing tricks. Microdermabrasion treatments send dead skin cells onto their next lives as Halloween masks, and permanent makeup ensures eyebrows, eyeliner, and lip liner stay put. Unruly strands find themselves realigned after a Brazilian blowout, and waxing services remove unwanted body and facial hair. Guests can also opt for a wide range of mani-pedis to polish their finger and toe armor. Additionally, Spa Shizen's aestheticians pass on their extensive knowledge during eyelash-extension, waxing, and permanent-makeup classes for professionals.

Honey is not only sweet, but it also can help to relieve stress. When licensed massage therapist Tammy Torres at Body Envy Massage gets her hands in the honey jar, it takes on this stress-relieving role during her signature honey-based massage treatments. Tammy also fights tensions with the long, gliding strokes of Swedish massage and offers invigorating body scrubs that leave skin looking and feeling as soft and smooth as a bear dressed as a seal for Halloween.