Beauty & Spas in Cleveland Heights

Beyond their diverse lineup of hair and spa services, the beauty experts at Future Directions Hair Studio & Spa are committed to creating an active dialogue with their clients to send them home happy with the precise look that they envisioned. In inviting, softly lit treatment rooms, clients can luxuriate as spa technicians armed with Bioelements products administer signature facials to restore skin to its factory-fresh condition. In the salon area, comfy chairs lull clients into a state of relaxation as a style therapist listens to the hair's innermost hopes and dreams, snipping and combing a path to coiffure self-actualization. The hair experts tame rebellious manes with custom color, highlights, and keratin hair-straightening treatments administered with professional products from Aquage, Goldwell, Matrix, and Paul Mitchell. Put-upon paws can also be indulged with a tailored mani-pedi finished with a coat of OPI or Zoya polish.

In 2008, Michael Price of the eponymous Salon Michaels decided to rebuild his business from the ground up. The salon, situated in a former cottage, needed revamping, and Michael wasn’t shy about throwing out the old. “He redid everything to make it more modern,” manager and stylist Ashley Varcelli says. “It’s still laid-back, but I would say [it’s] more high-end.” With modish decor and a whole new styling team, Salon Michaels delivers couture cuts and Pureology color along with spa services performed in an updated mani-pedi room. Nail technicians use OPI shades, and have such expedient access to the brand’s latest collections that Ashley says local beauty-supply stores stand in awe and local crayon boxes turn green with envy.

Large silver letters spelling Aveda march down a patterned wall, announcing the spa’s dedication to natural ingredients and aromatic botanicals. Multihued walls and verdant plants surround chairs as the staff performs hair coloring, nailcare, and spa treatments. The spa also offers off-site wellness coaching, proven more effective than hearing an ear-piercing whistle every time one reaches for a donut. Stylists and aestheticians stretch their hours until 8 p.m. on weekdays to accommodate busy clients, who also get incentives, such as 15% off Aveda products in return for donating haircare items to charity.

Studio 12’s old-timey façade with forest green trimming and floor-to-ceiling windows greets clients as they cross the cheery threshold into a brightly lit space with hardwood floors. Seasoned stylists gussy up men and women, drawing from a Homeric-sized salon menu that includes haircutting, coloring, and styling services alongside waxing services and makeup applications.

Salon owner Deborah Nava and husband Michael draw upon more than 40 years of combined of experience and wisdom gleaned from Deborah's stints with Sebastian of Beverly Hills and Allen Edwards of Newport Beach and Michael's training at the International Dior Academy to curate customized, face-flattering coifs. Though stylists customize cuts to flatter each client’s style or conceal budding antlers, the shearing team specializes in youthful hairstyles, sculpting asymmetric looks, and applying vivid highlights. Stylists also festoon strands with the latest flourishes such as keratin treatments and feather extensions. Additionally, hair gurus happily instruct clients in ways to re-create trend-savvy styles at home while furnishing tips for extending the look’s lifespan.

With vegan products and an all-natural skincare line, the staff at Shades of Red Day Spa hopes to perform the purest iteration of many traditional spa and salon services. Led by 20-year industry veteran and salon owner Karla Greene, the seven salon consultants continually update their education to stay abreast of beauty trends and share their knowledge with clients. Their specialties include hairstyling, cutting, and hair-color corrections for clients after bobbing for apples in a barrel of fruit punch. Before or after their treatments, patrons can relax in the waiting area, where floor-to-ceiling windows surround products in glass cases, dried-flower arrangements reaching toward towering ceilings, and sculptural lamps.