Beauty & Spas in Natchitoches

Under the expert guidance of advanced registered nurse practitioner Sima Rafii, the staff at Sima Medical & Cosmetic Clinic restores patients' health and confidence with a full menu of wellness services. Their medical treatments cover dermatologic conditions such as acne, rashes, and sun damage, as well as yearly health exams and skin-cancer screenings. Armed with lasers, they turn their hands to cosmetic services such as hair removal, fotofacials, and Zerona body-contouring treatments. The skincare experts also smooth epidermises with microdermabrasion and Botox injections, and coach clients on how to care for their skin and train it to win all-state skin care trophies.

The mother-daughter team behind Creme de la Creme cossets visages in a salon and spa space marked by accenting French decor. When they're not pampering individual clients with haircuts, facials, and massages, they're throwing specialized parties and group getaways for all manner of clients, from kids to bachelorettes to coworkers. They also keep the onsite boutique stocked with shiny Swarovski crystals, glistening handbags, and rhinestone clothing to accommodate any client who wants to ride a bicycle home in style safely, at night, through a sea of paparazzi.

Like artists, stylists often learn tricks of the trade from mentors, continuing a rich tradition and forming a solid base from which to grow. Kara Staats, for instance, draws upon the knowledge and fashion savvy of stylist Tricia Anderson, who, according to Forum magazine, studied at the Vidal Sassoon Academy. Staats is also an alumna of that renowned hair-design school, and since tossing her graduation cap into the air has undergone further training to become certified as a GKhair educator. In addition to leaving hair silky and smooth with GKhair's protein-rich formula, Staats transforms looks with cuts and highlights, airbrush makeup, and DreamCatcher extensions that prevent hair from having nightmares about bear traps mistaken for barrettes.

With its wide array of salon and day spa services, Aperio Salon beautifies clients from head to toenail. In the salon, stylists create polished new styles, color hair, and add extensions. Aestheticians treat skin with hot stones, aromatherapy, a skin brightening system, or a multivitamin treatment that relieves skin from the effects of falling asleep in too many bowls of potato chips. Massage therapists also use hot stones in their treatments, which can include gliding and relaxing Swedish strokes or deep-tissue techniques that target tenser areas.

As a certified cosmetologist with decades of experience and a doctor of naturopathic medicine, Diana Adair makes a strong connection between health and beauty. After graduating from the Vidal Sassoon Academy, becoming a color specialist for Wella International, and serving as the chairman and president of the Louisiana Cosmetology Association, Adair became more and more interested in the physical mechanisms that affect a person's appearance. She authored the book Dare to be Young, The Internal and External Age Reversing Program and developed her own skincare line, D. Adair Cosmetics. The line includes all-natural cleansers, night creams, and her flagship product—the vitamin-rich Dare to be Young lotion with herbal extracts and essential oils. The formula helps tighten pores and enhance the production of collagen and elastin, which can firm skin that has become lax due to aging or repeated skydiving.

Clients may experience the skincare line's anti-aging benefits in person at Griffis and Adair's Salon and Spa. The salon performs custom haircuts, styling, and color services, as well as waxing, facials, and chemical peels.

In one treatment room, an aesthetician wraps a client from head to toe in a detoxifying sheath of kelp and blue-green algae. In another, an organic pomegranate scrub glazes the skin, hydrating it to promote elasticity. And across the way, a therapist soothes a client’s body and mind with heated rocks that glide across skin. At Dolce Vita Salon and Spa, natural elements come into play in a majority of its specialty services, which also include facials, waxing, herbal cellulite smoothing, and nail treatments. The staff—helmed by 14-year industry veteran RaeAnn Ebarb—includes a quartet of hairstylists who specialize in colors and cuts that are even more flattering than a perfectly positioned fun-house mirror.