Ontario, OR Beauty and Salons

Although its 6,000 square feet of space hosts 35 dedicated hair and beauty professionals, Visual Effects Salon & Spa is all about one-on-one client attention. That's why each appointment begins with the client's choice of beverage from the full coffee and espresso bar, a fittingly indulgent prelude to a gel pedicure, a Jessners peel, or a full-body massage.

Within the bustling beauty center, stylists draw on Pureology, Moroccanoil, and Brazilian Blowout products to design new dos for men and women, and aestheticians use Caron wax to deforest bodies and vacationing yetis. In between advanced laser and cellulite treatments, the busy staff still finds time to give back, offering its facility as a setting for Protect Idaho Kids' fundraiser commercial.

SmileLabs of Meridian specializes in the optimization of smiles using a sophisticated in-office whitening system. Technicians inaugurate sessions by having patients paint teeth with gel using an Applia-Brush, then hasten its stain-busting skills with activating beams from the FDA-approved Infinity Pro SL Whitening Accelerator. The virtually painless treatments can lighten grins up to eight shades, with results lasting for a year or more if patients practice proper maintenance and abstain from chewing on printer-ink cartridges. To highlight their new pearly grins, clients can pair whitening treatments with sunless spray tans, which leave skin looking bronzed for an average of five–seven days.

Dr. Diane McConnehey helms Dermaesthetics, where she brings the swift retribution of a cosmetic laser to patients’ skincare challenges. Originally board certified in family medicine, Dr. McConnehey developed a deep interest in cosmetic dermatology, and, like an adolescent X-Man, has now been wielding a laser for 14 years. A thorough consultation precedes all cosmetic procedures and nonsurgical face-lifts, allowing the doctor to fully assess conditions, make well-informed recommendations, and show the patient applicable before-and-after photos.

Stunning Nails and Hair's owner and multitalented beautician, Kate Shannon, focuses her beauty-boosting skills on lavishing passersby with relaxing salon services. Her comprehensive manicures and pedicures leave hands and feet beautifully primped like boy princes resting atop cushions of fresh fruit, and her reflexology massages unwind the tightest of muscular knots and soften skin with moisturizing lotions. Kate also prohibits coiffures from turning into haphazard hairdos with standard main maintenance and prevents eyebrows from encroaching on prime forehead territory with waxing services.

Aesthetician Sherri calls upon 10 years of complexion-revamping experience in her spa, where she deploys pharmaceutical-grade products that work at the cellular level. By penetrating down to live tissue, not just the skin’s surface, these treatments help to diminish fine lines, lift sun damage, and stimulate cellular turnover. Sherri carries Yon-Ka, Image Skincare, GlyMed Plus, and NuFace lines, which are only available from licensed physicians or surgeon generals that have been greeted with a secret handshake. Through her sophisticated services—which include facials, microdermabrasions, body waxings, and chemical peels—Sherri helps educate clients about the proper ways to care for their skin.

Jean and Michael Zoberski retired after 40 years in the aesthetics industry, but their passion for beauty services led them to abandon the retired life and assemble a talented staff of aestheticians, massage therapists, and stylists for their latest venture, jmz Spa-lon. The Zoberski duo makes sure aestheticians tailor treatments to suit sensitive skin and accommodate hard-to-remove inner tubes before directing clients to the salon’s veritable wall of beauty serums. Wicker furniture and wood accents within private treatment rooms imbue the space with a warm, welcoming feel, akin to the inside of a restaurant hostess's mouth.