Life is hard.
Relieve that stress with the skilled hands of Tucson’s own body virtuosos.
From facials to manicures and nail art to pedicures, these experts have it covered.
Nails
Next door to Albertsons on La Cañada and tucked into a corner is the TQ Nail Salon, where Linda and Peter Phan eagerly make everyone look great.
The couple is from Vietnam. Ask them why they came to the United States, the answer is obvious.
“For a better life,” gregarious nail technician Andy Le shouted from a service chair.
He likes to talk.
The Phans have been in the United States for more than seven years and have worked at other salons. Last year, they took the plunge and bought TQ. Sometimes there isn’t an empty chair to be found and sometimes they might see one customer a day. Still, they are prepared to weather the ups and downs of it because, actually, business is growing.
“First time we were here, very slow, just one or two customers a day,” Peter said. “Right now, picking up, busier. Now we have seven people working here.”
Services a client can get at TQ include acrylic nails, acrylic overlays and fills, gels, dipping powder, pedicures and waxing. Besides all these services, both Linda and Peter do nail art. Ask them to paint any design and they can do it. On this particular day, Linda painted the ABCs on the acrylic nails of Dawn Jones, who works at an elementary school and is one of the couple’s faithful customers.
“Linda is awesome, she does beautiful nails,” Jones said. “I broke my nail when I was in Texas but I refused to go to a different place (and waited) until I got back.”
Peter said owning a business provides more of a work-life balance.
“We have time for family,” he said.
Linda has been in the nail business for five years. Speaking for herself, it’s not so scary to be a business owner.
“Because all the customers are nice, very, very nice,” she said.
While it’s true that there could be language barriers, Linda and Peter said it’s important to them that clients feel comfortable.
“Every day, anytime, any customer, we do good service, and the customer comes in here, they leave happy, and they will come back,” Peter said.
At TQ they also do waxing and pedicures.
Pedicures
Once the purview of women only, pedicures have jumped the gender line. It turns out men, too, like to have nice looking feet. Just ask Michelle Romero, who takes care of her guests’ feet at the Rustiks Speakeasy Salon and Spa on the upper floor of the Tucson Mall. She can do manicures, too, but her favorite is pedicures. She calls feet the most neglected part of the body.
“Our feet get us out of bed and everywhere you need to go every single day,” she said. “There are no foot transplants yet. We have to take care of our feet. They’re usually the last thing we think about, but they’re the first thing that touches the floor when we get out of bed.”
Sure, Romero will give manicures, but what she really likes is seeing the transformation of people’s feet, from their owners being embarrassed by the condition of their feet to wanting to show them off in sandals and flip flops. In fact, it’s often embarrassment that keeps people from getting a pedicure.
“Everyone thinks their feet look terrible,” she said. “I have not met anyone who said anything otherwise. That is the first thing they say when they get in my chair for the first time. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, my feet are terrible, … but once they leave and everything is back in order, they’re moisturized, cleaned, there’s no more dead skin on the bottom of their feet, it’s that transformation that I love.”
One look at KJ Davis’ feet and it’s clear he’s been getting pedis for some time, for at least six years, he said. He is now faithful to the cause and said it’s a pleasant part of his life and part of his important self-care routine, especially because he is on his feet nearly all day, every day at work.
“In my job I spend a lot of time on my feet and so (I know) my feet are comfortable and they look good to me and that’s a good thing,” he said. “My feet are very important because I’m on them a lot, so I want to take care of them,”
Sometimes, in fact often, he is the only man in the salon, a condition he doesn’t mind one bit.
“I usually get a couple of looks, but I smile and nod and I sit down and start talking, just like I do, ‘How’s everybody doing?’” he said.
The process is easy enough.
Romero likes to treat her guests well. To that end, there’s a big padded chair with a well for water in front of it. Guests relax while soaking their feet in hot, soapy water. Then the questions begin: Are there any ingrown? Any tender places? If so, where? As anyone who has ever had an ingrown toenail knows, it hurts.
“That is the first thing I ask everybody because personally I get ingrown toenails, so I know they can be very tender. You can be very cautious about who you let touch your ingrown toenail,” she said. “I know the pain of an ingrown toenail when it’s not cut correctly.”
After a few minutes of soaking, Romero trims the toenails and pushes back cuticles. She files the dead skin off the bottom of her guest’s feet, then massages them with moisturizer — the classic pedicure.
If a guest asks for a luxury pedi, then a sugar scrub, a moisturizing mask and hot towels are added. She can also paint toenails.
Romero’s final advice: “You have to moisturize, even if you are coming in for pedicures,” she said.
Skin
Aesthetician Nancy Urzua enjoys taking care of people. A former social worker, she said, skin care is also a way to take care of people.
“I feel like I still get to help people but in a different way,” she said.
She does it by helping people feel good about their appearance, particularly their skin. She waxes, dermaplanes and gives lash lifts, but she most enjoys giving facials.
Urzua will work with guests with skin issues like rosacea or acne, for example. She helps her guests take care of their skin.
“I’m very passionate about skin care,” Urzua said.
As with pedicures, there are levels of facials, including a mini-facial for a quick pick-me-up, a facial which expands on the mini, and finally the signature facial. This particular service includes a consultation, double cleanse, skin analysis, exfoliation, facial massage, steaming (to open pores), extractions of blackheads, a mask, and a scalp or shoulder massage. Then toner, serum, moisturizer and sunscreen are applied. A guest leaves feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.
The ultimate treatment, however, is a back facial.
“A back facial is essentially a facial for the skin on your back,” she said. “It’s one of the most neglected areas on our bodies. Sometimes we can’t reach back there, or we don’t scrub it thoroughly. It’s a calming treatment for the skin on your back. During the back facial, you will also receive a back massage, neck massage, scalp massage, and arm massage,” she said.
To start, Urzua asks guests about their concerns. However, everyone should care for their skin.
“Basically, everyone, but especially if you’re acne-prone or you have a job where you’re sweating or you’re in the gym a lot, the dead skin could build up on your back and cause issues,” she said.
One of the nicest parts of the treatment is the hot stones.
“I always ask, but I like to incorporate hot stones, and they just feel so good on your back.”
Mainly, Urzua wants people to know that her guests are her priority.
“A lot of people these days are not taking care of themselves; they’re too busy taking care of everybody else,” she said.
“I always tell them you can’t pour from an empty cup, so you need to take care of yourself first. When you come in to see me, I want you to know that your appointment is going to be tailored to your unique needs. Not only your unique skin needs, but also what you need. If you are in need of talking to someone and you want to talk through your whole facial I’m all about it. If you are in need of rest and you want to come in for a facial and you just want to relax and fall asleep, I’m all about it, too. Whatever you need, it’s going to be tailored to you.”
Linda and Peter Phan
TQ Nails
5095 N. La Cañada Drive, Tucson
9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
520-888-9379, tqnailstucson.com
Michelle Romero
Rustiks Salon and Spa Speakeasy
4500 N. Oracle Road, Tucson
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
520-474-4200, therustikcollective.com
Nancy Urzua
Tucson Touch Therapies
3903 E. Pima Road, Tucson
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday
520-881-7337, tucsontouchtherapies.com
Rustiks Salon and Spa Speakeasy
4500 N. Oracle Road, Tucson
8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
520-474-4200 , therustikcollective.com
This article appears in Aug 21-28, 2025.