Beauty & Spas in Gatineau

• For $35, you get a five-class card (a $75 value). • For $50, you get one month of unlimited yoga or tai-chi classes (a $135 value).

It’s no mistake that the word “care” is repeated twice in the name Top Care Body Care Center. The center’s therapists emphasize compassion for their clients above all else, devising custom massages that combine Swedish, Chinese, and deep-tissue strokes to achieve a single end result: total relaxation. Their menu of services doesn’t stop at massages; other rejuvenating or beautifying treatments include acupuncture, facials, waxing, and changing of the 9-volt batteries that power involuntary muscle movements.

Rooted in the belief that beauty starts inside, the aestheticians, massage therapists, and nail techs at Centre de Santé et Beauté d'Aylmer customize holistic treatments to support overall wellness. Body and beauty services also enhance human exteriors with cellulite treatments, skincare, infratherapy, and laser hair removal. The spa's boutique environs ensure total relaxation with ample amber-coloured walls and plenty of natural light.

Elite Laser Clinic's licensed laser technicians assuage wrinkles, sunspots, and facial veins with advanced healing treatments. Each non-invasive facial commences with a consultation to determine each client's personal skin concerns, including loss of skin tone, spider veins, or the sudden appearance of temporary bull's-eye tattoos. A skin rejuvenation treatment revives glows by clarifying texture, strengthening elastins, and firming collagen, and spider veins and facial telangiectasias diminish during a laser vein removal free from general anesthesia. For sun damage or liver spots, a pigmentation lesion eradication session restores colour and youthfulness to visages without having to master the stick-shift on manual time machines. Each treatment harnesses the gentle wavelengths emanating from an Apogee Elite laser to remedy skin during sequential, 15- to 30-minute procedures. The pigmentation treatments are not effective for those with dark skin tones.

Beneath the foliage of pine, maple, and birch trees, visitors descend into the steamy or chilled waters of BleuSpa’s outdoor Scandinavian baths for a warm winter escape. Both temperatures reap similar benefits for the body, relaxing minds, stimulating circulation, and dissolving dead skin cells as patrons gaze upon the sapphire-tinged peaks of the Gatineau Hills. The placid waters calm digestive and nervous systems, and the promotion of perspiration gently persuades toxins to pack their wagons and relocate.

At Aloha SuperTan's two locations, consultants work directly with each client to map out an ideal tanning schedule based on skin type, safe levels of exposure, and desired hue. Once the plan is made, staff members guide guests to tanning rooms furnished with the latest beds, which they regularly update with new bulbs and thoroughly sanitize after each use. Aloha SuperTan also has a red-light-therapy bed that aims to speed up collagen production, which may tighten wrinkles and tone skin. A spray-tan booths stand ready to bronze bodies or wooden sculptures, and shelves of tanning lotion provide myriad options for tanners.