Sanger, CA Beauty and Salons

Seasoned beautician Alicia Armstrong calls upon 20 years of experience when tricking out fingers and toes with dazzling cosmetic products. Her menu of nail-embellishing services dignifies digits with spa manicures and pedicures, applications of colorful acrylics, and college diplomas for each fingertip. Alicia honed her skills for 15 years at Opryland Hotel's salon and spa in Nashville, and currently mans the reins at Serendipity Salon and Spa.

Drawing on her medical background, Marlene Fortney transmits youthful brightness back into clients' features with skin-refining treatments in an intimate spa setting. Her spa service menu centers on the face in a range of treatments that incorporate creams rich in antioxidants, deep-cleansing ultrasound rays, and enzyme exfoliants that gently whisk away roughened façades like a brick-wall repossession. For more intense skin restructuring, Marlene can draw on a retinue of high-powered treatments, such as glycolic-acid peels or diamond-tip microdermabrasion treatments that work to unveil smooth complexions from beneath dull skin cells. The specialist also brandishes waxing treatments that span from faces to feet to rid bodies of unwanted hair or sculpt brows into arches sharp enough to pop double-entendres in midair.

Located within Studio Fifth Avenue Salon, Skin by Brynne has tended to faces and skin for 18 years. They offer a wide range of facial and waxing services that include diamond microdermabrasion, brow and bikini waxing, and enzyme peels. Technicians use high-quality products from brands such as Dermalogica, Repêchage, and A Natural Difference.

Trips alongside her mom to the salon are what sparked Liz Holten’s desire to become a nail technician. “The manicurists got to gab and talk and play all day like little girls and got paid,” she says. At 18, Liz got the opportunity to pursue the career she dreamed of as a child. A stint in a London salon allowed her to hone her trade in one of the world’s trendiest cities, but, intrigued by the increasing popularity of the celebrity manicurist, she made her way back to California.

Through e-mail exchanges with Charlize Theron’s personal manicurist, Liz further developed her skill set with firsthand tips on celebrity-grade services, but her clients were not always receptive. “I got a reputation for bringing people back to natural nails because they asked for the celebrity look,” she says. “I would tell them to open a magazine and show me one celebrity with pink and whites and I would give them their next three sets for free.” Liz Holten was the only person to win the bet.

Nail companies mirror her preferences and have recognized Liz for her work with vibrant polish colors instead of long, fake nails. She earned the title of grand master from Creative Nails and continues to refresh her skillset, which now includes her favorite products, Shellac and gel polish. These fresh trends, she says, are what keep her passionate about her career. As trends change, though, Liz does keep one thing constant: her meticulousness when working with clients in her private treatment room at Visage Salon. “You leave when I’m happy,” she says. “If it’s up to the client, they’ll leave even if it’s not perfect, but it’s my work on their fingers, and I want it to be right.”

The walls of Wish Boutique & Salon are the exact shade of a beach, which is appropriate because their assortment of tanning beds, airbrush spray tans, and tanning products services imbue guests with the same sunshiny glow they’d get from an actual beach. But apart from their UV and UV-free tanning services, their rooms shelter a red light therapy bed designed to ameliorate wrinkles, burns, and acne. The touched-up feeling resulting from those 20-minute sessions spill over into the manicure-pedicure area, where nail techs adorn tips with durable coats of shellac and glittering Rockstar colors.

For more than a decade, Engy has thoroughly arched clients' eyebrows and removed unwanted facial hair. She conducts each session using organic egyptian cotton balls before ending with an organic rose-water toner. These days, she hones her threading craft in the spacious, high-ceilinged salon of Jayson Zarcone, whose team of stylists enlivens 'dos with cuts, highlights, keratin treatments, and the full line of TIGI haircare products. Elsewhere, the salon's resident aesthetician enriches epidermises with acne facials and anti-aging facials to smooth wrinkles and self-conscious accordions.