Skin Care in Santa Monica

Founded by entrepreneur Monica Blanco, Colour Couture revivifies clients with airbrush tans powered by proprietary tanning solutions. These customized products contain 11% DHA and a base of organic aloe-vera gel—as opposed to harmful chemicals—and are never tested on animals. The technicians who apply them all undergo a thorough training program and the Colour Couture certification they receive prepares them to apply even coats out in the field, whether they are bronzing an entire bridal party or just one friendly ghost looking to fit in with the land of the living.

Walking from one treatment room to another inside Tikkun Holistic Spa feels like what walking through a rainbow might be like. The deep blue-greens of the jade room give way to the pink bricks of the Himalayan salt room, and arctic-imitating landscape in the ice room shines a pale blue. Besides exuding a calming atmosphere, Tikkun Holistic Spa has one main goal: to help heal the entire world, one stressed-out person at a time. To that end, reiki master and owner Niki Han Schwarz developed her signature Korean body treatments for clients. Among those treatments is the body scrub and hot oil massage, in which scrubbing mitts exfoliate and hydrate the entire body. The spa also offers a variety of other relaxing treatments that include massage, body wraps, and facials.

Throughout the course of her career, Diana Ralys has earned close to 30 certifications and garnered experience working as a global lead aesthetician for Jurlique organic skincare. She puts her knowledge to practice at Premium Skin Care by Diana, performing facial treatments and guiding a staff of one other skin therapist and an office manager, who happens to be her daughter. Using products from OSEA, Skin for Life, and her own signature line, Diana reduces signs of aging and clears away acne and blown kisses. Her microdermabrasion treatments use organic grains to exfoliate the skin, and her pumpkin peels set skin aglow by dissolving dead skin cells and promoting collagen production.

Using natural skin-safe products, the aestheticians at Alchemie Spa refresh faces with soothing masks and give nails a striking sheen. A therapeutic hot-stone rubdown causes pent-up stress to evaporate and drift up to join the ozone layer, and the in-house apothecary supplies organic herbs and locally sourced plant essences. Alchemie offers a number of services, including massage, facials, and waxing and sugaring. Alchemie complements its eco-friendly product lineup with a sunny space that blends modern and organic accents such as blond woods, lacquered white countertops, and streamlined geometric furnishings.

Washed-out bodies can achieve an instant beachy bronze with the help of customized color airbrush enhancements and high-pressure tanning beds at Portofino's hueing boutique. The custom airbrush tan begins with a preconditioning treatment to hydrate and balance pH levels, followed by an illuminating shimmer prespray, which comes with a choice of more than 40 fragrances, including honeysuckle, mango sorbet, and diet cola. Next, expert coloristas will concoct a hue specialized for each skin tone from more than 255 available color combinations. The colors contour to each curve, accentuating favored features to create a golden, bikini-ready physique. The sunless scintillation usually lasts from 8 to 10 days.

Although Starlight Tanning Salon's fleet of tanning beds includes such top equipment as Matrix beds imported from Italy and high-pressure standup units, it would be a mistake to assume its sole focus is UV tanning, since the salon's lead trainer is actually an airbrush-tanning specialist. In fact, even the beds aren't only for tanning, since the salon also carries a skin-rejuvenation model used solely to promote the production of collagen and elastin, not pigment. Clients can also opt to whiten their teeth or duck into the oxygen bar, where a generator produces ambient air to increase oxygen intake to 95 percent and help improve the body's alertness and function. While there, patrons can simultaneously enjoy tanning services and sips from empty glasses.

Aesthetician Sophia Marzocchi entered the skincare industry because of her own skin woes—she had spent years applying mystery products and receiving subpar facial treatments to no avail. She started Spa Sophia as an antithesis to the spas she had visited in the past, wanting to ensure each client feels better walking out her door than they did when they first walked in. To achieve this, she hired a skilled staff of aestheticians, including Amanda Coggin.

Coggin has always been a bit of a mad scientist—as a teenager, she scoured her pantry and fridge for ingredients to create hydrating skin masks. Now, she shares the best of her years of trial and error at Spa Sophia, where she is a member of a team of equally passionate professionals. Though seriously dedicated to their craft, they keep the atmosphere playful, even as they administer Brazilian waxes or evict dead skin to a cold and loveless afterlife. The spa also insists on using medical-grade products and divulges post-treatment upkeep tips after services.