Joiya Day Spa & Hair Design

This five star review is for the salon.
After years of going to just-​okay stylists, I have finally found Dominick at Joiya, and I will never leave. Beyond being an amazing stylist (he has never given me a bad haircut, and I’ve actually tried three brand new styles with him), he gives great product recommendations.
Okay, hear me out on this one. I know the last thing you usually look for in a good stylist is someone who pushes products, and I agree with that, but Dominick is batting 1000 when it comes to product recommendations. When I moved from Stamford to Hamden, my hair was amazing and silky because of the water. In my new home, the water was terrible and my hair was so, so dry. I told Dominick that I was thinking about getting a water filter. He asked what shampoo I was using and he immediately recommended I use a different kind. I was skeptical because I’ve tried so many bad products on recommendations from other stylists, however it has been two weeks using the new shampoo and I swear I don’t even need conditioner any more. He also recommended a wet brush on one of my first visits that cuts through knots and has halved my morning get-​ready time.
One of the things I hate about some stylists is they can be so grumpy or negative (you have so many split ends, you don’t have the face for short hair, etc). However, Dominick is always positive and I never leave the salon feeling bad or having been talked into a cut I didn’t want. I’ll also say that Dominick has given me a great bob and amazing layers when I decided to grow my hair long, so he’s great with both styles.
******facial review****** I recently went for a facial and had a really lackluster experience. I said I wanted to relax, and was instead treated to a really long lecture throughout the facial about how I should be caring for my skin and why everything in my current skincare régime is wrong and bad. Yuck! Not relaxing at all! The facialist also kept saying, «If you decide to come back for regular appointments to create a skincare regimen with me…» which I felt was pushy and salesy.
To cap off that experience, when I called in to make the appointment for the original facial, the receptionist said that they were having a spa week special for $ 30 less. What she didn’t say is that the spa week facial was a shortened facial and didn’t have some of the elements of a regular facial. All in all, not a great facial experience.

I went here last weekend kind of on a whim like «Hm, I don’t really need a haircut but I’m tired of this mass on top of my head.» I lucked out and they had an appointment on the same Saturday I called. The place looked tiny when I first walked in, but I realized it’s much deeper than it appears. Dominick was my stylist and I mostly went in to have my hair «thinned.» I wasn’t sure what I meant, but he helped me out. He started with a deep conditioning since I also explained my hair is FRIEEDDDD. He popped me under the hair dryer for about 15 – 20 minutes but also told me how long I’d be sitting there so I he was nice enough to also bring my purse/​phone over to keep me occupied.
After the conditioning, he went for the cut. I got about an inch or so trimmed and he used a razor to thin out some of my hair. Hard to tell at first, but after washing it later in the week and flat-​ironing it, I could definitely tell he took some bulk out. I may want even more volume taken out at some point, but it was a great first start.
When I was ready to leave, I was really, really surprised the bill was only $ 75, including the conditioning treatment. I’m a cheap-​o and was really assuming it would be over $ 100 so it was an excellent surprise. I’ll be back again and it’s convenient!

I have been going to Joiya for over 8 years. Remember her name: Debbie. The BEST massage around.
Parking can be tough in the lot for their location, but theres a garage that’s a bit of a walk to go from, especially in winter.
While I love the services, their prices have gone up and they’re not as affordable as they once were. But Debbie is worth every penny!

Wonderful place. Awesome staff. Stephanie, Lucy and Sheila are TOP KNOTCH. Everyone is professional and courteous, but they still know how to laugh. Wouldn’t dare go anywhere else.