Beauty & Spas in Encinitas

For as long as Lisa Johansen can remember, she's always had a passion for beauty. What began as a childhood infatuation with styling her own hair and nails blossomed into a careful path of study that included a 600-hour course in skincare and classes in the use of Murad and Image products. Today, the licensed aesthetician transforms clients out of her own intimate, one-room spa, welcoming them with complimentary champagne and a gentle request to turn off any cell phones or shoulder-mounted boom boxes. The quiet environment allows for optimum relaxation during services such as custom facials and purifying pumpkin peels, and helps lull hair into a false sense of security before it is waxed away from the brows, legs, stomach, or bikini area.

The experienced aestheticians at Nufaces Day Spa have been pampering the community for 16 years and employ botanical extracts and naturally derived products to beautify faces. The pumpkin-enzyme peel packs naturally occurring pumpkin enzymes, antioxidants, and jack-o'-lantern design blueprints into a single formula, which aestheticians use to help lift environmental impurities from the face. As the peel exfoliates away dead skin cells, antioxidants bind to younger skin to help protect it from sun damage, signs of aging, and graffiti artists. At the end of the service, aestheticians rinse the peel away and layer antioxidant nutrients revealing radiant, youthful-looking skin.

Sugar, lemon, and water might not be the first things that come to mind when you think of hair removal, but these three natural components are all that the staff at SugarCoated Skincare need to gently remove unsightly strands. Led by Kristin Fennema, a massage therapist, aesthetician, and sugaring specialist, staff performs sugaring services to get rid of unwanted hairs all over the face and body of male and female clients. The sugar serves as a natural exfoliant, leaving skin silky smooth and removing even short hairs. Kristin and her team also pamper clients with services such as personalized massages and antioxidant facials that incorporate kiwi, lemon, or pomegranate. In all the spa’s services, staff work to nourish the skin, leaving it feeling rejuvenated and craving an after-dinner mint.

A row of silver-framed mirrors sits before the styling chairs at Hairloom, providing an element of understated luxury. There's nothing understated about the menu of services, however?using L'Or?al Professionnel products, the salon?s team of hair wizards performs complex coloring services, including ombre highlights and color correction, and chic cuts. For those seeking something simpler, stylists braid, curl, straighten, and pin locks into fetching styles or hair sculptures.

Leslie E. Miller believes she has always had an intuitive streak; the ability to see deep into the soul of another person, even if that person is a total stranger. More than 10 years after getting her bachelor's degree in English literature, she made the choice to nourish her gift by moving to San Diego to get her holistic-health practitioner's license and study at a clairvoyant institute. Her decision paid off—her studies led her to be hired as a guest psychic for a month-long radio show in LA, write a book, and travel the world.

Today, amid the beaches and wildlife of her California surroundings, Leslie brings her gift to others through a bounty of energy- and intuition-based therapies. In addition to standard techniques such as therapeutic and pregnancy massage, she heals her clients' bodies by manipulating their energy fields through reiki, healing touch, chakra balancing, and other therapies. She also provides more spiritual relief through intuitive and angel readings and workshops that cover everything from living your dreams to reading your past lives.

The practitioners at Walk Out Feeling Better draw from the deep well of Chinese holistic healing to help their clients kick pharmaceuticals out of their medicine cabinets once and for all. Building custom plans for their clients, they help root out maladies at the source, including sleeping disorders, nicotine addiction, and allergies. Massage is at the center of their practice: aside from wiping away backaches, their tailored version aims to deliver a cornucopia of benefits, including alleviating migraines and letting endorphins loose to help the body deal with pain.