Beauty & Spas in Cliffside Park

Clad in a black shirt and necktie, master stylist Joseph Nasser works with a studious look on his face that resembles that of a master chess player who is thinking five moves ahead. His shirt stands out against the whitewashed background of his Upper West Side hair palace, Blondi's Hair Salon. A Lebanon native, Joseph rose to styling distinction in New York by working as a John Sahag sculptor cutter. Now, as owner of his own salon, the grandmaster colorist surrounds himself with a skilled team of imaginative stylists, all armed to the bangs with an array of upscale Aveda products that stare out from sleek, backlit shelves.

Tricia Perry and her supporting staff of aestheticians coax hair from bodies and return youth to faces in a serene day-spa environment. Techs hash out details and put leery minds at ease during complimentary consultations before spraying rays of laser light across epidermises during electrolysis to permanently eradicate hair. For a quicker fix, guests can take in old-fashioned body waxing, complete with Cirepil signature body wax from France.

To soothe skin after de-hirsuting, clients can opt for detoxifying body wraps with either sea-salt or sugar scrubs, which exfoliate dead skin while moisturizing, for treatments as effective but more comfortable than running through a fire hose in a sandpaper bathing suit. Ayromist's aestheticians also fluff lagging lashes with semipermanent extensions.

The FDA-approved Elite MPX laser at Avenue Laser Hair Removal Center doesn’t do double duty with photofacials or body contouring. It’s got one function and one function only: laser hair removal. Clients who stroll out of the opulent Midtown building that holds the laser center can look forward to shedding their unwanted hair within three weeks. As long as they return for a full course of six to eight sessions, clients can experience significant reduction in future hair growth and a significant increase in compliments from local dolphins. The Elite MPX works on all skin types and most hair colors, except white, gray, and red.

LeMetric Hair Center Inc. founder Elline Surianello knows firsthand how your hair can affect your confidence. At age 9, she began showing signs of androgenetic alopecia, more commonly known as male pattern baldness. Rather than let her thinning hair impact her life, she searched for natural alternatives to combat her condition, and when she couldn't find a suitable solution, she took it upon herself to create one. What started as a personal mission turned into an all-natural, safe hair-loss system that contains no glue and requires no surgery.

Today, she and her staff help women find the looks that give them confidence by offering not only handmade hair systems but also salon services. Staff members clear unwanted body hair during waxing services, polish nails to a vibrant shine with mani-pedis, and infuse skin with nutrients during facial treatments. They even take their beautification mission on the road with a mobile studio that contains hair samples and is fueled by retired wigs.

The result of a collaboration between Bobby Werhane of Experience Hospitality and Reynald Ricard of Red Market Salon, Moustache - Greenwich Tonsorial is more than a neighborhood barber shop: it's a men’s retreat. After listening to the chatter in Werhane's restaurants and among Ricard's female salon clientele, the duo realized that there was a need for a male-only salon. They opened a guy-friendly nostalgic space with hardwood floors and a stuffed deer head reminiscent of an Old West saloon, and added timeless touches including vintage barber chairs. Live music occasionally adds to the atmosphere, streaming through the space to an outdoor area where patrons sip scotch, smoke cigars, and discuss whether Hemingway ever deduced for whom the bell tolled.

While the décor harkens back to a bygone era, the barbers’ handiwork is decidedly modern. The staff includes Christopher Nardi, an industry veteran with more than 20 years' experience whose talents range from classic to contemporary. Rafael Sanchez specializes in precise fades and close shaves, and John “JB” Flores—an original team member who comes from three generations of barbers—is known to his clients and Olympic crafts teams as "the master of scissors."

Both ends of the beauty spectrum merge inside Casa De Odessa Salon & Boutique, where salon treatments and women's fashions join forces to foster new looks. Stylists and technicians team up to trim and sculpt trendy hairdos, groom and polish finger- and toenails, and wax away body hair before it can petition for status as a wildlife refuge. Once clients have retooled their images, they can plop down and treat their muscles and spirits to a soothing massage, emerging with looser limbs and ready to be re-anchored by a shoppable selection of apparel and accessories.