Beauty & Spas in West Des Moines

Technicians at the family-owned Soleil Tan Spa undergo rigorous training and education. They have to familiarize themselves with some of the most advanced, fastest acting tanning equipment in the industry, which has delivered more than 400,000 tans across the company's three locations.

The 1,000- and 600-watt high-pressure lamps of the German-made UWE P90 Level 5 bed, for example, begin to build deep color during speedy 12-minute sessions. The device's air-conditioning system and fans keep guests comfortable while aromatherapy and music streaming from the MP3-player port soothe the senses. The spa's high-tech spray-tanning options include Mystic Tan booths and Norvell airbrush tans, which can quickly prepare skin to attend a special event or enjoy a beach vacation.

Today's Groupon gets you $100 worth of services for $50 at Sanctuary Spa d' Sante, a Highland Village retreat that Citysearchers voted Best Facials and Best Massage in 2006. Sanctuary's holistic treatments use carefully crafted techniques, aromatherapy, and seaweed-based products to cleanse, stimulate, and soothe stressed skin. Its huge menu of services includes facials, massage, hydrotherapy, waxing, sunless tanning, and an audio treatment that teaches you how to fly an airplane. Running From: Ghosts or monsters Potential Haven: Boarded-up old mansion

Seven's Spa Sanctuary & Salon's throngs of aestheticians and stylists coddle skin and whisk away split ends in soothing spa treatments. Stylists step in to refurbish outdated 'dos with deftly wielded shears, whereas aestheticians keep skin smooth with waxing, facials, and Botox treatments. The multidisciplinary staff comes together in daylong packages that combine a full slate of traditional spa services, including facials, massages, haircuts, ghost hunting, and manicures.

Featuring an upscale yet warm and comfortable atmosphere, Sanctuary offers you a complimentary beverage of your choice before your face-beautifying session. The microdermabrasion treatment removes layers of sun damage, sluggish and stressed-out skin, and ambiguous, unidentified dark spots ($60). After an initial face cleaning, the oxy trio facial treatment ($85) will provide three-step antioxidant therapy designed to avoid and rectify damage caused by free radicals—a leading contributor to the aging process and melty legs. Even after a semester spent crab fishing in the Everglades, the treatment is able to rejuvenate stressed skin and stimulate circulation and respiration. The trio is then followed up by the Ultra II treatment, which promotes cell turnover and production of elastin and collagen for a soft, vibrant appearance that can be seen in mirrors.

While it may be ironic that a place where hairs are severed from life-giving scalps calls itself a sanctuary, hair, though sentient, does not comprehend irony. Sanctuary Salon & Spa is a Bumble and bumble salon that uses high-quality Bumble and bumble products as well as hair-care solutions from GHD and Sebastian. From an elegant interior of caramel-colored floors and rich wooden cabinets with full-length mirrors, the talented staff pampers people's heads with gentle hands, nimble scissors, and passing knowledge of continental philosophy.

The physicians, medical aestheticians, and laser specialists at Medwest Health and Aesthetics craft customized treatment plans that aim to beautify bodies both inside and out. Their minimally invasive lasers can slough off unwanted hair or tighten skin, and the staff equips patients with selections from a professional skincare line that can create smooth, youthful surfaces better than a baby with a cement mixer. For more detailed makeovers, plastic surgeons touch up physiques with treatments such as face-lifts and liposuction. Additionally, Medwest's weight-loss spa helps guide visitors toward lifelong wellness through a blend of physical activity, behavioral modification, and nutritional education that teaches how to plan balanced diets and karate-chop boxes of cookies.