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After co-founding Suite 303 in the Chelsea Hotel in the early nineties, Texas native Armando Corral settled into this sunny, hair-healing salon on the third floor of a meatpacking-district townhouse across from Pastis. The vibe is modern, but exposed overhead beams and two tiny fireplaces lend touches of old New York. The space is intimate, with four stylists’ stations in addition to Corral’s, which is separated from the rest by a curtain of beads and includes a view of Little West 12th Street. The prep work is a personalized, strand-pampering affair, beginning with all-natural essential-oil treatments blended according to hair texture. Ingredients like aloe vera and lavender protect damaged strands and "detoxify" the scalp, and a cleansing mud, avocado, or olive-butter mask removes impurities. Afterward, a purifying scrub with ecofriendly Davines shampoo and conditioner concludes with a firm scalp massage. Corral's clientele of see-and-be-seen downtowners (Edie Falco among them) swear by his easy-to-style long, layered cuts—think Carmela Soprano during her unabashed adulterous phase—as well as his deft work with curls. — Rachel Aydt