Beauty & Spas in Silver Spring

Edward Harlan Scott II owes his passion for hair design, at least in part, to his parents. As a musician, Scott's father emphasized creativity, and his mother stressed the importance of education and training for a career he would love. So, after arming himself with a pair of shears at the age of 14, Scott honed his skills at the Vidal Sassoon Academy of New York and the Graham Webb Academy. Today, he has been working in the fashion and beauty business for more than 20 years, educating for John Paul Mitchell Systems, contributing to numerous photo shoots, and traveling across the country to learn the latest techniques.

At his salon, Scott and his band of tress tamers put this extensive experience to use. Amid warm sunbeams and cool black accent furniture, they sculpt hair into dramatic styles, framing faces with accentuating color, readying brides for their big day, and using extensions to lengthen locks clipped short while head-banging next to a box fan.

Laura Leakhena Ley is living proof of what you can accomplish with a little hard work. After moving to American from Cambodia with her family, she trained at Hayward College of Cosmetology and became a licensed nail technician and aesthetician, and then spent five years perfecting her techniques in other salons. When she and her husband, David, opened Orchid Nails, they had only two employees. Since then, that number has more than quadrupled as customers continue to pour in, thanks to the salon’s reputation for friendly service and strict sanitation standards.

Those standards include disposing of every file, buffer, slipper, and toe separator after nail services, which end with the customer’s choice of more than 1,000 colors of polish by OPI, China Glaze, and Essie. They take equal care when waxing away hair from chins, sideburns, and bodies, or while threading it away from brows and lips or onto balding teddy bears. Facials scrub and steam away imperfections such as blackheads, while massage services soothe away tension and muscular congestion with techniques ranging from deep-tissue pressure to reflexology.

Hair never stops growing, but the expert stylists at Luisa Hair Salons have been fighting the good fight for more than two decades. With shears and professional-grade shampoos as their weapons, they battle hair breakage and craft looks as diverse as their clients' personalities. If your hair isn't straight, curly, or glow-in-the-dark enough for your liking, no worries—the salon's chemical treatments are designed to make even the most difficult of styles a reality.

At Jamachi Plastic Surgery & Medi-Spa, a diverse team of practitioners helps beautify clients from head to toenail. At the helm is plastic surgeon Dr. Emeka Onyewu, who has performed thousands of procedures—with a specialty in breast surgeries and liposuction—earning him a level of expertise that's been shared on news programs such as NBC 4. He's joined by Dr. Adaku Onukogu, a board-certified internist who administers flu shots and assists patients with managing their weight, overall health, and well-being. 

Nail technicians, massage therapists, and aestheticians head up Jamachi's spa services, which are performed at mani-pedi stations or in treatment rooms. Aesthetician Trina McIntosh draws upon postgraduate training at the International Dermal Institute when revivifying faces with custom blends of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. April Parnell softens hands and feet with such specialty ingredients as champagne, olive oil, and happy unicorn tears during mani-pedis, and massage therapists Nmaku Onyewu and Joel Price lure stress out of bodies with customized techniques.

Stylist Caroline Absalom brings more than a decade of hairstyling and weave-manipulating experience to her station at Tease Hair Salon. Her extensions add length and volume to short or thin tresses, opening up a world of glamorous 'dos and potentially record-setting beehives.