Beauty & Spas in Penticton

Judy Olmstead, a certified beautician of more than 30 years, partnered with fellow stylist Marlene to fulfill a dream: to offer hairstyling and aesthetic services in an environment that celebrates beauty. Today, The Garage Hair Studio and Esthetics Salon employs a certified staff of five stylists and one aesthetician. As stylists create customized looks with haircuts, colouring, and texturing treatments, aesthetician Leanne soothes skin with facials and performs expert face and body waxing. Gel and Gelish manicures and pedicures bedazzle fingers and toes, and massage therapy helps clients unwind and relax.

To help customers maintain their hairstyles or tame cowlicks in their shag carpets, the salon carries botanical-rich products from Kevin Murphy and smoothing conditioners from Moroccanoil. Services feature the salon’s exclusive Natural Concepts products.

When resort guests want vacations from their vacations, the quadrilateral Beyond Wrapture Mind and Body Care transports them out of the country. The four spas have no airports, however—instead, they’ve simply named and modelled their spaces after coveted destinations. Both the Coast Capri Hotel and Big White Ski Resort embrace a meditative asian theme. Summerland Waterfront Resort & Spa’s Manhattan room and Central Park pedicure stations evoke New York chic, whereas Lake Okanagan Resort Spa pairs its shoreline views with Moroccan-inspired baths and palatial treatment areas.

Despite their distinct designs, the spas share a common aim: simultaneous pampering of the body, mind, and soul. And although they mimic faraway settings, their services prioritize homegrown ingredients blended into their own essential oils, scrubs, and lotions for specialty procedures. Vinotherapy massages, for example, harness the healing properties of grape antioxidants with formulas made from local winery byproducts, including grape stems, skins, and pips, and overripe grapes that are about to mature into apples. The massages pair well with such luxurious services as honey-wine wraps and Okanagan grape-pip scrub.

K1-8 Hair and Aesthetics, selected as a top spa in 2012 by the Penticton Western News invites both male and female clients to step across its black-and-white checkered floor where stylish hairdos are created daily. Inside the clean and modern salon, staff members gussy up coifs on men, women, and fuzzy mannequins with a variety of hair services. Whether delivering a cut, colour, or style, the crew works closely with each guest to customize his or her ideal look.

The bodywork experts at FitZen Massage focus on creating custom treatments that address each of their clients' unique needs. They care for humans of all ages and work closely with other healthcare providers to bolster healing and pave the path to health. Available services extend well beyond tradition massage to include float therapy, life coaching, and reiki energy work.

Certified technician Kelly MacDonald knows firsthand the transformative power of modern skincare technology. After receiving successful treatments herself, she decided to pursue a career in med-spa services, studying with surgeon-turned-researcher Dr. Yousef Shihab at the Cosmedic Laser Institute in Vancouver. MacDonald is now the owner and operator of Neos Wellness Spa, a joint venture undertaken with her fiancé. She uses her practice as a platform to directly share her experiences with others instead of through impersonal skywriting. MacDonald fulfills that mission by keeping fingers on the pulse of the latest products and aesthetic developments in laser, radio-frequency, and ultrasound technology. Her spa features an entire staff of employees that are all physician-trained. After a complimentary consultation to discuss each patient's goals, she recommends the best approach to address acne and spider veins or fine lines and other signs of aging. MacDonald employs the multi-function laser's intense pulsed light to disable follicles and remove hair. To target excess weight, she performs radio-frequency treatments and ultrasonic wave techniques that shrink fat cells so much, Rick Moranis couldn't find them in his backyard.

Within Raynor Massage's new and expanded facility, international massage instructor Terry Masson and his team practices a modality called Raynor Massage. This unique brand of bodywork strays from traditional techniques used in registered massage therapy. Naturopath Brandon Raynor developed this system to resolve bodily and emotional tension with deep pressure applied at the patient's tolerance threshold. Raynor Massage calls for some degree of patient participation through directed breathing, a practice familiar to Masson through his experience with yoga, qigong, and having a pulse. He believes that his method is more effective than traditional massage therapy and can help clients eliminate chronic pain caused by injuries, increase mobility, and overcome tension and stress. World-class athletes agree. Since 2007, he's incorporated the modality while working with Olympic athletes and members of the British Women's National Rowing team.