Profile

This neighborhood salon and spa offers an extensive, full-service menu ranging from mud wraps to makeup application, but still welcomes walk-ins. Opened by beauty vet Rebecca Lieberman in 2005, BeSu touts an experienced group of stylists fluent in cuts and color, many who have been behind the blow-dryer more than twenty years. The cozy, two-room spa downstairs was added in fall 2008, offering a wide array of Jurlique-fueled facials, organic masks and peels, massages, and body treatments in 30-, 60-, or 90-minute intervals. An escape from the lively chatter upstairs, services take place in stone-wall rooms outfitted with heated beds strewn with rose petals. Essential-oil massages begin with reflexology, deep-tissue kneading, and Swedish moves, while facials involve a frank skin consultation before a procession of steaming, scrubbing, toning, and—most important—extractions. At street level, the familial space features rich, Bordeaux-hued walls (as well as complimentary wine for clients) and gold-framed mirrors. Cuts start at $60 at the five hair stations, and stylists employ their own arsenals of specialized tools: one works with a now-defunct brand of foreign hairbrushes, while another conducts eyebrow threading with a particular type of string from India, soothing inflamed brows with a natural antihistamine stone. — Genevieve Leon