Chicago's beach season is pretty much over, but you might still be carrying souvenirs from laying for hours in the sand, like a nice coppery skin tone and perhaps a lighter sheen in your hair. But a summer spent under a roasting sun may have also done some damage. To combat the effects of a sun-soaked summer, we found five different treatments at Chicago spas that will infuse nourishment into your hair or skin.
Pacific Paradise at Spa Space: For a combination stress reducer and skin enhancer that will also leave you drenched in aroma, check out the Pacific Paradise treatment at Spa Space. The 90-minute treatment starts with a body scrub with mango enzymes meant to exfoliate the skin, removing skin cells that have been fried by the sun. The mango sugar body scrub is followed by an hour-long massage with kukui-coconut oil. (Kukui is a type of Hawaiian tree.) "The kukui nut oil smells really, really amazing," Falashay Pearson, a staffer at Spa Space, said. "You smell like a beach afterward, kind of like a piña colada." Located in the western part of the Loop and founded by former tax attorney Natalie Tessler, Spa Space outfits customers with cotton robes and massage slippers, as well as makes rain showers available before or after the treatment.Pacific Paradise Treatment: $160 161 N. Canal St.; 312-466-9585
Glycolic Treatment at Studio Within: Studio Within, an environmentally friendly spa in Lakeview, offers a glycolic treatment to provide deep exfoliation and help even out skin tone that has been battered by repeated sun exposure. Glycolic acid, which is considered an alpha hydroxy acid and is found in sugar cane, peels away dead skin, which can improve the look of problems like solar keratosis, or rough, raised areas found on skin that has endured long periods of sun exposure over time. Though Studio Within offers individual glycolic treatments, the Lakeview spa recommends a series of six, with one per week for six weeks. Single glycolic treatment: $60 Series of six glyocolic treatments: $3003000 N. Sheffield Ave.; 773-348-9323
Keratin Hair Therapy Treatment at Red Door Spa: If the texture of your hair feels a bit closer to the straw of a scarecrow than the velvet of a cushion, you may want to drop by Red Door Spa for a Keratin Hair Therapy Treatment. The treatment is designed to straighten hair while also softening and strengthening it, leaving it with a silky texture. The key ingredient in the treatment, keratin, is a strong protein that makes up an integral structural component of hair, as well as of skin and nails. The treatment is offered at all three of the Red Door's Chicago-area spas. Keratin Hair Therapy Treatment: $350 919 N. Michigan Ave., 4th Floor (Enter on Walton Street); 312-988-9191720 N. Waukegan Rd., Deerfield; 847-945-18882171 Northbrook Court, Northbrook; 847-272-9300
Obagi at Temilla's Skin Care: Temilla's Skin Care tends to take a more clinical and therapeutic approach to treating skin damage, and one of its newer services incorporates the use of Obagi Medical Products. The specific Obagi products used will be chosen after a personal skin consultation with Temilla's esthetician and include anti-aging, eye treatments and various serums and creams to fight discoloration and hyperpigmentation due to sun damage and overexposure. Obagi specializes in a process it calls Penetrating Therapeutics, where ingredients in the serums and creams are ushered deep into the skin for increased efficacy.Pricing varies according to products used and is available upon request3110 N. Sheridan Rd.; 773-281-4334
Microdermabrasion and Purifying Back Treatment at Absolute Precision Skin Care: Kelly Mack, owner of Absolute Precision Skin Care and its head esthetician, uses a diamond tip wand or aluminum oxide crystals for targeted exfoliation in a microdermabrasion procedure. The process works by removing the top layer of skin on the face, and can be used to treat uneven skin tone, wrinkles and lesions brought on by prolonged sun exposure. Absolute precision offers both a 60-minute microdermabrasion treatment, which includes a full facial, and a 30-minute, express microdermabrasion treatment, which includes a vitamin mask. If you spent a lot of time sunning your back while on the beach, Mack also offers an hourlong Purifying Back Treatment, which combines cleansing, massage, exfoliation, extractions (of clogged pores) and a treatment mask meant to smooth and soften skin. 60-minute microdermabrasion: $14030-minute express microdermabrasion: $85Purifying back treatment: $951471 W. Irving Park Rd (inside Amber Electrolysis); 773-320-1376 (Call ahead for appointment)