Best of Orlando 2017 – Health & Beauty
Our readers voted online for their top picks in dozens of categories, from sweet shops to car dealers, bloggers to wedding venues. We carried our snazzy "Best of ORL" sign to various winning spots for photos, then had a "blast" coloring it for the cover.
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Good Hair Days
If there's a new trend in hair, Joy Ulman knows about it. The owner of Stella Luca Salons in Winter Park loved art in high school and, as a stylist, learns all the latest techniques to transform her clients' tresses into a work of art. Just months after training for Yuko Hair Straightening—an eight-hour process that smooths and straightens curly hair—became available, Ulman flew to Beverly Hills to get certified. She says her 36 stylists are equally passionate about continued education, attending in-house, monthly trainings as well as earning special certifications. Another drive to stay current is the business’ contract with the Orlando Magic dancers, which designates Stella Luca as the sole stylist for all 20 women. But what Ulman says really drives the salon’s success is its family feel. Her mother, Nicole Nemeth—a stylist since age 18—works at Stella Luca, and Ulman’s husband is the business manager. Half of the stylists and many of the customers have been with the salon since it opened 13 years ago. "They're like extended family," Ulman says.
—Megan Stokes
HAIR SALON
1 Stella Luca Salons
Downtown Winter Park and Winter Park Village
stellaluca.com
2 Velvet Lab Hair Studio
Lake Mary
velvetlabhairstudio.com
3 Salon Ciséaux
Winter Park
salonciseaux.com
NAIL SALON
1 Stella Luca Salons
Downtown Winter Park and Winter Park Village
stellaluca.com
2 Nails by Mercede
College Park
nailsbymercede.com
3 Marilyn Monroe Spas
Four Orlando-area locations
marilynmonroespas.com
Hand & Stone (Courtesy Hand & Stone)
DAY SPA
1 Hand and Stone
Multiple Orlando-area locations
handandstone.com
2 The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Orlando
ritzcarlton.com/orlando
3 The Woodhouse Day Spa
Dr. Phillips Area
orlando.woodhousespas.com
PLASTIC SURGEON
1 Thomas Fiala
Fiala Aesthetics
Altamonte Springs
plasticsurgeryinflorida.com
2 James Shoukas
Lake Mary Plastic Sugery
Lake Mary
drshoukas.com
3 George Pope
Orlando Plastic Surgery Center
Orlando
georgepopemd.com
BARBER SHOP
1 Floyd’s 99 Barbershop
Five Orlando-area locations
floydsbarbershop.com
2 Ponce da Barber at Gentlemen’s Barber Studio
Lake Mary
407-398-2262
3 Liberty Barbershop
Milk District
libertybarbershop.com
STUDIO FOR BODY AND SOUL
1 Studio K
International Drive
studiokorlando.com
2 Sweetwater
Yoga & Fitness
Longwood
sweetwateryogaandfitness.com
3 Sunlight Yoga
Lake Nona
besunlight.com
WORKOUT FACILITY/GYM
Athletic Apex (Courtesy of Athletic Apex)
Shape Shifters
Randall Hunt, owner of two Athletic Apex Health Clubs in Texas, fully expected to equal his Lone Star success when he opened his Sanford club a year ago. But he’s still gratified that Apex was named Best Workout Facility/Health Club by readers in this year’s Best of Orlando polling. “My program lets people get the most function out of their bodies,” Hunt says. “We’ve been very successful. That’s why I definitely want to expand across Florida.” (He’s already in talks about opening a second Orlando location.) In addition to machines designed by Hunt, his clubs offer customized exercise programs, group classes and a biomechanical assessment he developed years ago to repair his right arm after a car accident. But the biggest key to Apex’s success, Hunt says, is customer service. “We have phenomenal member specialists who know members’ names when they come in,” he says. “Members are always greeted with a towel and a smile.”
— Loraine O’Connell
1 Athletic Apex
Sanford
athleticapex.com
2 LA Fitness
Multiple Orlando-area locations
lafitness.com
3 Planet Fitness
Multiple Orlando-area locations
planetfitness.com
OPTICIAN/OPTOMETRIST
1 Vision Health Institute
Milk District
visionsource-visionhealthinstitute.com
2 Hunt Eyecare
Lake Mary
hunt-eyecare.com
3 Eyes & Optics
Downtown Winter Park
eyesoptics.com
CHIROPRACTOR
1 Andrew Hull
Winter Park Chiropractor
winterparkchiropractor.com
2 22 Health
Three Orlando-area locations
my22health.com
3 Adam Stewart
Stewart Wellness & Chiropractic
Casselberry
stewartwellnessorlando.com
TATTOO SHOP
1 Rise Above Tattoo
Mills 50 District
riseabovetattoo.com
2 Trinity Tattoo Company
Longwood
trinitytattoo.com
3 Chicago Tattoo Company
Winter Park
chicagotattooorlando.com
