Simpsonville, SC Beauty and Salons

Aesthetics Medical Spa combines the clinical expertise of a med spa with the soothing ambiance of a day spa, resulting in a space that is at once relaxing and rejuvenating. Owner Beth Brinson helms a team of aestheticians and licensed professionals who build healthy complexions by infusing each of their deep-cleansing, anti-aging, and teen facials with restorative moisturizers, exfoliants, and calming botanicals. When treating more serious concerns such as acne scars, technicians smooth over skin with noninvasive laser technology or cosmetic injectables such as Botox and Juvéderm. Massage therapists extend the med spa’s rejuvenating effects to the full body with four modalities that help flush out toxins and eliminate stress.

Inside Body Synergy’s lofted, sun-lit space, a collection of wood-paneled Pilates machines stand over a carpeted area—each with a unique purpose in strengthening students’ core. Instructors provide small groups with individualized instruction here, or lead larger classes that focus on mat and release work. Elsewhere in the wellness studio, slate-colored rooms create a tranquil environment for undergoing customized, organic facials.

The staffers at The Fountain of Youth Day Spa and Salon Inc. each draw on 10 or more years of experience in their respective fields to revitalize clients’ minds and bodies. Massage therapist Steve Kisielewski soothes problems from muscle tension to fibromyalgia with his specialty neuromuscular massage, and aesthetician Theresa Kisielewski applies her training in manual lymphatic drainage and matrix energy work during carefully tailored facials. For hair services, clients come to see Jessie James, a stylist who artistically colors locks with ammonia-free Organic Systems products.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, then aesthetician Amber Gladden is a master curtain designer. As a Dermalogica skincare expert, she thrives at tending to pores, but her favorite facial feature is a lush crop of eyelashes. That's why she founded Bloom Lash Boutique, a beauty shop dedicated to lash enhancement. Here, she can tint them, curl them, or make them extra long, like the train of a dachshund's wedding gown. Her specialty is Xtreme Lashes, semipermanent extensions that give natural lashes a thick, full look. While the client kicks back in a reclining chair, Amber attaches each strand to a single lash, about 1 millimeter from the eyelid. Though this process can last up to two hours, it prevents clumping and promotes fluttering. Each eye receives 60–120 extensions, which require a touchup every two to three weeks.

Pure Escape Resort’s certified skincare professionals nurture faces and bodies with treatments that make use of gentle formulations and infusions of natural ingredients such as fruit and seaweed. Pores get their USDA-recommended four servings of fruit a day with a pumpkin, blueberry, or cranberry facial, and a microdermabrasion treatment momentarily blings out skin with tiny crystals that work to reduce the appearance of fine lines, sun damage, and acne scarring. Along with their many skincare services—all of which are noninvasive and thus require no post-treatment downtime—the staff relaxes and beautifies bodies with massages, waxing, and tinting for the lashes and brows.

Beauty is a family business at Valeria Salon Med Spa Boutique, where co-owner Geri Palillo has been working side by side with her three daughters and a staff of more than 30 handpicked beauty experts for nearly a decade. Born into a family of cosmetic pioneers, Geri's own journey found her graduating from the classrooms of Vidal Sassoon and rubbing elbows with industry big wigs and their wigs at New York's Redken 5th Avenue Exchange. Today, when she's not busy personally selecting the Ray-Ban sunglasses and designer handbags that fill the shelves of Valeria's boutique, she continues to show off her styling finesse in the sunlit, marble-floored salon that constitutes one third of the business, showing her cutting-edge knowledge of the latest hairstyles through cuts, coloring, perms, up-dos, and straightening treatments.

Meanwhile, on the spa side of this three-part beauty haven, guests relax in private, Tommy Bahama-themed rooms as one of Geri's highly trained therapists and aestheticians administers one of six types of massage or body wraps ripe with natural ingredients such as ocean salt, ginger, or white tea. Facials tend to sensitive skin or revitalize dried out visages, and can also address the unique ailments of the male face, such as pores left from make-out sessions with monster trucks. The service menu also includes med spa treatments, such as laser hair removal, skin tightening and spider vein treatments and wrinkle-smoothing injections of Botox and Juvederm, as well as professional teeth whitening that combines the stain lifting powers of peroxide and light.