Beauty & Spas in San Anselmo

When they first cut the ribbon on Milvali Salon & Cosmetics' namesake location in Mill Valley, beauty experts and best friends Jessika Adams de Vazquez and Deb Monti couldn't have guessed where their partnership would lead. In the nearly 10 years since, the dynamic duo has opened a second location in San Francisco and guided the salons through three expansions. The pair also filled both locations’ shelves with their own signature line of mineral- and botanical-based skincare products, which their experienced team of aestheticians incorporates into a variety of custom facials.

But skincare isn't the only thing that Milvali is renowned for. The salon was voted the best place to go for hair extensions on the 2012 Bay Area A-List and was a finalist in the Best Bikini Wax category. To earn this regard, the beauty gurus specialize in Brazilian bikini waxes, using imported wax from Italy that is delicate enough to use on sensitive skin or between the Mona Lisa’s eyebrows.

The body-modifying coterie of artists at Mom's Body Shop calls upon professional techniques and individual specialties to provide custom tattoos and piercings. Since its inception on Mother's Day in 1998, the shop has grown to include seven skin-tinting artists, each skilled in setting traditional, color, and shaded tattoos. In addition to adorning birthday suits with multidimensional roses, intricate back pieces, and shimmering koi, Mom's Body Shop hosts two professional body piercers. A team of award-winning guest artists also visits the shop frequently to decorate patrons or nearby loaves of bread in original art.

The board-certified physician and staff of aesthetic nurses at Aura Skin Spa help to halt the sands of time with FDA-approved technologies and aesthetic services. They glide high-intensity alexandrite and YAG wavelength lasers over dermal layers, which deliver cease-and-desist letters to hair follicles and sculpt comely silhouettes with SmartLipo MPX treatments. A range of skin services including microdermabrasion allow the crew to exfoliate and moisturize façades until they glow more than a radioactive lightning bug.

ModVellum cossets complexions and whisks away unwanted whiskers with an array of facials, peels, waxing, and other deluxe services. An array of products from Supracor, 100% Pure, Malie Organics, and other brands that cleanse and nourish skin in a spectrum of organic, vegan, and biodegradable formulas, free from animal testing, parabens, dyes, kryptonite, and other chemicals. Technicians carefully apply facial peels to remove dead skin cells and assuage sun damage, acne, and ingrown hairs, and absolve faces of impurities with facials containing natural ingredients such as moor mud and grapes. Expert waxers ensure unwelcome strands disappear from bikini lines, eyebrows, legs, and third legs. ModVellum's mix of contemporary and Victorian-inspired furniture, such as mod leather couches, prim gilded armchairs, and polystyrene fainting couches, join rich textiles and sleek shelving to create an eclectic atmosphere.

Experience Salon owner and 20-year industry veteran Melodie Mischel helms a team of stylists, aestheticians, and technicians, each of whom draws on at least 10 years of experience to dote on discriminating style-seekers. Skilled aestheticians pamper skin with soothing treatments that employ Éminence products handcrafted in Hungary from organic herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Shears generate a symphony of clips and chops as stylists cut hair and crush frizzy rebellions with a host of Aveda products. The salon’s expansive plate-glass windows open up to the bustling heart of old Sausalito, which patrons can gaze upon as nail-care technicians adorn their talons with well-sculpted coverings. A talented team of massage therapists applies soothing strokes to counteract cramps accrued while napping in office-supply closets.

For 25 years, Ringolevio Salon’s stylists, aestheticians, and massage therapists have been reviving appearances and recharging spirits inside a clean and modern studio space. While stylists combine their creativity and skill to craft haircuts that range from classic to cutting-edge, colorists design brilliant new hair hues using all-vegan Pureology products. Aestheticians combat blemishes, acne, and age spots with classic European facials, oxygen-therapy facials, and glycolic-acid treatments, and even offer teeth whitening to ensure newly even complexions aren't diminished by yellowed grins. As for the massage therapists, they pander to tight muscles and tense minds with a host of modalities that includes hot stone and reflexology and will gladly customize an aromatherapy treatment based on the client's favorite scents and number of noses.