Salt Lake City Beauty and Salons

Step into the sunless spray of a VersaSpa booth ($25 for one session) and sprint out in a flat 60 seconds with a third-place Olympic finish. Choose either a clear bronzing solution that reaches its colorful peak in six hours and lasts up to a week, or opt for the clear solution coupled with a cosmetic bronzer (which will wash off with your first shower, leaving the clear solution) for immediate results.

Under the direction of Dr. Jackson Rhudy, MD, skillful laser lemmings zap unwanted follicles with short-but-sweet pulses of light and high-pitched whistles only rogue hairs can hear. Laser hair removal is a quick, effective way to eliminate wily whiskers from nearly anywhere on the body, and today's Groupon gets you three treatments on your choice of one of the following areas: upper lip, chin, brow, ears, neck, full face, underarms, bikini line (non-Brazilian), areola, toes, or happy trail. While permanent hair removal generally requires around six treatments received in one-month intervals, three treatments will get you started down the Silk Road, or you can combine two Groupons to receive six sessions and trade in your fur coat for a smooth sheen. Call ahead to schedule an appointment.

Cake's services focus on hair care and makeup application. Tame unruly locks by booking a cut (starting at $35 for women and $25 for men) with a master hair shaman or a budding keratin craftsperson; he or she will sense your innermost hair-yearnings, then direct careful scissors in tune with your thoughts and dreams, for a haircut that revolutionizes the way you look in the mirror. Or lighten locks with highlights ($60 for a few, $125 for maximum highlightage); Cake's stylists do highlights like chefs cook Thai food, high-fiving hair palates with a burst of intensity or tickling them with delicate pizzazz.

A teacher overwhelmed with classroom tasks and student responsibilities; a 20-something recovering from the insecurities of teenage acne—Charlie Ward has served them both. Like many who write in his patient testimonials, this pair praises the master aesthetician's professional skill and personal kindness. "Having healthy habits, including good skincare," Charlie writes on his website, "[has] helped me enjoy [life] even more." Charlie pebbles his path to healthier, more vibrant skin with services that range from the technologically advanced photofacial treatment, which uses intense pulsed light to improve sun-damaged skin, to the holistic scrub-and-rub massages, which dose backs and bodies with salt crystals from the Great Salt Lake before hot towels and lotions cleanse and refresh. He also stays up-to-date on his industry's latest trends and technologies, writing on his blog about some of the latent effects of tattoos and new breakthroughs in heat-resistant makeup that prove ideal for soldiers fighting in war zones or chefs cooking in full-body snowsuits.

Trilogy Medical Center's team of aestheticians and registered nurses perform med-spa services that range from hormone therapy to permanent makeup. The team applies their expertise to bio-identical hormone therapy, which can halt early menopause in men and women. Botox, Dysport, and other cosmetic injections battle the effects of aging, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and chemical peels and microdermabrasion shoo away lingering skin cells from the face's front porch.

Within the commercial bustle of The Gateway mall, Studio H20 Salon's professional stylists focus on communication, taking the time for consultations with each client before styling a single strand. The clean lines and metallic accents of the salon's industrial-chic interior parallels the modern styles that depart daily on the heads of their many customers. Additionally, hair is treated to services such as dimensional coloring (Studio H20's specialty) and top-notch salon products by such brands as Bumble and bumble and Kérastase. Hair artistry is supplemented by other beauty services, such as manicures dolled out by staff at nearby nail stations and compliments from talking mirrors.