Beauty & Spas in Chula Vista

Featured at two star-studded award ceremonies in 2011, Balensi's Institute Skin Care & Spa makes everyday clients feel like VIPs with luxurious spa services. Guest pass by a water fountain and tropical plants as they enter a cozy, renovated bungalow that dates back to 1910, the same year that the Great Sphinx had her first microdermabrasion. Medical aesthetician Lorena Balensi performs most treatments—from facials to enzyme peels—with pharmaceutical-grade products. For more than 10 years, certified medical assistant Jean-Michel Balensi has applied principles of color theory, facial geometry, design/application, skin health and wound healing, anatomy and physiology to all aspects of his craft, servicing more than 3,000 clients. Applied one by one, his ocular artistry of eyelash extensions give eyelids the volume and length to attract compliments or entire butterfly colonies. Massage therapies include relaxing and healing modalities such as Swedish, deep tissue, stone, pre-natel, and sports massage. Garden fountains perform a liquid symphony for patrons who relax at a shaded outdoor patio.

"Technique is everything," says Tricia Hetherington, licensed esthetician and owner of The Pretty Kitty, a chain of full-service waxing boutiques specializing in bare-all Brazilians. Tricia, who’s been profiled in Luxury Las Vegas and several additional press outlets, personally trains each staff member in her proprietary 10- to 15-minute hair-removal method, which employs high-quality soft wax that’s formulated for delicate flesh and minimizes pain. Her estheticians never double dip into the wax pot, reaching for a fresh stick with every application of the warm substance and leaving only a thin landing strip or functional tarmac in its wake. The Pretty Kitty's menu of services also includes facial and full-body waxing, and though walk-ins are welcome, appointments are recommended.

The aesthetic professionals at House of Beauty beautify bodies through threading, waxing, facials, henna designs, and a passel of other services. Threading, a House of Beauty specialty, uses the tension between two coiled strings to deftly extract unwanted hair, including the extra-fine strands that dodge waxing with eel-like reflexes—nimble aestheticians can reshape eyebrows ($8), a favorite thread-target, in five to seven minutes. Spa treatments such as the one-hour European facial ($50) can pamper peaked visages, and painted henna tattoos ($5+) shimmy up hands and feet to be-filigree appendages and add glamour to rock, paper, scissors tournaments. All locations except the Moreno Valley Mall and Temecula Mall locations cut and color hair, a useful service for pretending to be one's own evil twin.

When it comes to beauty treatments, O'Leisure Hair Design does a little bit of everything. Licensed stylists here use AG Hair Products and perform chic haircuts and keratin smoothing treatments, and spa treatments such as hair removal, eyelash extensions, and nail services are also available. You can get even eyebrows with a threading session, too, or renew your skin and up your pH levels with an ultra-hydrating facial. There are private spa rooms for all waxing, massages, and facials.

Fantastic Sams is a full-service salon for the whole family that will sculpt wilted hair into a look-twice hot commodity. Cuts start with a complimentary shampoo using Fantastic Sam's signature line of products, followed by a three-minute scalp massage to blast away the dead-skin-cell-loving turtles. Whether you've got a secret style you've been saving in your panache pocket or you opt to trust the expert stylists at Fantastic Sams to get creatively awesome with your tresses, your hair will be snipped and primped to fit your desired identity.

The staff at The New Look Salon & Day Spa administers a bevy of spa services that use high-end G.M. Collin products, propagating the belief that everyone should set aside time for pampering. To that end, the staff offers Swedish massages, body wraps, [haircuts] http://gr.pn/IKK5uJ), and chemical peels, among other services. Customers looking to feel their best can opt for a nutrition and weight-management program that encourages making healthful choices and discourages eating deep-fried watermelons. The spa also sustains a high level of relaxation with a neutral-toned decor that soothes the eyes and spirit.