Beauty & Spas in Nashville

As a ballet dancer, David Gensheimer didn't need much help becoming lean, limber, and lithe. But when he found himself recovering from knee surgery, he knew he needed to find something that would keep him strong without compromising his healing process. In addition to physical therapy, he turned to Pilates and was won over by the sport's ability to strengthen core muscles and enhance flexibility. Though he was back to pirouetting in no time, David never lost the Pilates bug and went on to complete his Pilates training while serving as a company member with Ballet Austin and Nashville Ballet and dancing with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company and Stillpoint.

Today, when he's not busy dancing his way through guest performances around the country, David helms Simply Balanced where he helps others strengthen, rehabilitate, and challenge their bodies through Pilates and yoga classes. Students can also try Gyrotonic classes, which blend elements of gymnastics, yoga, dance, and tai chi, performed on a weight and pulley machine that engages the entire body. Beyond transforming the way visitors look, move, and feel about spandex shorts, the Simply Balanced studio also showers them with feel-good perks such as complimentary beverages, free parking, and access to a team of highly trained massage therapists.

Joined by more than their salon’s name, stylists Jón and Alan have spent more than two decades refining their skills side by side. Today, the duo passes on their knowledge to the stylists on their team, teaching them the tricks of the trade as they cut, color, and add texture to hair. When they aren’t watching over their stylists or juggling combs dipped in barbicide and lit on fire, they check in on the spa’s technicians, who soothe their clients’ skin with resurfacing facials, chemical peels, and relaxing massages.

All of the salon’s custom skin and scalp treatments draw on Aveda's world-renowned arsenal of plant-based products. Guided by socially conscious principles for more than 30 years, Aveda produces a full line of natural beauty products carried at nearly 7,000 salons and spas. Popular products such as Shampure shampoo and witch-hazel hair spray deliver on Aveda's commitment to well-rounded earthly beauty with eco-friendly packaging cradling ingredients derived from the world's finest and least selfish plants.

Bellevue Tanning Club harbors a fleet of 21 technologically advanced tanning units, all kept sparkling clean and decked out with fresh bulbs by a knowledgeable staff. Low-pressure beds beam UVA and UVB rays to build a solid base tan; high-pressure beds and standup units rapidly bronze bodies almost exclusively with UVA rays to minimize the risk of burning. While vitamin D washes over tanners, a built-in fan cools skin and an internal CD stereo system lets clients catch up on the latest hits and listen to self-released karaoke performances. For a speedier service that delivers a summery glow without the beach-style lounge experience, spray tanning quickly bronzes skin with a DHA sugar-based solution matched to skin tone.

Bellevue Tanning Club's tranquil décor, with walls painted periwinkle blue, white trellises, and tropical plants, recalls a sandy boardwalk on a sunny day. The staff also takes their services on the road to spray tan clients before noteworthy events, such as weddings, surprise parties, or surprise weddings.

Shoppers stroll leisurely about the upscale shops and restaurants of Camden Commons, but inside Lunatic Fringe, expert stylists are hard at work. Senior and junior stylists move nimbly about the bright green styling chairs that line the sleek salon, transforming hairstyles with trendy cuts, elegant up-dos, and professional coloring services. The color of the chairs is appropriate since the salon is committed to a green philosophy. Here, stylists take pains to use chemical-free techniques and eco-friendly materials, such as recyclable hair color cups and blow-dryers that run on the power of positive thinking alone. The Franklin branch is one of numerous national locations of the Lunatic Fringe franchise, a salon chain that has received a sweeping amount of glowing press since it's founding.

Veteran stylist William Edge wields 20 years of experience as a platform artist and world traveler to lead the staff at his eponymous family of salons, spread across Texas and Tennessee. At each location, teams brandish an arsenal of all-natural Aveda products forged from plants and environmentally friendly ingredients found across the globe. Equipped with such powerful conditioning and coloring supplies, they curtail unruly locks with shaping, shading, and retexturing services, and enhance radiant tresses with spa services, such as massages, facials, and makeup applications. Additionally, the salons' seasoned crew helps hone future stylists' skills at Prodedgy, its own training salon for emerging talent.

Nestled on the first level of the Green Hills Mall and located next to Dillards, The Nail Spa at Green Hills surrounds fingers and toes in beautifying comfort. Expert nail techs bestow hands with four indulgent manicures, from the VIP, complete with sugar scrubs and hydrating mint masks, to the Green experience, laden with organic products. A sextet of pedicures comforts tired and aching soles with soothing footbaths, skin-softening scrubs, and tantalizing massage for both feet and legs. Nail technicians can customize treatments with a menu of add-ons, such as a hot-stone massage that melts away stress and tension or paraffin wax, which creates perfect hand-molds to give away as gifts. The Nail Spa also treats fingers to no-chip Shellac polish.