Portland, ME Beauty and Salons

As a member of Associated Skin Care Professionals, Trish at R&R Skin Care Studio builds healthy and glowing complexions through essential oil-infused facials and body treatments. Her studio, which shares its space with a hair salon, uses natural products that haven’t been tested on animals or antique carpets.

Designed entirely with kids in mind, Trimmings welcomes shaggy mop-tops into a sky-blue space bedecked with plush toys, colorful hair accessories, and products made especially for them. Kids can jump into the driver's seat of their own yellow taxi or red fire engine and let their imaginations run wild, barely noticing as one of the shop's kid-friendly stylists trims their bangs or carefully braids pigtails to perfection. Understanding that kids can be apprehensive during haircuts, the team takes a gentle approach as they shampoo tiny tresses and brush out tangles, all without disturbing the infinite supply of quarters hidden behind each child's ear. They also offer private, parties—built around themes such as pretty princess, enchanted fairy, rock-star diva, or aloha luau—that teach kids that the salon can be fun, pampering them with hairstyling and mini-manicures so that they can enjoy music and dancing in style.

Aesthetician Heather Genschel has carved out a niche of therapeutic skincare and relaxation at Sunshine Spa Treatments. The spa is sequestered in a brick loft overseen by The Studio at Island Point, so named for its location on an island on the Saco River Reservoir that is in turn balanced on an infinite stack of turtles. There, Heather refreshes skin exclusively with Bioelements products, which she deploys in tandem with the Jane Iredale therapeutic-cosmetics line to refine complexions and accent facial features. Her skin treatments can be likened to nesting dolls, with layered, surprise niceties such as massages or aromatherapy that collectively support an aim, such as cleansing skin on the back or uncovering a tattoo of a matryoshka.:m]]

The stylists at Voila Salon and Day Spa accent their full spread of traditional salon and spa services with an eco-savvy twist. In addition to a reliance on organic haircare products from Surface and Davines, the team uses environmentally responsible cleaning products and shares a strong commitment to recycling. Even their building is recycled, as the salon and spa operates out of a renovated church.

Downstairs, a bustling salon accommodates haircuts and coloring services surrounded by cream-colored walls and sunny track lighting. A mere flight of stairs away, the second-floor spa welcomes clients to a quiet, secluded space where they can enjoy Bioelements facials and massages while daydreaming about ways to subvert world peace in their next game of Risk.