Bewitched Beauty Bar opens in Farmingdale
Farmingdale’s Bewitched Beauty Bar, which opened in the spring, is not your average hair salon. Customers can walk in for their hair appointment and walk out with a handful of healing crystals.
The space features a beauty bar and a crystal shop in one. Owner Melissa Oakley , 30, of Massapequa Park, was inspired to combine her two passions following a personal experience with crystals.
“I got very into crystals and their healing properties when I went through a very difficult time in my life,” she explains. “I really wanted to be able to help others heal and have other outlets in their time of need like I did.”
The crystal shop sells everything from singular, polished crystals to large, raw stones. Customers can shop for jewelry, including earrings, necklaces and bracelets, all of which are handmade by Oakley . There are also crystal carvings, towers, spheres and charging plates for sale.
Some items sold at the shop are handmade by local artisans, including Massapequa-based Enlightened Soul who makes organic, chemical- and dye-free soap, candles, shower scrubs, bath salts and other wellness products.
Although the beauty bar opened this year, Oakley has been operating as an independent stylist under the name for more than four years and styling hair for more than 14. Oakley always dreamed of opening her own hair salon, specifically, in Manhattan. “As I got older I decided city life most definitely was not for me. I love the busy town life of villages,” she says of her Farmingdale shop.
Over time, she has developed a special connection and sense of community with those who have sat in her salon chair.
"I've sat beside some of my clients through divorce, miscarriages, hospital stays, cancer diagnosis and much more. I always remember their stories from one visit to the next. I don't consider anyone clients; they are all family to me,” she says.
The salon offers a range of hair treatments and services, including haircuts for kids and the Magic Sleek straightening system (starting at $300). The most popular treatment is full highlights, which start at $120.
The shop hosts events and workshops such as reiki healing and vision board making. The space also sells paintings by local artists, which double as salon décor with items ranging from $5 to $400.
Bewitched Beauty Bar, 336 Main St., Farmingdale, 631-626-0540, bewitchedbeautybarli.com.