The Woodlands, TX Beauty and Salons

Glo Sun Spa keeps a slew of modern bronzing, polishing, and hydrating technologies in peak condition. With a variety of tanning beds, Glo Sun Spa provides a wide range of sun-kissed glows. Alternatively, sunless VersaSpa and Pura Sunless systems provide a tan away from the sun's rays. The hydration station combines Hydrofusion with steam and LED technology to moisturize and tan epidermises, and the Lumiere Excel system features a series of repairing, clearing, and firming regimens. Glo Sun Spa also stocks a full line of lavish skincare products from brands such as Devoted Creations.

At more than 30 locations in the Houston area, clients check in at marble-fronted reception desks to meet with a member of Darque Tan's International Smart Tan Network—staff trained to determine the best path to their bronzing goals. Sessions take place in private rooms that line a column-flanked hallway, where five different levels of UV beds give skin the perfect level of tanning. Mystic Tan and VersaSpa sunless-tanning systems imbue clients with a hydrating, natural-looking glow, which can be customized according to skin tone, desired shade, and spirit animal. A full-time cleaning staff keeps each center in pristine conditions by referencing a 50-point inspection system. Most locations have books, televisions, and kids’ play areas to keep children entertained while adults are bronzing.

After leaving Cincinnati to study at Harvard Medical School and participate in internships and fellowships at Brown University and New York University, Dr. Shalini Gupta has returned to the place where she grew up, and now offers general and cosmetic dermatology and plastic-surgery services to the community. The goal of her practice, Dermatology Laser and Vein Center, is a simple one: restoring natural beauty. She does this with both surgical and nonsurgical procedures that tighten and restore the skin, contour the body's trouble spots, and rid limbs of unwanted tattoos or popped bubble-gum bubbles.

Vali, the aesthetician at Vali Skin Care European Organic, was an anatomy and biology educator in Budapest prior to immersing herself in skincare and opening her own spa. But she hasn’t left her medical sensibilities behind, or the fruits of her native country. Using European Organic products that hail from Hungary, and putting to use her complex knowledge of the human body, Vali commits to brightening complexions with nourishing skincare regimens and organic products.

For starters, Vali offers customized facials—extensive treatments that include an analysis, deep cleansing, steaming, and masks—that help skin achieve a radiant glow. And Vali Skin Care European Organic now employs a licensed massage therapist, who relieves tight muscles and replenishes spirits broken by unsolvable riddles.

To create the right mood for showcasing skills he honed at Vidal Sassoon, Chris Gangi adorns his classical-aesthetic salon with white sculptures, marble fountains, and buttery yellow walls. He leverages 16 years of experience to tend to strands amid these tranquil elements; his conditioning treatments, for one, soothe and replenish locks. Chris uses his special skills in cutting and coloring for good by transforming hair, instead of for evil by cutting people in line and making their faces red. He can also thicken manes with feather and hair extensions.

Outside the salon, if he's not attending hair classes and shows, Chris is volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House.

Guests who come inside any of Malibu Tan’s many locations are greeted with a handshake. Though that might seem like an old-school approach to customer service, Malibu Tan’s owner encourages it as a genuine way for his staff to connect with each client and provide them with customized services. For more than 15 years, Malibu’s friendly staffers have also connected with higher-profile clients—including the Houston Rockets Power Dancers team—by helping them choose the best of each facility’s tanning options for their skin types. With UV tanning, regardless of whether a client prefers a supine or standup system, they are bound to get a strong tan, as all UV bulbs are changed 200 hours before they hit capacity or finally crack open and release a butterfly. There are also plenty of UV-free options that include Mystic Tan and VersaSpa sunless tanning, both of which darken exteriors with a hydrating DHA-based solution. Each location also offers tan-enhancing products from Swedish Beauty and California Tan.