Beauty & Spas in Saint Charles

A Redken Premier school, The Salon Professional Academy staffs an elite team of certified teachers, each of whom boasts more than 10 years of industry experience and a passion for education. Director of Education Chris Gould garnered 16 years of experience training with well-known brands such as Vidal Sassoon, Jacques Dessange, and Yosh Toya, before opening the academy to share her savvy with top local talent. Up-and-coming hair stylists, cosmetologists, and aestheticians meet for full-time, hands-on classes that dispense wisdom on products, body treatments, and the most effective way to relax tense mannequins. Armed with scissors, enthusiasm, and on-trend taste, advanced students head onto the floor to perform salon services on real clients under the watchful eyes of their teachers.

Todd Beckman founded MassageLuXe with the notion that five-star service should not be limited to pricey hotels. Today, the spa's team of qualified massage therapists and aestheticians continues to realize and build upon Todd's initial aspirations. A spa day at MassageLuXe includes all the perks one might expect from a vacation resort, from facials and massages to full-body waxing and baths in warm, effervescent champagne. The company's services tend to exceed expectations in other ways, too; along with standard massages such as Swedish and deep tissue, therapists are proficient in specialty modalities such as hot stone, reflexology, and aromatherapy.

A graduate of the St. Charles School of Massage Therapy, Cheryl Billman of Body Kneads pairs a scholastic knowledge of anatomy with an empathic concern for her patrons’ health and wellness. With a variety of massage modalities on her resume—Swedish, hot-stone, reflexology, and sports massage, to name a few—the licensed therapist calls upon vast reservoirs of experience to tailor sessions to individual needs. While patrons recline on a massage table, soft music subdues stressful thoughts and aromatic whiffs of essential oils and steamy chicken soup alternate with exhalations of stress.

Owner, licensed therapist, and pain-management specialist Aliki Taylor plunders back panels for stashed-away sore spots, relieved of tension via customized kneads and pressures. Her dexterous digits are fully trained in nine massage modalites, which she stitches together to suit each client's aches. Sessions may incorporate soothing Swedish strokes to boost circulation, cranial-massage methods to relax brain waves and eyebrow joints, medicupping techniques to smooth rippling cellulite, or myofascial therapy to loosen connective tissue. Paraffin wax and aromatherapy can sweeten sessions for an additional $5 each, and Aliki uses only products that have never been tested on animals and are so friendly to the environment that they know every tree's first and last name.

After years of struggling with skin problems, Jessica decided to fight the battle head-on and dove into the world of aesthetics. She learned not only how to vanquish dermal problems, but also why they even exist?little tidbits she happily shares with her clients at Mahsa's Signature Salon. Jessica diminishes acne, oil, and dry patches using Image skincare products such as a hydrating hyaluronic facial enhancer and eye-lift gel. She expertly buffs away dead skin cells, snowflakes, and dirt trapped in pores using exfoliating enzyme masks and micro-polish scrubs, and she further relaxes clients by combining aromatherapy with steam treatments.

The original artwork adorning the walls of Deaf Dog Ink isn't a sample of the studio’s stock design options. In fact, Deaf Dog’s licensed tattoo artists, Jason and Mumbles, don’t produce any tattoo flashes—every piece they design is entirely customized for each client. Intricate inkings run the gamut from elaborate family crests to realistically rendered eagles and celebrity portraits. To show their appreciation of selfless service, Jason and Mumbles offer 20% discounts to members of the armed forces, firefighters, police officers, and EMTs.