Beauty & Spas in Brookhaven

Voted Best Tanning in 2009 by Jackson CityVoters for its Ridgeland location, Solar 51 bronzes winter-weary bodies with more than 50 tanning beds. For a tawny complexion free of UV rays, Mystic Tan spray-tan booths cover the entire corpus with a fine mist and a custom solution infused with aloe vera to keep skin hydrated. To facilitate traditional tans, the staff curate a selection of popular tanning lotions, including White 2 Black, Hot Mess, and Reborn Couture. Each of the salon’s employees are Smart Tan–certified, which prepares them to help clients achieve coppery hues while practicing long division.

It's quiet in Aqua the Day Spa. No cell phones or pagers are allowed to remain active in either of the two locations, so all you hear is your pulse slowing to a steady, soothing beat and the tiny noises made as expert hands open bottles of designer beauty products. Open since 1998, owners Susan and Ralph Barnette struck the right, Enya-like chord in 2003, when they first earned the title of Best Day Spa in the Jackson Free Press's annual "Best Of" roundup. The team of aestheticians and massage therapists have swept that title every year since, deflating the competition in proportion to lifting spirits. Paraben-free Skin Authority and scented Tokyomilk tonics nourish skin with vitamin-rich Moroccan clay and soothing mango, or exfoliate dead cells with bamboo salves scented with ylang-ylang. The staff's nimble hands blend these into custom treatments, including those to combat aging and the strange shadows creeping over men's skin, and work aromatherapeutic elixirs into muscles with nine different massage modalities. OPI and Shellac nail polish transform hands and feet into fashion accessories, a project helped along by smoothing wax.

The highly trained stylists at Barnette’s Salon are accustomed to hearing compliments from satisfied clients, but in the past few years they've also had to get used to reading praise in print. Along with being named a "Top 100 Salon 2011" by Elle Magazine and "Reader's Choice for Best Salon 2012" by Mississippi Magazine, the salon––which boasts three locations––has also earned the title of "Best Beauty Shop of Jackson 2012" from the Jackson Free Press](http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2012/jan/25/best-of-jackson-2012-urban-living/), who proclaimed, "the staff is not only friendly and professional, but also immensely talented, consisting of some of the top stylists in town."

Those top stylists owe much of their success to the salon's training program, which divvies the staff into five levels, according to experience, and inducts new stylists only after they have endured at least one year of extensive training and learned to identify each hair color by its smell. Specialists if precision cuts and custom color, the team reaches for products from Aveda, Bumble and Bumble, MoroccanOil, and CareTrico, and add instant length and volume using 100% human hair extensions by Great Lengths. For tresses in need of a new texture, they can also calm unruly curls with Keratin smoothing treatments or set strands with permanent waves to help cut down on time spent dealing with hot curling irons or hot rollers.

Skin on the neck ages seven times as quickly as the skin on the face. Body Anew Medical Spa's Laya Parisi went on the record in the Jackson Free Press to alert readers of this fact, recommending IPL laser treatments to keep the head's pedestal looking youthful. Laya is but one of the medical spa's many knowledgeable skin experts, whose collective passion for skincare extends all over the body. They also use nonsurgical services, including facials and chemical peels, as ways to combat acne, sun spots, and fine lines. To refine the rest of the body, the team calls on non-wax depilatories to whisk away unwanted hair and lasers to zap spider veins while leaving surrounding skin as undisturbed as a kitten napping in a baseball glove.

Lashea Sabatini's roster of massage therapies and body treatments sound indulgent—the shea-butter body whip, the aromatherapy oils—but often they couldn't have a more serious intent. That's because Lashea specializes in fertility massage, a modality that she says aids in conception by cleansing the digestive system, balancing the body's cranial-sacral alignment, and stimulating the genes that cause humans to become successful doctors instead of manatees. Along with fertility massage, she offers Swedish, deep-tissue, and prenatal massage.

From the outside, Social Agenda Salon and Boutique looks traditional. It's housed in a white bungalow marked with a wide picture window and bright-blue awning, surrounded by trees and greenery. But inside, a team of professional beautifiers ardently pores over the latest trends. Stylists coil and cut locks into diverse looks, from edgy pixie cuts textured with crimped pieces to vintage-inspired dos and intricate braids. Nail techs brighten fingertips with no-chip Shellac and a rainbow of OPI shades that make hands stand out like a penguin at a nightclub for polar bears.

Inside the studio, the team keeps things homey and relaxed. While they wait, visitors indulge in a handful of freshly popped popcorn, a mug of coffee, or a cold Coke, or stroll around the back patio to enjoy complimentary views of the sky.