Beauty & Spas in North Cowichan

The beauticians at Parto's Rejuvenation Center revitalise skin with soothing facials and massages. Clients are led into a cozy, ambient-lit room where aestheticians administer exfoliating facials with Pure Radiant Energy anti-aging skincare products, along with other physician approved products. The products contain all-natural ingredients, a slew of vitamins, and, like one-liners about the food chain, were never tested on animals.

The staff at Tara's Beauty Salon approaches aesthetics with a naturopathic philosophy, striving to achieve results by accelerating the body's innate processes. They offer several services—including hair removal, skin-rejuvenating treatments, and treatments for unwanted pigmentation—using the light and heat energy (LHE) found in DermaSpark technology. The device uses a broad spectrum of light along with thermal energy, a combination that can provide faster sessions, effectiveness on a wider variety of skin and hair colours, and lower overall energy usage than traditional lasers or dragons wielding flashlights.

The aestheticians and laser specialists at Kitsilano Laser & Spa Centre help patrons achieve their aesthetic goals with advanced technology such as the GentleYAG laser, Sapphire 3 photorejuvenation machine, and Vitasonix microdermabrasion machine. They wield the YAG laser to permanently reduce hair on all skin types, including tanned and magenta skin, and use ultrasonic currents to tone facial muscles and lift the skin. Clients can also take advantage of less invasive spa services with waxing, mani-pedis, and soothing massages.

According to the aestheticians of Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial Clinic, the remedy for problematic skin has been right under everyone's noses—and in everyone's lungs, for that matter. During treatments profiled in several magazines and praised by celebs such as Victoria Beckham and Channing Tatum, a specialized molecular sieve filters the surrounding air into an applicator that delivers a steady stream of oxygen into the skin. Geometry teachers swoon as aestheticians hold the applicator at a perfect 90-degree angle above skin's surface, creating pressure similar to a hyperbaric chamber in order to boost the skin's ability to absorb nutrients. Blended with the oxygen are antioxidant-rich agents—including vitamins, green tea, and a low-weight hyaluronic acid—that delve deep into the skin to increase moisture retention.

Clients can opt to introduce one of two additional formulations into each treatment to leave their faces even more radiant. The Opulence infusion brightens skin with botanicals and highly concentrated vitamin C, while the Atoxelene infusion plumps skin with peptides that dissipate fine lines and wrinkles.

While browsing shops during her travels in New York, Australia, and Europe, Alisa West Folk's lifelong dream to own a boutique only grew stronger. Her own wish was granted when she and her mom, Kathie, opened Wish.List Boutique. The mom-and-daughter team stocks the shop with finds such as Deborah Lippmann and Butter London nail polish, Deux Lux handbags, and Hanky Panky underwear. Alisa especially loves the Voluspa candles—"The smells are unbelievable," she says, singling out Santiago Huckleberry as her favourite aroma.

It's Alisa and Kathie's passion for their products that makes Wish.List Boutique a treasure trove for shoppers. They have to "fall in love" with something in order to consider it worthy of the boutique's shelves. "Anything we would want to use or feel like we need in our lives, we want in the store," Alisa says. That includes a focus on paraben-free, organic, and less-toxic items, including John Masters Organic haircare products.

The store brings a chic vibe to Kitsilano with white paint, a damask accent wall, and butterfly motif, all lit by chandelier. To keep faces equally fresh, the staff's professional makeup artist gives complimentary makeup applications and cosmetics advice on Thursdays, Fridays, and some Saturdays. Wish.List Boutique also hosts events on occasion—they threw a lipstick and wine-pairing party for their one-year anniversary in 2010, and Real Housewives of Vancouver star Mary Zilba helped them celebrate posh polishes with a 50 Shades of Summer party.

In addition to feminine accessories and beauty products, Alisa and Kathie also curate a selection of baby gifts, and the shop is a popular place to pick up presents. "A lot people come in looking for a gift and then they end up buying something for themselves," Alisa says.

Alisa knows she's doing her job right when she's out at a restaurant or around town and someone asks her where she got her bag. It's even more gratifying when she hears their response: "They say, 'Oh, I love that store!'" she says.

The aestheticians at Forever Young Beauty & Body Care Center boost their clients’ natural beauty with facials, scrubs, and slimming spa treatments. They draw from advanced technological instruments to erase signs of aging and acne with LED phototherapy, radio frequencies, and intense pulsed light (IPL). While their facials infuse skin with revivifying vitamin C and collagen, nail technicians tend to hands with manicures that remove rough calluses and painful mousetraps.