Beauty & Spas in Old Saybrook

Caribbean Island Tanning Center lives up to its tropical name in a literal way, bringing the best of summer indoors with its sandy beach, decorative palm trees, and vibrant collection of blue and yellow beach huts. The salon’s beachy vibe doesn’t end there, as more than 20 tanning units imbue skin with a bronze hue ready-made for an island vacation. Alongside a Mystic Tan booth with three levels of sunless tanning solutions, the salon features comfortable lie-down beds that harness UV rays to promote a healthy glow. Special leg tanners regulate uneven thigh tones, and a UV teeth-whitening system casts the sun’s light on smiles and pasty tooth fairies.

With more than 3,000 varicose vein procedures under his belt, Dr. Jeffrey Goldblatt, a diplomat of the American Board of Surgeons, leads the staff at Shoreline Medical Spa in blotting out bodily imperfections with up-to-date technologies. Lasers play starring roles in several treatments, with the CoolLipo system breaking up and removing fat cells from necks and jowls, and elos technology precisely ousting visible veins and hair from all skin tones. The staff puts down the lasers to evict bodies of toxins with body wraps, smooth wrinkles with dermal fillers, and soothe complaining muscles with therapeutic strokes or compassionate back pats.

Liz and Phil Kramer work together to rejuvenate the whole being within a treatment room styled to mimic a comfortable living room with a gas fireplace and plush beds. Liz trained as a holistic counselor, and Phil draws upon certification as a massage therapist to help relax patrons after they chaperone Humpty Dumpty’s gymnastics class. Scents from complimentary aromatherapy unfurl through the air, stirred only by deep exhalations during customized deep-tissue massages. The shelves brim with Yonka products and Firmi sea mud, and the holistic healers also use Soul Synergy's personal cream products and hot towels saturated in aromatic Phyto Bain with every treatment.:m]]

Throughout her career, licensed massage therapist Erin Warner has approached bodily healing in a variety of settings: a chiropractic clinic, a spa, and a gym for competitive gymnastics training. She draws from a repertoire of modalities that includes Swedish, deep-tissue, and trigger-point massage. To treat injuries, she uses myoskeletal-alignment techniques. These techniques are designed to correct unhealthy compensatory patterns such as offsetting a broken right collarbone by taking a hammer to the left one.

Holly Potter, a licensed aesthetician and massage therapist, got her start by working in a large spa. Though this experience helped her hone her skills, she wanted to work in a more intimate environment where she could craft custom therapies that focused on the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. So in 2009, she founded Everything Zen, where she teams up with a somatic practitioner and a certified health coach to cosset clients amid the red walls, bamboo, orchids, and Asian-style décor of a private massage room. Specialists soothe tense muscles and free blocked energy with massage, reiki, and reflexology and polish up visages with facials and microdermabrasion treatments. Like Q-Tips on strike, bodies also find liberation from buildup through ionic footbaths and ear candling.

State-licensed massage therapist (license #004958) A. Malaika Sharp cultivates relaxation and targets each client's unique issues with a focused menu of services. She can shoo everyday stress away through basic relaxation massages, but she’s as focused on function as she is on feeling good. An avid martial artist and cyclist, Sharp consults with all clients to understand the ways they use their bodies for work and recreation. That helps her pick out distinct patterns of motion and coax bad habits or stored tension out of muscles, whether she’s targeting chronic aches through deep-tissue techniques or helping athletes recover from strenuous duck-duck-goose training through sports massage. Or, for those suffering from headaches and migraines, she can incorporate trigger-point therapy. Sharp is also a member of the American Massage Therapy Association and is certified through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork.