Beauty & Spas in Irmo

The staff members at Five Points Salon, an Aveda concept salon, employ numerous naturally derived products when crafting dos. When painting on single-process color and highlights, they infuse clients' hair with Aveda Full Spectrum hair color, crafted with sunflower, castor, and jojoba oils. They permanently straighten locks with a formula that contains organic ylang-ylang. They also use a semipermanent smoothing treatment composed primarily of plants and nonpetroleum minerals. Haircuts, special-occasion updos, and 250 brushstrokes round out the menu of services.

Plush robes and slippers, a warm plunge shower, chilled fruit, and glasses of wine—these are all the trademark amenities of All About U. Guests can drop in for a pedicure with a foaming foot soak, or spend a full day at the spa, dissolving tension with body treatments ranging from a four-hands massage to a body wrap that pairs customized-aroma body butter with a mask of plant extracts. Skincare experts harness the enigmatic powers of Dead Sea minerals, green papaya, and vitamin C, and they also treat backs to facials, readying them for strapless dresses or practice streaks at a nudist colony.

In addition to spa services, All About U transforms manes. Its stylists add dimension to tresses with highlights, enhance them with weaves, and create tidy dreadlocks. The spa’s Boyz II Men full-service barbershop handles buzz cuts and razor tape shaves, augmenting their services with hot-towel facials and shoulder massages that ease clients into a zen-like state previously thought attainable only by three-toed sloths.

Dr. Oliver Simmons performs surgical procedures and oversees med-spa therapies by drawing upon years of professional experience, including a fellowship in craniofacial and microvascular surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Simmons and his team use clinical-grade treatments to perform tummy tucks, Botox, and microdermabrasions, among many other procedures. The office is decorated with curlicue wall designs, bouquets laced with peacock feathers, and floral paintings that sprouted from frequently watered easels.

Names matter to the massage therapists who helm fuse. They strive to remember each client's name and to infuse their studio's moniker with meaning as well. When naming fuse, they intertwined three relaxing concepts. The first two revolve around the word's English definitions: to melt or to blend together by melting. The third, drawn from its Japanese meaning, adds the idea of sharing one's gifts. The therapists illustrate all three definitions during massages tailored to clients' needs and pressure preferences. Stress and tension melt away as they lavish tender sinews with soothing strokes and gentle friction. During hot-stone massages, heated basalt stones help dissolve muscle knots. The studio also offers skin-smoothing services, such as foot refreshers and body scrubs, and four-handed massages performed by two attentive therapists rather than one semidistracted octopus.

Skin cancer changes a person. Luckily for DeAnne Corley, only the discovery of precancerous cells was needed for her to divest herself of her sunbathing habits and instill in her a desire to warn others about the dangers of sun exposure. Her passion resulted in a complete diversion in her career trajectory, leaving her previous job to open a mobile and salon-based spray-tanning service that gives patrons a sultry glow without putting their health or style at risk.

Her trained tan techs now man the private treatment rooms inside Blades of Columbia Salon and deliver treatments to homes, offices, or surprise pool parties. Staffers wield a tightly controlled stream of DHA tanning solution, spending 15 to 20 minutes spraying bodily facades to ensure an even, streak-free bronzing. Once tans have set, patrons can show off summery hues that last 7 to 10 days, or opt to partake of one of the salon’s natural nail care or enhancement treatments that groom hands without enduring the tedium of sandpaper gloves.

Licensed aesthetician Gloria Edlam has been restoring a healthy glow to her clients’ skin for more than 9 years. At her station in Studio Fringe, she customizes each microdermabrasion treatment, facial peel, and mask to meet the skincare needs of each client.