Beauty & Spas in Castaic

One day, Araceli decided to get a facial. She figured that it would probably cleanse and hydrate her skin, but she didn’t anticipate that it would lead her to a new career. For a full 60 minutes, her aesthetician doted on her with ingredients customized to suit her skin. Araceli remembers that first facial better than any since—largely because it’s the very experience she tries to replicate every day at her own spa, Beautiful Skin by Araceli.

Araceli runs her spa according to a simple philosophy—facials and chemical peels should feel good. To this end, she always conducts a thorough skin analysis and talks with her clients to understand their concerns. She then uses this information to customize a safe, effective facial with Skin Script’s all-natural fruit enzymes or PCA Skin’s gentle blend of lactic acid, vitamin C, and phytohormones designed to plump up skin like an accidentally swallowed balloon.

Aside from being ingested by a toddler at some point, mud, clay, ink, and 24-karat gold don’t have much else in common⎯except for helping skin look better. Spa Botanica uses these unlikely ingredients, along with MD Care skincare products, during its roster of facials, body treatments, and henna-tattoo services. A 24-karat gold facial uses a mask made of the rare metal to instantly lift the skin and help prevent wrinkles from settling in. An infrared detoxifying body wrap detoxifies from head to toe, helps reduce the appearance of cellulite, and improves circulation to the skin. Ornate designs temporarily decorate the skin with henna art that can last up to three weeks.

The professional nail artists at Princess Nails and Spa give fingers and toes the royal treatment. Inside the clean, modern spa, ragged appendages and overgrown cuticles are swiftly put to rights with artful shaping and a stern talking-to. Coats of colorful, name-brand polishes add a finishing touch to each freshened nail, and chip-free Shellac polishes ensure mirror finishes stay in place for as long as two weeks.

Kathrine Heinzman spent a large part of her 25-year career managing Christine Valmy’s flagship salon in Beverly Hills before continuing her beautification pursuits at Dermalogica’s International Dermal Institute education center. At her own Skin and Body Care Center, Kathrine and her team incorporate tools such as Clarisonic skin-cleansing and NuFace skin-lifting to complement a menu of facials and microdermabrasions. Dermalogica products augment the efficacy of treatments as well, with help from Ultraceuticals, Blinc cosmetics, and face massages administered by kittens in knit booties.

Doctor of Chiropractic Amit Mehta melds his 11 years of chiropractic practice and expertise with the acupunctural arts of Dr. Kathy Long to fashion holistic wellness treatments that address the root causes of bodily discomfort rather than the symptoms. After receiving a degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin and his chiropractic degree from the Southern California University of Health Sciences, Dr. Mehta established his practice to care for the skeletal health of patients of all ages. Licensed massage therapists manipulate noncalcified tissue with a variety of modalities. The targeted strokes enhance healing processes begun by chiropractic work or by apologizing to backs for sleeping on lumpy mattresses. The doctors also help patients continue to better themselves at home with simple corrective exercises and nutritional counseling to find vitamins that best suit their needs.

Angela Landy didn’t learn about sugar compounds in a baking class; rather, she was introduced to them at a skincare convention after years of frustration with shaving and waxing. When a specialist from Alexandria Professional offered Angela a hair removal alternative that would suit her sensitive skin, she jumped at the opportunity, not knowing that it would soon change her life. After gaining her aesthetician’s license and certification as a sugaring practitioner, she opened The Sweetest Skin Co. to treat clients with sugaring hair removal and other skincare services.

Using an all-natural Alexandria Professional compound of water, lemon juice, and sugar, Angela removes hair from the root while simultaneously nourishing the skin and keeping tattoos from getting dehydrated. In addition to smoothing down bodies with hair removal, she also treats clients with various skincare services such as facials, back exfoliations, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels. All of Angela’s treatments are powered by professional-grade products from brands such as glo-therapeutics, Alexandria Professional, Bionet, Enspri, and Spa Girl.