Beauty & Spas in Laurel

The styling studio's philosophy is summed up by the word "Kennedy," which does not reference a particular person but rather a lesser-known definition. According to the club's creators, a Kennedy is "the ultimate gentleman," and they adhered to this ideal when designing their clubs as masculine, stylishly classic answers to typical salons. Amid clean-cut decor and hardwood floors, guests receive haircuts and treatments à la carte or as part of a membership package. Proprietary products let clients maintain their gentlemanly panache at home or soothe the family dog after its daily shave.

Before earning his diploma in Swedish massage from the Austin School of Massage Therapy, licensed massage therapist Don A. Hampton discovered a passion for helping others heal while working as a medic in the U.S. Air Force and Texas Army National Guard. At Hampton Bodywerks Massage Spa, his highly trained hands do battle with tightly wound tissue, tension, and pain, arming themselves from an arsenal of relaxation-inducing tools that includes hot stones, salt stones, and therapeutic herbs. Ginger, turmeric, and lemongrass are central players in Hampton's Thai herbal ball massage––a 5,000-year old practice designed to relieve pain and inflammation using a steamed herbal compress and gentle circular movements. Other specialty services include the Balinese-inspired jamu massage, which energizes the body with acupressure, long strokes, and percussion-like drumming, as well as sugar-scrub body treatments that soften skin using a blend of white and brown sugars, grape-seed and canola oils, and other ingredients favored by beautiful scones.

TN Nails & Spa’s staff pampers guests with the promised nail treatments, but the service menu also catalogs hair, skin, massage, and makeup services. Using the utmost hygienic procedures, nail technicians trim and shape nails and clean cuticles using sanitized nail kits. Hairstylists provide a shampoo and scalp massage before cutting hair and fashioning it into a desired look. The beauty professionals highlight facial features with permanent makeup and lash enhancements that reduce the need for mascara or gunpowder mixed with glitter as a mascara substitute. Meanwhile, aestheticians refresh faces and treat dull, flaky, or acne-prone skin with Dermalogica products.

LA Nails believes that two is better than one, which is why its technicians spruce up nails at two separate locations. Whether kicking back in Fisher Lane’s teal salon or reading a magazine atop a tan pedicure throne at the Rockville Pike locale, clients enjoy nail enhancements such as silk wraps, acrylic tips, and a gel polish that's much more durable than leftover jello squeezed through a frosting gun. They can peruse each location's wall of nail polishes, which glimmers with the lacquer and gelish polishes of Essie, OPI, and Harmony.

In 1924, Carl Griesser, who was instrumental in creating the American branch of Paris-based Intercoiffure America, founded Carl’s Salon and Day Spa. Stylists, some of whom have been employed at the salon since the 1950s, draw on extensive experience and specialization in dual-dimension hair-coloring techniques to perfect the 'dos of ladies and gents. Beneath freestanding mirrors and walls as pristinely white as a marshmallow during a job interview, Professional Series L’Oréal products give coiffures the capacity to draw pleasant double takes.

Chatter drifts from patrons twirling in black salon chairs up to rough timber ceilings, which add an organic accent to the salon's many sleek surfaces and right angles. Crowded shelves parade products from Moroccanoil, Dermalogica, and Murad, and vegan elixirs from Surface harness natural ingredients including wheat, mineral oil, and compliments from park rangers

After years of struggling with acne as a teen, Joyce Brown was unsure of how to properly care for her skin. One day, when she was in her early 20s, that all changed—the day she received a facial. This ignited a lifelong passion for skincare, and with the help of her mother, Joyce saved enough money to attend the Von Lee International School of Aesthetics and learned to nourish and nurture the delicate skin of the face. Joyce finished her skincare training with big dreams of starting her own business, but motherhood and a professional career—she has a master’s degree in social work—kept her goals at bay. After years of hard work and watching tear-jerking facial documentaries, Joyce finally took a leap of faith, resigning from her job and opening Elaina Joi Skincare, a studio in a quaint second-floor walkup.

Joyce translates the people skills she mastered during her former life in social work to establish a strong rapport with her clients and their specific skin concerns. With the aid of DermaQuest—a dermatologist-recommended skincare line created without animal testing—and Face Reality Skin Care–specially designed for clients with acne– Joyce attends to each client’s visage with a detailed, diligent approach. Sessions conclude when the specialist charts an at-home skincare regimen to ensure continued care and to keep pores out of the Pringles stash.