Spa fancy: Sugarbubble

Dirty bikini wax? Nail fungus? Ew. This spa is cleaning up the beauty act.

By Katherine Wexler

The lowdown: Registered nurse Leni Benitez, who obsessively oversees the hygiene, opened the tiny spa two years ago, and it has garnered a small cult following among those serious about the health of their nails and the quality of their facial products. Benitez installed special pumps to remove water from her pedicure sinks, uses hospital-grade sterilized tools and forbids her spa therapists to double-dip the wooden spatulas when applying hot wax. All this because she once got a nasty rash from a contaminated wax job. But that's another story. Manicures, microdermabrasion and masks all involve high-quality, organic products.

The vibe: The tools are antiseptic, but the environment isn't.

The highlights: Milk & Honey Pedicure so sweet you might want to dip your finger in the brew, $40; Organic Facial with living ingredients in the goat's milk yogurt, $90 and up; Sugarbubble Bombshell, a 90-minute luxe treatment tailored to your needs, including facials with deep extractions and microdermabrasion, foot massage, eyebrow shaping or waxing -- you name it -- $150.

165 NE 96th St., Miami Shores; 305-751-3622; thesugarbubble.com

Photo: Alex Kolyer.