Skin and Tonic

I’ve been going here for about 8 months now for facials monthly. Ellen is really great. She checks in around the products and uses products that do not upset my sensitive skin. The extractions do not hurt as much as other places I have been to. I definitely recommend you try Ellen.

I am very cautious when it comes to my sensitive skin. Skin & Tonic will remain my go to for waxing and esthetic skin care. My skin loves the care I receive here something that seemed impossible until now! I am a happy and returning customer!

I’ve been going here faithfully and they never disappoint. Ellen is who I go to let’s just say her hands are blessed always a pleasant experience.

Christina was amazing… it was so relaxing. I got a milk facial… my face has never felt so good!

Cristina is a SKIN savior!
I found this place through Unilocal and since I am way overdue for a facial, I UnilocalED and found this cute place. Again Unilocal did not disappoint me. This place is very cute and quaint, located on the busy street between Santa Clara and Grand avenue. Parking is not provided so parking is at your own risk. I found some parking across the street, next to the theatre with a max of 2 hours and costs $ 4 which is great if you are only needing less than 2 hours for your treatment.
Anyway back to Cristina…
First of all she is very friendly and very welcoming. I always get a feeling of uncomfortable and unsure when I first meet my esthetician. But with Cristina, I felt completely the opposite. I was comfortable and felt great, especially laying down on their warm, comfortable bed
Secondly, she is very gentle and great with her hands. She did full extraction on me and I was fine. She really is very knowledgeable and knows what she is doing.
I have already booked my next appointment with Cristina.
I can’t wait for my next appointment. My skins feels so fresh and clean!!!
Thank you Cristina!

Kalie is AMAZING!
I have worked with her for several services. A Brazilian wax, brow wax and tint, and earlier today, a tomato peel facial. I am really impressed with Kalie. My brows still look great a few weeks later! And today, my skin feels amazing after the peel. She did a great job from start to finish, checking in with me along the way to make sure I was comfortable. She used Rhonda Allison products, and I took a cleanser and a serum home for maintenance.
The location is very convenient, and the vibe is very homey and clean.
I highly recommend Skin and Tonic!

I have two confessions to make regarding this place. First off, my friend is an owner. Secondly, before today, I never had any kind of waxing done or anything done here. You see, I’m basically a hippie. An indoorsy hippie who likes good food and drink, but a hippie nonetheless. No mani-​pedi, makeup, fancy haircuts, and what-​not for this natural broad.
But today I went in for a brow wax because I was a training model. The trainee was professional and did a stellar job, overseen by my friend who was also professional and offered thorough detail (while also letting her trainee do her own thing too).
The experience was painless and apparently offered a different (I read better) kind of wax than other salons. Apparently redness is a thing, but I left unscathed as well, even with sensitive skin.
A couple of other nice things about this cute little place:
–It’s unpretentious and not spa-​like
–There are products for sale and a list of other services available, including sale items
–If you live in Grand Lake it’s a very convenient walk, right across Grand from the theater
–If you don’t live there then it’s still relatively easy to park because it’s a business district with meters so people are in and out, with spaces opening up
–And either way, it’s a great ‘hood to wander and have lunch, browse books, or catch a matinée before or after your skin services
I’m actually sold on brow waxing now. Not much for the makeup or pampering, but when a lady has two differently shaped brows it’s nice to have them evened up by a pro.

I just had a Purification facial with Cristina and I’m so happy with the results! She is AMAZING! I had my very first facial somewhere else a few years ago and had a horrible experience. I was a bit nervous coming in, but was pleasantly surprised. Cristina was gentle, listened to me and I felt like the facial was customized to my skin type. I will definitely be coming back… already made my second appointment for next month. Thank you, Cristina! I couldn’t be any happier! I see immediate results!

I had my first facial (75 min deluxe) w/​Cristina in Feb and got my 2^nd one yesterday. One of the best facials I’ve ever had. It was so relaxing and my skin looks great. I remember a couple of weeks after first one I was still seeing results.
The place is small and charming. You can hear noise from the street but it’s not bad and I’m pretty sensitive to that sort of thing. When I get a treatment the atmosphere is just as important as the treatment itself and I wasn’t disappointed at all. My favorite thing? The sheet on the spa table. Seriously. I’m ordering some now. Soooo soft and luxurious.
Christina is great! I highly recommend her.

I have had several appointments with Christina, and she has been great every time. I’ve only seen her for waxing so can’t attest to other services, but she’s been friendly and polite. She also has the least embarrassing approach to waxing back there that I’ve come across so far (ladies, you know what I mean). She recommended a skin care product to me that really was a miracle worker. Highly recommend.

This review is for a Skin and Tonic esthetician, Cristina Gecas. Cristina is an acne magician. I have struggled with my skin forever. Now in my thirties, my skin took a drastic turn for the worse about 3 months ago. My breakouts were constant and well, pretty disgusting. Weekly facials (that are totally reasonably priced in the scheme of things, btw) with Cristina for about a month turned my skin around. This woman is incredible. She was trained at an acne clinic in Southern California and has an unbelievably gentle, thorough and effective extraction technique. Before Cristina, I had so many negative experiences in my life that ended up leaving me worse off than before the treatments, like extractions that brought on more breakouts and never emptied things out enough etc. When I leave a session with Cristina, I look better immediately, I am not swollen, splotchy or bleeding. Cristina is talented, kind, and totally awesome. I cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am for her help with my skin. She is the best!

I’ve been frequenting Skin and Tonic (seeing both Ellen and Missy) for a few years now, and every time I visit I’m so pleased with the lasting results from my customized facials. My acne prone/​combination skin has been transformed into a smooth clear surface, boosting my confidence in rocking a makeup free (but definitely still SPF’ing!) face. I also appreciate that I’m able to include bikini waxing with my facials, in a one stop shop type service. These ladies are very friendly and professional, and I very much enjoy our conversations!

I’ve been getting my lady parts waxed by Missy for the past year, and I highly recommend her. She’s fast and thorough — like done in 10 minutes fast — and keeps you distracted with pleasant conversation so you’re less focused on the unpleasantness of having your pubic hair ripped from your body. Not only is she professional but a great person to hang with through a not-​so-​enjoyable grooming experience. Glad I found her!

Fast, professional, and clean. Discount for regulars.

I had a few Brazilian waxes here a few years ago, so I just wanted to drop a line.
I am not sure if there has been a shift in management since my visit, but I can vouch for some seriously excellent service here. They are located off of Santa Clara, and parking can sometimes be difficult during busier times of the day. You may just have to walk a few blocks– big deal.
The spa is calming and serine, and I had a very wonderful experience each time I visited. My waxes were always quick, and as painless as possible. The entire process took maybe 15 minutes, and I believe their products are all great for sensitive skin, so you can calm your nerves about any break-​outs of reactions with their waxes.
I highly recommend Skin and Tonic for their waxing services, and probably everything else as well. I will have to drop by again soon.

I’ve had 3 facials with Cristina G, and I love the experience more each time! I’m freakishly obsessed with my skin and tend to have a more reactive vs. proactive approach (like, I’ll book a facial as soon as I break out), but I’ve been trying to change that with monthly facials. Skin & Tonic’s prices are doable, and they have regular specials if you subscribe to their newsletter.
Best part is, the skincare services here are sort of like a facial & massage in one. You’ll get a nice face, neck & décolleté massage with your facial, and they use mostly natural ingredients which smell amazing (and still pack a powerful, tingling punch). I leave feeling so relaxed and light, knowing that my pores have been gently purged, and my dead skin has been lovingly sluffed. Laying on the cozy & clean massage table for an hour is quite the treat too!
Once you’ve had your first facial here, you’ll have the option to book an «Express Facial» (I think it’s 35 mins for $ 65, instead of the 55 mins for $ 100). I love the ability to book online, with tons of next day appts usually available.
Cristina is the most chill person, and explains the products as she’s putting them on. And, she does gentle & efficient extractions, which is my favorite part :)

I’ve been seeing Cristina for over a year now. When I came to her I had been off my prescription acne medication for about three months. I consistently had about ten to fifteen deep, painful cystic acne pimples at a time. I try to see Cristina at least once a month, and over the course of the year my skin has cleared up considerably. Now, I average one cystic pimple every couple of months and have some smaller clogged pores that develop between appointments. Cristina is always thorough with her work on my skin, never rushes, and takes care of ALL of my problem areas even if it means going a little over time.
My acne is a hormonal problem I expect to deal with the rest of my adult life. There is no «cure» for acne. Treatment takes commitment and dedication to appointments and a skin care regimen. Cristina is wonderful because she custom tailors each appointment for my skin at that exact time. If I’m dry, she evens my skin out. If I’m hydrated she gives a light peel to keep the acne at bay.
I’d also like to give a shout out to their products! I love their growth factor serum, which is a lot like Bio-​Oil, but it absorbs much faster and better into the skin. And I think the product that’s helped me the most is the salicylic pumice scrub, which seems to dry up any spots before they even get started.
Cristina is really the best. If you give her the time every month or so to work on your skin, you will see a difference. Five stars!

I had a facial with Missy a few weeks ago and it was awesome! Very relaxing and nice-​smelling, natural products. She is very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. My skin felt nice and clean afterwards — but the real reward came about 4 – 5 days later — my skin was absolutely glowing. Looks fresh, clear and even — can leave the house with no make-​up, just a dab of moisturizer/​sunscreen.
Another thing I liked is that she was not pushy with products like some salons are. After treating me, she recommended one product, a pumice/​pomegranate scrub specifically to help keep my skin clear and make my over the counter/​drugstore skin routine products MUCH more effective. It has helped my skin stay clear and glow-​y for a few weeks now, and gets me more bang for the buck for my other products. Thank you Missy!

I’ve seen Ellen, the owner, for four years for my brazilian waxes. Anyone who has had a brazilian wax knows it is among the most awkward experiences, maybe ever. Not so with Ellen. Right from the beginning, I was so impressed with her awesome ability to make you completely comfortable, despite the nature of the appointment. I have never been disappointed with the quality, never overwhelmed by pain (because, lets be honest, there is no way that WON’T be painful), and never felt like she wasn’t using high quality supplies for the process. Additionally, the space is lovely and well-​kept, and super clean.
Though I can’t speak to any of her other services specifically, I can say with confidence that she is an amazing, professional, super-​skilled esthetician. I believe she was transitioning out of waxing and into more facial services, but know that she takes pride in her business and has a staff that reflects her attention to service and detail. I’d see anyone at Skin and Tonic with confidence.

To start this out I am not one of those girls who goes to get facials and waxings done, in fact my trip to Skin and Tonic today was my first facial, and first brow wax EVER. I made an appointment because I am getting married next week and wanted to make sure my face was in tip top shape for the «big day»!
After my experience at Skin and Tonic I think I might become a regular! Christina did such a great job with my brow waxing, and the purification facial felt great! My skin is thanking me. I don’t have terrible skin, but I do get occasional acne breakouts (frustrating at 26) and my skin tends to get oily throughout the day. Christina was friendly, full of great tips, and very good at what she does.
Again, my eyebrows look awesome, I think they could star in their own TV show they look so good!
I love that Skin and Tonic is open in the evenings so I was able to go after work, plus I found parking quickly and had time to run into Urban Furniture and scored a couple milk glass vases for the wedding. Nothing like last minute finds!
Their website is great and you can make your appointment online, which I think is a big plus.
If you are looking for a facial or brow waxing I highly recommend Skin and Tonic, even if you aren’t someone who would normally go for it, give it a try!

Men… if you’re ever thinking about about skin cleaning and such this is the place. i had an amazing treatment from Christina. She’s a professional with many years experience and provided facts about my skin condition. I did not feel like I was being told things just to sell more treatments or products. I was very comfortable, had a great relaxing time and my skin feels great.
Seriously guys. men have skin conditions that can be helped by treatments. So if you’re inclined as I was you should check out Skin & Tonic.

All I can say is that I am so BLESSED to work in such an amazing, beautiful and successful environment at Skin and Tonic as an outside source doing energy readings.
All the talented Estheticians, Ellen, Christina and Missy are such wonderful people. They show such love and support to their clients and to me, that I personally felt inspired to share it!
The environment of the entire space is classy, comfortable, bright and welcoming — just like the amazing gals that create the success of the business.
If you’re in the neighborhood and want to feel completely taken care of with your waxing and skin care needs, these gals are the ones to visit!

Went in for their holiday special $ 85 for a pumpkin facial. I don’t normally get facials on a regular basis, but felt like getting one because my skin was bothering me. I had a great experience the last time I got a facial at another place but they closed down :/​so I thought, why not try another one?
I had my pumpkin facial with Ellen. She was very nice and pleasant. She used some sort of glycolic acid during the facial, which she explained was about 20% supposedly not too harsh for the skin. But it burned my skin during the facial and after I was really uncomfortable. We both noticed that after my facial my skin was very red and irritated. She gave me some cream and in a few days, she sent me a follow up email which was very nice of her. After responding to her follow up email, she explains that if you don’t normally get facials your face would react that way to the products she used. I don’t know if that explanation was satisfactory for me as I have had facials before and they didn’t turn out to be so uncomfortable afterwards.
It smelled really nice tho! Unfortunately, I don’t think I would go back.

Uh-​huh!