WINSTED — Soft piano music drifts from unseen speakers in Danuza Fazio’s new facial-and-brow bar on Union Street, where pink balloons in a corner are reminders of an October ribbon cutting for this second location of Facials by Danuza.
Brazil-born Fazio came to America around 2005 as an exchange student and decided to stay. She became a U.S. citizen in 2008. Her mother still owns a spa in Brazil, and Fazio decided to pursue a similar career in the states.
After working in spas in Litchfield and Middlebury, she struck out on her own, opening Facials by Danuza in Watertown about six years ago, where she has built a loyal clientele, she said.
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“Crazy or not, it made sense to open another place in Winsted,” she said. In the Watertown location, she paid a laundry service to clean robes her clients wear, but in Winsted she has her own laundry hookup, saving her time and money.
She also noticed that there were few facial spas in the area, and hers will fill that need.
Fazio is a licensed massage therapist, esthetician and waxing specialist, but in Winsted she will focus on brows and facials.
“If you go to Watertown, you will have a robe, you’re going to change, you have a little more private room,” she said. “Here, the facials will be shorter.”
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There may be room to expand in the future, she said, but the physical space in Winsted is not yet conducive to provide massage services.
What the Winsted location has that is not available in Watertown is a medical-grade HydraFacial machine, she said.
“It works 10 times deeper into the skin than a regular facial,” Fazio said. “It literally draws out toxins, blackheads, debris of the skin, and also at the same time you have a cleanser, you exfoliate, and you deep-hydrate the skin all the way close to your dermal layer, which is a deep, deep layer of the skin.”
The machine also helps the lymphatic system, she said. “It’s great for immune systems, great for sinuses, people that have sinus headaches, allergies and all that stuff.”
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She said she is trained and licensed to use the machine for non-medical purposes on clients whose conditions are not contraindicated, such as pregnancy. An optional attachment is an LED light that addresses wrinkles or acne, she said. It is used while a client is lying down and wearing goggles to protect their eyes.
Brow shaping is another service Fazio offers. “When you see an animated cartoon, and they’re frowning or they’re smiling; it does change the expression on our face,” she said.
Shaping the brows by trimming them is an alternative to Botox, she said. “I take a look at the kind of face that my client has. Is it more rounded? More heart shaped? And you kind of customize for their shape.”
In some cases, she will wax above or below the brow, she said. She can also tint the brow, and she advises using a stronger color than the client’s hair color.
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“I just love making people feel good,” Fazio said. “They tell me I have a gift. They say something about my touch, that it’s very healing.”
She said she never seriously considered any other career. “I believe we are chosen to do a particular thing,” she said.
“What’s important to me is pretty much making sure my clients are leaving here happy,” she said. “They’re going to say, ‘Oh my gosh, I had a fantastic experience.’ Really, they remember that.”
Facials by Danuza is located at 9 Union St., Winsted, and is open Saturdays only, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, or to make an appointment, call 203-520-3497 or email [email protected]. The website, www.facialsbydanuza.com, also includes the Watertown location.