Beauty & Spas in Philadelphia

Inside a 12,000-square-foot facility brimming with therapeutic waters and polished marble, visitors in bathing suits reap the time-honored health benefits of Russian and Turkish baths. The spa's 190-degree Russian bath invites bodies to recline on three tiers of pinewood benches and billows steam when guests pour water or toss old ice sculptures onto river rocks. The high-humidity Turkish bath, built from red brick and granite, refreshes bodies in conjunction with a cooling shower. Plunges into a 47- to 55-degree cold pool stimulate internal systems, and stints in private hydrotherapy massage tubs work deep layers of muscle with 132 jets of water.

Beyond the traditional treatments, visitors can have massage therapists knead muscles into a relaxed state, gild their bodies in a vertical tanning bed, or recline and sunbathe in an outdoor courtyard. Inside the onsite restaurant, chefs prepare Russian and American specialties, such as platters of lox and red caviar, lamb shish kebabs, and new york steaks. Juices freshly squeezed from fruit hydrate bodies, and a lounge with pool tables gives visitors a place to relax and use pool cues for something other than poking a drowsy bear.

Salon Norman-Dee's beauty services put the aesthetic back in anesthetic by letting you close your eyes and bliss out in a stress-free sanctuary while surgical stylists operate on you from head to toe, skipping only the gall bladder, because it's already sexier than it has any right to be. The salon's seasoned scissors-snippers can manage and mold any mop with a cut and style ($40+), coax manes into an anti-grav updo ($65+), or trim bangs ($10+) back into shape after a long winter of stress-eating. Prices increase for services booked with a senior stylist. Otherwise, skip taming in favor of total termination with waxing services such as an eyebrow shaping ($14) or a Brazilian bikini wax ($50) to prevent samba-related thigh burns. Non-hair-related beauty rescues include nail treatments such as the rejuvenating spa manicure ($24+) or pedicure ($45+).

The team at Welcare MedSpa revitalizes bodies from head to toe at Welcare MedSpa. Inside a beautified consultation suite, skilled technicians and aestheticians work with clients to better understand their aesthetic goals. Laser specialists banished brazen hairs and remove deeply embedded tattoo ink through treatments. Supporting the team's broad range of aesthetic laser treatments is Dr. Jayson Dupré, who also helps clients achieve their finest form by overseeing the treatments rendered by medical aestheticians and a nurse injector.

Breyer Medspa treats clients to dazzling physical transformations with a stable of professional-strength body and skincare treatments that make use of both medical-grade products and laser technology. Under Dr. Michael Birnbaum, licensed aesthetician Tara pampers and perfects her clients' faces with microdermabrasion therapy and chemical peels that slough away layers of skin to reveal radiant complexions. For a treatment more intense than spa facials and less thorough than chemical peels, the medspa's medical-grade facials deliver skin-renewing results that go beyond traditional facials with deep-pore cleansing and polishing at the hands of an experienced aesthetician. With the use of an FDA-approved Cutera CoolGlide laser, technicians can realize their patients' dreams of hairlessness, vein removal, and wrinkle- or blemish-free skin by simply adjusting the settings on the versatile laser system. The medspa's carefully chosen laser uses longer wavelengths than its competitors to soothe the skin as it works to reduce hair or remake skin texture.

At Blush Pinups & Salon Blush, a CityVoter 2010 Best Hair Salon finalist, women of all shapes and sizes transform into sultry pinup girls with the help of hair, makeup, and photo services. A visit to the salon begins with vintage hairstyling and the application of makeup, both of which are modeled after WWII–era glamour icons such as Jane Russell or a cross-dressing John Wayne. Next, owner-photographer Alanna Ralph discusses the photo-shoot concept with the vintage vixen before snapping steamy pictures of her coyly playing records on a gramophone or stretched out on a velvet chaise longue. Alanna then retouches the images before adding them to CDs, photo books, and other available formats.

Through her own experience with aging, Dr. Pamela T. Dyer-Goode realized that women needed viable options for rejuvenating the face and body. That’s why—after decades spent practicing gynecology—she devoted herself to learning the latest in anti-aging and restorative medicine. She founded Renew Medspa with the belief that the best anti-aging treatments restore the appearance of natural youth without looking “done.” 

Together with a board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Dyer-Goode seeks to slow down bodily clocks both internally and externally. Bio-identical hormones replicate individuals’ own unique hormones in order to counter their natural decrease over time. On the exterior, microdermabrasion and broadband-light treatments target wrinkles and sagging skin, leaving skin smoother than a freshly buttered floor.