The Skin Studio

The Skin Studio sits in Rocky Ridge Plaza in Vestavia Hills, sharing a parking lot with Iz Cafe and a couple of neighborhood restaurants, close enough that a facial appointment and a coffee run fit easily into the same errand. It is a boutique day spa, appointment-only, built around skincare and massage rather than a long menu of unrelated services.

The studio is owned by Beverly Saavedra, a licensed esthetician with more than 26 years of experience in skincare, who built the business around a partnership with Eminence Organic Skin Care. Facials are the studio’s core offering, with treatments customized for anti-aging concerns, acne-prone skin, and general hydration rather than a single one-size-fits-all protocol, including a signature treatment the studio calls the OMG Facial. The estheticians work with SkinCeuticals as well as Eminence Organics, two brands with a strong professional reputation, which gives clients a sense of what they are paying for beyond a relaxing hour.

The esthetician team beyond Saavedra includes Kiara Jaimes, who has spoken about her own history with acne shaping how she approaches client care, Sophie Akyuz, a recent graduate of BodyLogic School of Esthetics who is fluent in Spanish and works across facials, massage, waxing, and eyebrows, and Alondra Perez, an Aveda-trained esthetician focused on relaxing, results-driven facials.

Massage is the other half of the business, with Swedish, deep tissue, and pregnancy massage all on the schedule. That last option, pregnancy massage, is a service not every spa in the area offers, and it points to a studio paying attention to a specific need in a family-heavy suburb like Vestavia Hills. The massage team includes Marcie McMath, an ABMP member with 22 years in the spa industry who graduated from The Birmingham School of Massage in 2000, and April Henderson, a licensed massage therapist with more than 18 years of experience, a background in biology, and a stint on the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy from 2003 to 2008, whose skills span Swedish, deep tissue, neuromuscular, pregnancy, and sports massage.

Waxing, lash, and brow services round out the offerings, useful for clients who want to bundle a facial with quick grooming rather than book separate appointments across town. The studio operates by appointment only, which keeps the space quiet and unhurried, a detail regulars tend to mention, and cancellations are asked to be made at least 24 hours before an appointment to avoid a full-service charge.

Beyond single visits, the studio also sells package series for clients working on a longer-term concern. An Acne Treatment Bootcamp runs six treatments spaced two weeks apart for $450, paired with a discount on WISH Skin Health acne products for use between sessions, and the studio has also run a Lipomax Sculpt series, a body treatment using electromagnetic energy to trigger muscle contractions in the abdomen, marketed as a spring special at $600 for six sessions.

The studio describes its location plainly as being in the heart of Vestavia Hills, and the plaza itself has become something of a small hub for local businesses, sitting alongside Moe’s Original BBQ and The Ridge restaurant. For clients, that means an afternoon spa visit can be paired with lunch without moving the car.

Hours run Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a schedule built around working professionals who need early or late weekday slots along with a Saturday option before the weekend gets away from them.

What stands out about The Skin Studio is its restraint. Rather than trying to be a full-service salon with hair, nails, and everything in between, it stays focused on skincare and bodywork, and that focus shows up in the quality of the individual treatments. For Vestavia Hills residents looking for a neighborhood spa that treats a facial as a real skincare appointment rather than a spa-day gimmick, The Skin Studio has built a loyal following one appointment at a time.