Beauty & Spas in Millbrae

For more than 20 years, Helene Rene and her staff of talented tress trimmers have transformed lackluster locks into stylish coiffures that complement clients' face shapes, features, and lifestyles. Rene's intensive training with L'Oréal in Paris led her to a prestigious teaching post at Redken Laboratories, where she educated stylists. While at Redken she introduced two hair-color lines, taught professional stylists how to formulate a full spectrum of hair colors, and reinvented the color wheel. After working for multiple high-end salons, Rene finally opened her own, and developed a proprietary skincare and makeup line that's available at the salon along with Never Have Another Ugly Day, a step-by-step makeup-application book.

From their cozy hair haven in Noe Valley, the stylists of Lisa's Beauty Salon welcome men and women of all ages into a bright space warmed with natural light and rich yellow walls. As clients perch in cushioned salon chairs, the team updates manes with expertly shaped cuts and a spectrum of hues furnished by Goldwell. Using formaldehyde-free Keratin Complex products, they smooth the texture of clients' tresses for three to five months, ensuring curl-calming results more durable than singing coifs nightly lullabies.

In a world of solemn responsibilities and stern rules, Flirt Nail Lounge stands as a haven of whimsical femininity. Bright pink walls, purple shag carpets, and signs declaring, “A princess sits here” cast off the grownup world to let guests revel in luxurious nail services elevated by a host of pampering extras. Nail techs sit on plush pink ottomans as their clients melt into tufted white armchairs above them, their feet dangling in the warm water of sinks set into the floor. In addition to performing manicures and pedicures with OPI polish and no-chip Shellac lacquer, the techs specialize in painting ornate designs—replete with 3-D accoutrements such as gemstones, gold accents, and can openers—on natural nails or acrylic extensions. The lounge also features a private room for waxing treatments and a boutique that brims with bath oils and cupcake bath bombs by Sugar Rush.

Owner Jacquie “Blu” Washington brings a contemporary flair to old-Hollywood glamour, not only in her creative hair designs but also in the modern, sumptuous interior of GlamSity, the salon that she cofounded with her mother Gloria. In the salon, which was featured in Essence magazine in 2011, Blu and her staff create looks ranging from runway chic to timeless classic with services such as haircuts, color, relaxers, and weaves. As a backdrop to their styling services, wooden furniture and curved, wood-framed mirrors stand out against the salon’s baby-blue walls.

During the summer of 1970, Moscow State University math student Mikhail Brodsky traveled to the Konda River in Western Siberia to log trees. While there, he visited his first banya—a public Russian bathhouse—and tried Siberian steam bathing. He became enamored of the practice, but didn't get to experience it again until visiting another Siberian town four years later. He soon started traveling throughout the world to study all the baths and hot springs he could find, earning the nickname Archimedes—for the ancient Greek mathematician—due to his habit of helping bathhouse staff members solve problems.

After moving to California, Mikhail decided to open his own bathhouse. Though design and construction took 12 years, he and a group of international friends finally opened Archimedes Banya, a coed public bathhouse that blends the aesthetics and traditions of Greek, Turkish, German, and Russian bathhouses with modern amenities. Spa staffers usher guests into steamy hardwood saunas and cold swimming pools on four themed floors, each decked out in warm cream-colored tiles or cool blue and silver accents. Deck chairs populate the rooftop patio, where visitors take in views of the bay and excise any remaining stress by screaming at boats. In private spa rooms, therapists knead guests' muscles during Russian platza massages and soak them in natural herb and mineral baths. The bathhouse and its restaurant stay open as late as midnight on weekends.

At Zazen, students relax their bodies and focus their minds during sessions of Zen Buddhist seated meditation, the soothing practice for which the center is named. But both Zazen locations work to cultivate calm with other services as well. Sensory-deprivation tanks block out distracting external stimuli as guests float in 10 inches of warm saltwater, a practice many say helps them grow their awareness of the present moment. Massage sessions focus on freeing the body from tension, so it can be experienced as spaciousness rather than constraint. Yoga classes also help guests become mindful, filling hearts and limbs with enough calm energy to quiet a bawling infant with a single, whispered "shhh."