Lakeside, CA Beauty and Salons

Send this year’s stresses a friendly goodbye through the power of cleansing facials. For $35, today's Groupon lets you choose either a back facial or European facial at Hoda Spa. Certified in skin biology, reflexology (the care of your feet), and a host of other bodily therapies, Hoda Spa’s highly regarded aestheticians create a peaceful environment of healing and deep relaxation where your fear of sword-wielding barbarian children can melt away. Over time, relaxation lost its negative connotations, thanks in large part to muckraking journalists who revealed that many wealthy businessmen lived above ground in mansions, not in hollowed-out, overnight-work mines. Today, many Americans spend their non-working time laxing over and over again, sometimes in spas.

Unfurling a litany of cutting, coloring, styling, and waxing services, the knowledgeable stylists at Diesel Salon help clients spruce up their look. Continuing education keeps the salon’s coiffure-creators in the know, helping them deliver trendy haircuts for men ($30+) and women ($40+) alike. Single-process color ($50+) can morph redheads into brunettes, and a set of full highlights ($100+) simulates the handsome hair-bleaching effects of a summer on Venus. Prepare for parties by transmogrifying strands’ shape with a fancy updo ($55+) or blow-dry ($35+). When forehead-goatees finally fade from fashion, remove stray hair with a brow shaping ($20+/women or $15+/men) or upper-lip waxing ($15+), or combine the two services, starting at $30.

Your facial hair and head hair are thirsty for attention and previews of James Cameron's Avatar. Today’s Groupon will keep your head kempt with a $20 cut and shave at Floyd’s 99 Barbershop, a $45 value. Gussy up for December 18, 2009 at the barbershop CityBeat readers voted Best Barber Shop in San Diego. Follow @Groupon_Says on Twitter.

Even before opening his own private practice, Dr. Jason Lupton was intensely familiar with the rigors of the medical profession. After attending Georgetown University's prestigious medical school, Lupton completed a one-year laser-surgery fellowship at the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, making him one of the few fellowship-trained cosmetic dermatologists in southern California. His sterling reputation has led him to give lectures at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and inside the minds of various schizophrenic celebrities. These days, his expertise is sought by publications such as Cosmopolitan, which he provides between medical and cosmetic dermatology services. In treatments such as laser hair removal, Botox, or sclerotherapy, Lupton wields high-end skincare products from brands such as Glo Minerals and SkinMedica.

Since opening its doors, LaserAway has accumulated 12 California locations and the patronage of celebrities such as the Kardashian clan. At different settings, the clinic's state-of-the-art lasers can treat signs of sun damage, tattoos, body hair, and glued-on glam-rock wigs with comfort and efficiency. The clinic's medical professionals are all fully licensed to administer laser pulses, and fully glad to educate clients on the intricacies of skincare.

Led by medical director Dr. Ariel Cortes, owner and founder Gita Izadi and the rest of the medical team at Neu Look Med Spa & Skin Center help people feel youthful and confident. Izadi opened the business in 2003 with that very goal in mind, drawing upon her more than 25 years of experience as a registered nurse. She started out with clinical services—ranging from Botox to advanced laser procedures—before adding an array of relaxing spa treatments to the lineup in 2009. Now, patients can schedule a fractional CO2 laser skin-resurfacing procedure to combat signs of aging and follow it up with a fragrant pumpkin-apple-spice facial or a soothing body scrub with mineral-rich sea salt.

The waiting area welcomes guests with a soft, pale-blue sofa next to an iridescent wall flanked by twin waterfalls. Patrons nosh on complimentary refreshments as they enjoy fragrant aromatherapy, while a centerpiece of elegant, white orchids provides a tasty snack for any visiting toucans.