Elmwood Park, IL Beauty and Salons

In Pedicute Nails & Spa, the hushed sound of busy emery boards drifts amid vanilla-colored walls, crimson couches, and berry-pink orchids. Five manicure stations cradle clients in leather chairs, and feet steep happily in footbaths or dream of stomping a king's bubble wrap in one of three pedicure chairs. A battalion of sturdy polish shades cloaks finger and toe panels and keeps digits looking stylish while they're tapping, typing, or high-fiving ghosts.

As clients walk beneath the red awning of Spa Spot, tucked in the heart of Lincoln Park, they enter an intimate nail boutique lined with hundreds of bottles of OPI, CND, and Gelish nail polish. Technicians seated at modern nail stations or in front of leather pedicure chairs enhance fingertips and toe tips with organic lotions and scrubs and Shellac polishes designed to remain chip- and crack-free for up to three weeks. The BYOB spa also offers full-body waxing as well as mani-pedis geared toward kids or high-maintenance American Girl dolls.

The trend-savvy stylists at Rockstar Hair Salon cut, coif, and color hair inside their bustling Lakeview salon. A mohawked skull on the door welcomes patrons to this hair boutique, where black-and-red checkered floors and walls peppered with music posters entertain anyone looking for a stylish new hairdo that turns heads.

In her more than 17-year career, Melinda Rodriguez has participated in fashion shows for Nicole Miller and Armani, and crafted styles for such notable personalities as actress Jane Seymour and Latin-pop singer Chayanne. To expand the reach of her red-carpet styles, she founded Roque Beauty Lounge, a spacious salon and spa where a team of energetic style experts draw on experience in Chicago, Miami, and London to craft face-flattering looks that adhere to the salon's shared creative vision. Here, three tiers of stylists perform services at prices that match their individual experience level while using products by Moroccanoil and Oribe. Roque Beauty Lounge also houses The Lashe Spot, where lash technicians accentuate eyes by shaping brows and amplify lashes with synthetic extensions.

Salon de Vive's specialists work to enhance the sheen of clients' manes and the health of their skin with luxurious salon treatments. Complimentary consultations accompany each cut, color, or renewal treatment, shaping clients' individual styles and deciding which features to highlight. Haircare services also include blow-drys. Skin sessions utilize pure flower- and plant-essence-derived Aveda products to nourish and exfoliate pore pastures, and professional waxing treatments eliminate both unwanted hair and feelings of envy toward freshly buffed automobiles.

Skilled aesthetician Cristina acts as the only skin specialist at Salon De Vive, where she orchestrates a friendly and inviting environment and offers beautification services such as facials, waxing treatments, and makeup applications. With 17 years of experience under her belt, Cristina helps to improve the look of skinscapes, making skin shimmer like the surface of a lake at twilight, but without skinny-dipping lovebirds constantly frolicking in it.