One Local Business’ Response to the Caruso Development
By LISA ALEXANDER | Contributing Writer
Fahi’s Skin and Wax Bar, a longtime fixture of the Palisades, is getting a second act. Call it a Caruso inspiration, but the salon will become a medspa beginning mid-October.
Many local residents have been saying that it’s crucial to patronize the original businesses who have been here for years, especially when the Palisades Village is transforming us into a brighter, bolder and more ambitious little town by the sea.
Fahi Rafiei has owned the Skin and Wax Bar for the better part of a decade and has 5,000 loyal clients. Originally from London, where she ran a similar spa for 18 years, she’s become a well-loved, go-to business in the Palisades.
The Skin and Wax Bar is known for its Guinot, Intraceuticals and signature facials, as well as waxing, microdermabrasion and eyelash extensions.
“I’ve been talking to so many people who are happy with the Caruso development because now they’ll be able to walk to restaurants and the movies,” Rafiei said. “I also want to make it easy for people to get their aesthetic treatments without leaving the community. And we’re a proven commodity. Everyone knows us here.”
Dr. Michael Gitter will be running the medspa portion of the business, adding on Rafiei’s already extensive menu of services.
“We want to offer a variety of cutting-edge services,” he explained. As well as the usual suspects: Botox, fillers, and lasers for sun damage and hair removal, the medspa will have threading, PRP—or the vampire facial—chemical peels and mesotherapy.
“We’re choosing to have artisanal mesotherapy cocktails because it’s a proven treatment that really works for certain conditions,” Gitter said. “We only want to have services that deliver fantastic results.”
One of the spa’s consultants regularly scours Europe and Latin America seeking out the formulas, many of which are organic, new and not commonly offered here.
A longtime resident of the Palisades, Gitter has a background in anti-aging as well as family practice. He said he looks forward to adding more procedures such as stem cells for cosmetic use.
“The field is exploding with better sources of stem cells and better techniques for aesthetics,” he explained.
The spa staff already has a tremendous amount of experience with lasers and injectables, including one nurse who’s been working for a well-known Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and already has an extensive following of Palisades patients.
“You won’t have to worry about the long, traffic-filled trek anymore because the same high-level of service and standards will be right here. Fahi will see to that,” he added with a smile.
“It’s so important for us all to support local businesses,” Fahi agreed. “That and the people are what makes our town such a special place.”
The medspa—newly christened Fahi’s Laser, Skin and Wax Bar—will be offering a 10 percent discount through the month of October for anyone with a Palisades address.
Fahi’s Skin and Wax Bar is located at 15235 Sunset Blvd. For more information, call 310-454-3222.
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