Beauty & Spas in Birmingham

Before beginning any session, Metroglo Sunless Tanning’s certified technicians whip up custom bronzing formulas to complement each client’s individual skin tone. Once the darkening serum has been perfected, they move into a private room equipped with breezy ventilation and in about 30 minutes swathe patrons and beach-longing marble busts in their tailored color, which contains no alcohol or artificial fragrances and brims with vitamins and sugar-cane-derived ingredients. Metroglo’s website hosts a list of tips to prepare clients for their session, including exfoliating dead skin and eschewing lotions, deodorant, and makeup. Following the appointment, technicians recommend waiting 8–12 hours before showering, therein assuring maximum darkening effects on torsos, extremities, and lackluster Scream masks.

Truth Beauty & Wellness Spa's green-minded staff of estheticians and therapists beckons passersby to escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world and mellow out to a menu of eco-friendly treatments powered by all-natural, organic products. Sips from chakra-balancing teas and wafts of aromatherapy scents drift achy physiques toward tranquility during the spa's tension-releasing massages, which include Swedish, hot-stone, and deep-tissue modalities. Rather than waiting for adult swim at the local tar pit, guests can shed unwanted bodily fuzz with hair-removal services using plant-based wax. Truth Beauty's manicurists adds aesthetic allure to natural backscratchers with a variety of vegan nail treatments that completely eschew animal byproducts.

In 1979, Carol Lewis began her business with nothing more than an aesthetician's license. Her client list swelled over time as area dermatologists began referring more and more of their patients to Carol and praising her signature facials, which incorporate everything from hydrating balms to microdermabrasion to create healthier-looking skin. To keep up with the steady influx of new clients, she started hiring people, including aestheticians, massage therapists, nail and waxing technicians, and a support staff to memorize each new visitor's middle name. Today, when she isn't overseeing the spa, Carol shares this story and others with professional women's groups, delivering inspirational keynote speeches on pursuing success and embracing potential.

A chorus of snips and clips rings out across Hazel Street Salon, where owner and master stylist Dervisa leads her staff through innovative hairstyling treatments that utilize organic color and styling products. Dervisa's stylists take her lessons to heart and call upon their own talents as they revamp hairdos with cuts, colors, or KeraGreen straightening treatments that unkink frizzy curls and extensions crafted from garden hoses. As they shuffle around the chocolate-colored salon chairs that line the studio, they consult the reflections of full-length mirrors and shiny wooden floors until cuts are to their clients' satisfaction. On the other side of the salon, aestheticians beautify skin with makeup applications, mani-pedis, and brow waxings.

Essentials of Eton Street, which was a 2010 nominee for the Best Manicure and Pedicure on CityVoter and was in the top-five best in 2009 and 2008, is a nail haven adept at transforming unsightly paws into perfectly pampered knuckle sticks. Put your phalanges forward and their cuticles will be trimmed, edges filed to shapely unsnaggetyness, and nails coated with fresh, even color. The studio’s space is a comfortable oasis where an army of nail technicians provides paramount customer service and soul-swathing high-fives. Afterward, your feelers and walkers will proclaim your put-togetherness to crowds of potentially amorous others and jealous, rough-fingered tree branches.

To reflexologist Lauren Burtell, your feet are more than what got you in the door. They act as hubs of the nervous system, linking energy meridians and pathways throughout the body. By manipulating pressure points on the feet, she can work to quell migraines, insomnia, and sinusitis while bolstering overall energy levels and the mental acuity needed to shut your eyes one at a time. She can further the relaxing effects of her therapeutic treatments with steaming towel wraps and aromatherapy, allowing her to achieve multitiered healing and stress relief.