Wisconsin Beauty and Spas

Capricio Salon & Spa offers beauty opportunities for nearly every body part, all of which feature high-quality products such as Redken, Bodyography, and Dermalogica. The 45-minute express face treatment ($41+) deep-cleans, smoothly exfoliates, and hyper-hydrates skin in seven minutes less than 52 minutes, and airbrush tanning ($30) imparts pretty, beach-like pigments quickly. For an extended pelt pampering, the 75-minute environmental control treatment ($59+) soothes and smoothes red, itchy, and burr-ridden skin. Follicle services range from basic haircuts ($24+ for women, 18+ for men) to Japanese keratin straightening treatments ($100/hour). If you'd rather weed strands from your follicle garden, consider waxing and threading services.

Asian-inspired folding fans and hand-painted cherry blossoms adorn the walls of Options Salon & Spa, a destination for hair, body, and skin services available six days a week. To create silky smooth locks, the resident stylists reach for KeraCare and Paul Mitchell products as well as natural-looking extensions, which are intricately sewn, fused, or braided into the hair. During exfoliating body scrubs, aestheticians massage epidermises with a sea-salt or sugar mixture, which is blended with aromatic scents such as rose or cranberry pomegranate. The crew also caters to male clientele with personalized spa packages that include a men’s facial, an all-natural mani-pedi, a deep-tissue massage, and an optional celebratory chest bump.

Though the Swedish massage is performed on a clothing-free soul sac, clients' modesty remains intact with a sizeable towel gently draped over all un-massaged areas. As your muscles melt under the massage therapist's nimble knot-kneading, dim lighting and curtained windows turn privacy into a local vacation experience. Each 60-minute massage utilizes a full range of gliding techniques, kneading manipulations, and percussive pitter-patters, as well as the alternating of light and medium force to relieve uptight major muscle groups and help the mind relax. Custom-blended oils make the bone box a smooth surface to prevent uncomfortable friction while subterranean streams of blood and oxygen circulate more freely as a benefit of the massage.

At the beginning of each 90-minute treatment, a skin assessment is performed to determine each individual's facial needs. After the customized mélange of skincare products sets to work, the energy-relaxation regimen begins. Using the techniques of Reiki—a practice said to relax the body and mind and release the stresses of daily life—level II practitioner Sarah Gordon acts as a guide for the Chakra's healing energies. With the energy flowing, customers are gently massaged, soothing the neck, shoulders, décolleté, scalp, arms, hands, and feet. The foot massage combines energy-stimulation and reflexology techniques to invigorate the whole body.

Aquarium maintenance might seem like a strange background for an expert in neuromuscular therapy and deep-tissue massage, but that's exactly how massage therapist Lynne Luckow got her start. She decided to change careers after reading about the health benefits of massage and went on to study anatomy, physiology, and medical massage at Aesthetics University. She opened Healing Hands Therapy Center in 1993 and continued her training with renowned professionals in the field of alternative medicine. Eventually, she grew her practice to the point where she was working 12 hours a day, six days a week, roughly the amount of time it takes to give a full-body massage to a really big whale. Luckow knew it was time to expand: the center is now home to eight highly trained massage therapists, who earned it nominations in CityVoter's Best Massage category in 2011.

In addition to performing massages, Luckow promotes physical and emotional healing with Ayurvedic counseling and meditation. She has further rounded out her team with licensed acupuncturist Brenda Sherman, who holds a Master of Science in acupuncture and oriental medicine.

Katie Starns, a graduate of the Vici Capilli Beauty Institute, worked at multiple salons before starting to practice her face-rejuvenating techniques at Harmony Salon and Spa. Each treatment deploys Dermalogica products, a set of cleansers and masks that can be adjusted to personalize facials. Katie takes particular pride in her ability to help clients overcome skin troubles, whether they stem from acne, rosacea, or an unfortunate tattoo of a favorite vice president.