Farmington, CT Spa and Massage

The extracts in the facial masks at Dolce Vita Day Spa come straight from the herb garden—ginseng, lavender, rosemary, and olive leaf. These botanical ingredients are used to enhance the anti-aging and cleansing effects of specialized skin treatments, including microdermabrasion that polishes pores with fine pumice crystals. Throughout the spa, such add-ons infuse procedures with a personal touch. Nail technicians top off mani-pedis with a soothing paraffin dip, and massage modalities ranging from Swedish to prenatal and postnatal can incorporate cold-stone therapy to ward off headaches.

Owner Annamaria Morello drafted her treatment menus after years spent working in upscale spas and salons. She and her staff of aestheticians keep abreast of cosmetic trends with a commitment to ongoing education, and they relish the opportunity to combine their services into luxurious packages or group parties. Guests of all kinds enjoy complimentary beverages, snacks, and calming music that isn’t just their waxer gently drumming on their belly in a spa space whose light marble counters, big mirrors, and wooden floors evoke an airy seaside cottage.

Shahla Day Spa & Threading’s therapists and aestheticians continue to add to their 35 combined years of industry experience, pampering clients with mani-pedis, threading and waxing services, and rejuvenating massages and facials. Just as the aestheticians use the natural sunlight that floods the spa’s interior to thread eyebrows with precision, the nail technicians reference the polished wooden floors to add the appropriate level of gloss to freshly trimmed toenails. The spa’s private room seems a world away from the bustle of the main floor, and its peaceful atmosphere only enhances the soothing strokes of Swedish massages. This room also hosts waxing services and custom facials that remove dirt and oil from skin or smooth out the wrinkles on a favorite Richard Nixon mask.

At Nuance Hair Design & Day Spa, stylists draw upon top-tier products by OPI, American Crew, and Sothys to revitalize façades amid earth-toned confines. Hair services stretch beyond basic cuts and color treatments to include Bionic straightening and spiraling, and nine facials battle afflictions as diverse as acne, fine lines, and stuck clown noses.

Reflexology Rocks’ Wendy Girl knows exactly which buttons to push. Skilled in a range of practices—from hand and foot therapy to kinesiology—the well-rounded holistic healer swaddles aching feet in organic foot creams, as she applies gentle pressure to specific nerve endings. The massage technique can stir relaxation and relief throughout the body, while also promoting internal well-being. Aside from treating feet, Wendy also works her magic on visages with face-reflexology sessions that relieve muscles sore from smiling at cardboard kitten cutouts for days on end.

At the turn of the century, stylists from around the world gathered in Germany to compete in the 2000 Hair Olympics. On the U.S. team was seasoned hair designer Anthony Parafati, who helped the star-spangled nation place fifth among all countries. Since then, Parafati has focused his energy on running Anthony Nicole Salon, where clients are restored head-to-toe with services ranging from haircuts to teeth whitening.

The salon's staff boasts a diversity of knowhow and includes a nail technician with more than 20 years of experience and a trio of hairdressers with more than 125 years of combined practice.