Beauty & Spas in Makakilo

It’s not just the soft glow of candlelight, the array of floral sprays, or even the pampering spa treatments that keep clients coming back to Laka Skin Care & Spa. They come for the salon’s holistic treatments, backed by the science of Nobel Prize–winning research. The salon’s staff is trained in everything from facial reflexology to the salon’s three signature facials—all of which use 24-karat gold to brighten and cleanse skin.

What really sets the spa’s treatments apart are the optional add-ons. The house brand of aromatherapy, 21 Drops, infuses facials and massages with healing essential oils to entertain noses. Heated amethyst mats detoxify both body and mind while clients relax on them.

Situated inside the Outrigger Luana Waikiki Hotel, the sleek contemporary interior of Ville De Coco envelops visitors in a tranquil environment while staff members administer customized pampering services. You can get a traditional Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage in a private room, or climb into a pillow-lined pedicure chair to soak your feet in warm tubs filled with aromatic salts.

For Salon Blanc co-owner Alan Vuong, hair is more than something to tuck behind an ear or sweep over a shoulder—it's an artistic medium that inspires creativity and pride. The salon's website even asserts that "hair is an expression of the moment we live in." Nothing could hold truer for Vuong and his team, who are continually educating themselves on the latest cutting and coloring techniques and products. They displayed these to full effect when they journeyed to California for the 2011 International Salon and Spa Expo—one of the largest professional beauty events on the West Coast—a trip chronicled on Living Local.

Vuong's trendsetting artistic vision earned him the title of Honolulu magazine's Editors' Pick for Best Hairstylist in 2009, and according to that publication, "he even has clients flying in from Japan and Guam to get the Vuong vibe." He and his crew rely on the Kérastase and Shu Uemura lines for haircare, and also offer services such as bridal packages, makeup, and waxing.

It should come as no surprise that Vuong is as concerned with the salon aesthetic as he is with his clients' satisfaction. His blank-canvas hair philosophy is much like the look of the Ala Moana Beach–facing salon itself; in fact, he compared the space to an artist's studio in a feature in American Salon magazine. The minimalist, white-on-white interior is accentuated by black leather chairs and feathery chandeliers that are lighter and more elegant than a performance of Swan Lake on the international space station.

Traditional Chinese medicine and Western beauty practices join forces at Advanced Medi-Spa Hawaii. Practitioner Cindy Chang draws on her experience as a licensed acupuncturist and cosmetologist to deliver face-lifts—which rely on fine needles instead of scalpels—and skin-clearing treatments that use intense pulsed light and herbs. A few zaps from a cold laser help erase age spots, freckles, and birthmarks, and the radio-frequency energy emitted by the Lamprobe machine banishes skin tags, clogged pores, and the other blemishes caused by not living in a car wash.

Steamy saunas and cool pools share space with an in-house salon, massage parlor, and nail studio at Herbal Spa Sauna & Salon, which has separate facilites for men and women. The journey through saunas and baths is ordered strategically for optimal effect, beginning with a hot-tub dip to calm muscles and relax minds. After a sojourn in the steam sauna opens pores and releases tension, the dry sauna heats cores with controlled 210-degree coals to ease muscles and a bath cools down bodies before limber limbs meditate in a jade room. A Himalayan salt sauna uses heat to release the minerals found in salt to benefit respiratory systems, reduce stress, and improve skin health.

Over at the salon, aestheticians work out any lingering stresses with body scrubs, massages, and pedicures that outfit toes with bright colors before their next trip into pitch-black shoe caves. Staffers stock locker rooms with complimentary robes, ice water, and shower products to ensure pleasant transitions to and from the tranquil retreat.

Paradise Massages & Spa’s therapists combine tailored massage strokes with essential oils that evoke the relaxing scents of the tropics. During lomilomi massages inspired by Hawaii’s own holistic healing traditions, they use their hands, forearms, and elbows to rhythmically soothe muscles. Another island-inspired treatment, the hot-lava massage, employs heated stones to stimulate circulation and ease the daily stresses of living inside an active volcano. The staff’s expertise extends beyond sore backs and shoulders; their customized facials, for example, open pores with a blast of soothing steam before moisturizing skin with a healing mask and relaxing frown lines with a facial massage.