With everyone out from lockdown and in the summer sunshine, looking beautiful if more important than ever. Here’s where our readers go when they want to look their best.
Best Spa
Marin: Turning Point, Mill Valley
Laurence McKee runs a French-inflected spa with a gentle touch and a holistic approach, thanks to her experience with Ayurvedic treatments.
Bay Area: Osmosis, Freestone
Runners Up
Marin: International Orange, Larkspur
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Bay Area: Indian Springs, Calistoga
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Best Med Spa
Marin: Belle Marin Aesthetic Medicine, Mill Valley
Dr. Faye Jamali’s injectable techniques enhance your natural assets, and the salon vibe provides a boost of well-being wrapped in a cocoon of welcoming beauty.
Bay Area: Plastic Surgery Specialists Med Spa, multiple locations
Runners Up
Marin: Marin Medical Aesthetics, San Rafael
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Bay Area: Morpheus Med Spa, Larkspur and Santa Rosa
Best Women’s Haircut/Salon Services
Marin: The Current, San Anselmo
Co-owners Stephanie Fimbres and Jenna Thomas have a knack for delivering just what Marin women and girls want from their cut, color and blonding services.
Bay Area: Sugar, Petaluma
Runners Up
Marin: AP Luxe Salon, Mill Valley
Bay Area: John Velasquez Salon, San Francisco
Best Men’s Haircut/Salon Services
Marin: The Current, San Anselmo
Though the team mostly cuts and styles hair for women, their enthusiasm for their craft carries over to men, as evidenced by the many votes they received for cutting men’s hair.
Bay Area: Barber Lane, Larkspur & San Francisco
Runners Up
Marin: Xclusive Club Barbershop, San Rafael
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Bay Area: Fahrenheit Salon, San Francisco
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Best Facial
Marin: Eva Claiborne Beauty & Wellness, Tiburon
Master aesthetician Claiborne runs an eponymous institute teaching Hungarian skin care techniques and is well-regarded for her pre- and post-operative skincare services.
Bay Area: Envie Skin & Body, multiple locations
Runners Up
Marin: EVO Spa, Mill Valley
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Bay Area: Skin Spirit, multiple locations
Best Massage
Marin: Bodywise Massage, San Rafael
Offering indoor and outdoor massage with an intuitive touch from all practitioners, in addition to massage at home — these are just a few of their updated services.
Bay Area: Watercourse Way Bathhouse Spa, Palo Alto
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Runners Up
Marin: Resonance Spa, Corte Madera
Bay Area: Elements Massage, multiple locations
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Best Nail Salon
Marin: Annie’s Nails, San Rafael
With a staff that understands how chatty (or not) you are, hygienic tools and attention to detail, this salon in a quiet part of the West End is a reader favorite.
Bay Area: Polish Nail and Beauty Spa, San Francisco
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Runners Up
Marin: NJ Nails Spa, Novato
Bay Area: Cuticles Nail Spa, Oakland
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Best Cosmetic Dermatologist
Marin: Mill Valley Dermatology, Dr. Haydee Knott, Mill Valley
Driven by putting relationships over production, this dermatologist leans into personal care for all of your skin’s needs.
Bay Area: Kathy Fields, MD, San Francisco
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Runners Up
Marin: Laub Dermatology & Aesthetics Dr. Laub, Mill Valley
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Bay Area: Dermatology medical group, Dr. Megin Scully, San Francisco
Visit our Best of the County winners page for more.
Christina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Sunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her child’s school, and supports the Marin Audubon Society, PEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.s the Assistant Editor at Marin Magazine and a graduate of Elon University where she studied Professional Writing and Fine Art. Born and raised in San Francisco/Marin, she loves traveling just as much as coming home to the Bay Area. She has curated a sophisticated palate for food, travel and culture and uses her travels as an outlet to develop her photography portfolio and hone her writing craft.
