Beauty & Spas in Naugatuck

A seven-circuit labyrinth sounds like the setting for a Greek myth, but at Branford River Resort & Spa, it is a concrete place patrons visit to practice meditation. Relaxation is not reserved for the labyrinth, though—it pervades the spa and resort as a whole, helping to earn the establishment one of 2012’s Patch Readers’ Choice awards. Visitors can bask in the healing milieu of its infrared sauna, lounge in the onsite gazebo, or unwind during diverse spa treatments. 

The spa’s treatments encompass a vast array of facials, which can combat acne or aging, soothe with warm stones, or draw on the healing power of crystals. Massages range from traditional Swedish effleurage to the Shiradora indian head massage, which incorporates kneading upon the back and herbal oil conditioners, just like a cat clinic held in a soap shop. Body wraps ensconce physiques in materials from Dead Sea mud to mylar foil, and a complementary suite of salon services beautifies visitors with custom haircuts, highlights, and nail services.

Salon Zurell’s stylists start each haircut with an in-depth consultation, and end it with a styling lesson. Using this one-on-one approach, the staff imparts unparalleled wisdom during salon services, which include conditioning treatments, highlights, and perms. The salon also offers spa treatments such as waxing, mani-pedis, and facials performed with organic Éminence products that are completely free of harmful chemicals, additives, and other ingredients that will make dolphins cry.

Led by Dr. Arnold Rivera and PA-C Scott Callahan, Dolce Vida Medical Spa's skilled staff performs high-tech skin and body rejuvenations alongside relaxing spa treatments. Light-based body-sculpting sessions, IPL skincare, and injectable solutions such as Dysport and Radiesse help patrons remain youthful without wearing their senior-class photo as a mask. Drawing from an apothecary of high-end skincare products from Éminence, SkinTherapeutic, and Revision Skin Care, aestheticians nurture façades with specialized masks, and massage therapists ease tension from torsos with hot stones, lava shells, frozen oven mitts, or bare hands.

Dean and Lisa Rodrigue always talked about opening their own salon. In 2010, they took the leap and founded Couture Salon, a chic hair salon with dark hardwood floors and upscale touches like brocade accent walls. Since opening they business, they’ve sharpened their hair-styling skills and broadened their service menu. In addition to waxing and spray-tan treatments, they offer facials and eyelash extensions. Couture Salon stays open until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays to accommodate the moon if it needs a haircut and those with busy work schedules.

Dedicated to relieving the hair-loss woes of men and women alike, Invisions’ medical team fertilizes scalps with methods that combine tried-and-true pharmaceutical treatments with cutting-edge medical technologies. Alongside surgical transplants and chemical solutions such as Rogaine, the specialists provide nonsurgical replacement pompadours and high-tech, low-temperature laser treatments.

Winner of a 2011 Best of Monroe Award by the US Commerce Association, Salon DARIN refreshes stale styles for men and women. The staff deals in hair’s many dimensions, sprucing up color, updating texture with smoothing treatments, and shaping styles to compliment clients’ lifestyles. Through each service, stylists douse hair in professional products such as Moroccanoil, which washes away traces of residue and protects individual strands with essential-oil ingredients.

But the salon’s blue walls bear witness to more than just hair clippings abandoning heads for more lucrative work within a trashcan. Aestheticians refresh faces with Plantogen products or wax away unwanted hair, and massage therapists usurp strained muscles in private treatment rooms.