Beauty & Spas in Lenexa

Roca Salon & Spa’s roots draw upon more than 35 years of styling history, adventure, and love. It began with Vidal Sassoon–trained hairstylist Rod Cavner running a small Main Street salon named Blondie’s, where he was joined by his soon-to-be wife, and fellow Vidal Sassoon–trained hairstylist, Rhonda. After marrying and moving to Hawaii for four years, the duo returned with innovative new services, design concepts, and island-themed nicknames for friends. The result was Rhonda's three-year makeover of the space, which now includes eco-friendly, energy-efficient lighting and appliances as well as eye-catching decor.

The couple's time spent island hopping is evident in the pedicure room, where bamboo reaches up toward a sparkling chandelier that shines upon backlit purple-and-pink glass basins, in which toes bask in hot stones and Hawaiian mud. Stacey Soble of Salon Today interviewed Rhonda when the salon was named the third runner-up in the magazine's Salon of the Year design competition. Cavner said, "The bonus wow factor is the entire styling area floor has embedded phosphorescent chips which cause the floor to glow in the dark when the lights suddenly go off!”

But the decor isn't the only thing that earned the company recognition as one of KC Magazine’s best Kansas City salons in 2012. The talented team includes hair colorists who have trained in London, Paris, and Beverly Hills, as well as skilled aestheticians, massage therapists, and nail technicians. The color experts work their magic in an elegant, modern area with see-through chairs, potted white orchids, and long strings of crystal beads that divide the space and give visiting Spider-Men an easy way to reach the ceiling.

Even as a 4-year-old growing up in Honolulu, Vee Osborne was drawn to Hawaiian shamanism and the Huna philosophy, which stresses the balance of the mind, body, and spirit through one’s actions. Her early passion for healing others led her down the path to becoming a hypnotherapist, reiki master, and ordained minister before she funneled her devotion to creating harmony and guiding others toward wellness into Plaza West Massage and Day Spa. Here, clouds of gentle music and the scent of essential oils greet her guests, who slip into robes and sip wine as they unwind. And Vee’s Hawaiian roots remain readily apparent, inspiring the spa’s potted palms, bamboo massages, piña-colada scrubs, and wall-sized pictures that bring Pacific beaches to Kansas.

Vee’s healing services go beyond relaxation, though. Her team of massage therapists kneads aching muscles with Swedish, trigger-point, and deep-tissue modalities, deepening their knot-fighting effect with volcanic stones and essential oils. After a body wrap with Dead Sea salts or a glycolic peel, guests can visit the two-tiered sauna or extend their rejuvenation with an energy-balancing reiki session. The spa also delves into treatments that rely on electronic frequencies, such as a tri-phasic resonator, which fights cellulite, or quantum electro-ionization, which aims to diminish blemishes rather than cover them up with white-out. Before heading home, clients can pick up body and facial products from Vee’s eponymous line, such as Island Essence hair products, complete with tropical scents.

During her 10 years in practice, Dental Expressions owner and dentist Sonal Bhoot has done much more than care for teeth—she has been a caring member of her community. Dr. Bhoot participates in programs that help underprivileged children receive dental care and facilitates training for dental assistants in the area. She has worked in both inner-city and suburban settings, and she is skilled at connecting with people of all age groups. As a member of both the Leawood Chamber of Commerce and the Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce, in addition to several local study clubs, Dr. Bhoot stays ahead of what's happening in her city and in the dental field.

Along with her associate, Dr. Mary Augustyn, Dr. Bhoot relies on state-of-the-art technology during each of her treatments. She carefully gauges the measurements needed for a root canal with an electronic apex locator and creates tooth-colored ceramic crowns in a single appointment with the CEREC 3-D system. She and her team detect subsurface cavities with the laser DiagnoDent pen, which also comes in handy for engraving one's name on a steel mug.

The staff at Thomas Anderson & Associates strives to make clients smile—and not just during their before-and-after pictures. Massage chairs, flat-screen TVs, and a wide selection of movies and music help make visits to the office as relaxing as a tumbler of whiskey enjoyed in one's very own pit of quicksand. Technicians apply a gentle touch when performing exams, x-rays, and other general-dentistry procedures. Cosmetic services—including teeth whitening and Invisalign—remain as noninvasive as possible.

Though Beyond Beauty's master stylists and aestheticians can expertly cut hair and exfoliate skin, clients keep returning to the full-service salon for the individual attention they have come to expect on each visit. Before cutting, coloring, and styling your hair with help from Paul Mitchell and hypoallergenic HBL products, hairstylists take care to include you in the creative design process. The end result of this process might be a traditional cut with highlights or, in cases of curly, unmanageable hair, a keratin smoothing treatment that minimizes frizz for a sleeker look.

Beyond Beauty’s aestheticians pickup where their styling counterparts leave off, administering nourishing facials and peels that restore skin's youthful glow. Their waxing treatments remove unwanted hair from across the body, and their mani-pedis repair fingernails chipped while prying open boxes or active beehives.

“Give me 45 minutes and I will take off 15 years,” says Midwest Medical Aesthetics' president Kathleen Stegman on the company’s website. As a registered nurse with a quarter-century of experience in the beauty industry, she has the knowledge to do just that. Stegman's expertise lies in beauty injections such as Botox and Dysport, which she's been using to tighten faces for more than 13 years. Along with her team of associated physicians, she also harnesses the power of laser energy to help clients remove unwanted hair, shed fat, and erase tattoos of ex-lovers' favorite species of fungus.