Nilce Conti, owner of Beleza Beauty and Well Being (left), Dominika Rose, manager (center), and Kerry Rausch, nurse practitioner, are part of the team at what used to be just a salon and spa. Now, the business has a new name and offers a variety of services, including an infrared sauna and a salt therapy room. (Michael Walsh/Courant Community)
A West Hartford salon underwent a total transformation and came out the other side as Beleza Beauty and Well Being, a place about much more than getting your hair done.
Nilce Conti, the owner of what was formerly known as Nelson’s Salon and Spa, has 40 years of experience in skin care. She decided there needed to be a broader focus on the services they provide.
“We are complete human beings,” said Conti, who lives in East Windsor and is originally from Brazil. “You can’t just take care of one thing.”
Now, in addition to traditional salon services, Beleza offers an array of services and treatments that Conti says can help both the inside and outside of the human body, including an infrared sauna and a salt therapy room.
Dominika Rose, manager of Beleza and a resident of West Hartford, said these services give them more chances to help clients.
“So many people have so many problems,” Rose said. “You never know who is going to walk through that door.”
Whoever does walk through the doors of Beleza will be treated like family, Rose said. They are open to people of all ages and genders.
“We like to treat everyone like family,” Rose said. “The idea was for people to feel comfortable. This is for everybody. We don’t want to intimidate anybody.”
Falling under their “beauty and well-being” umbrella is skin rejuvenation and medical aesthetics. They also offer advanced skin care treatments, body services and more.
They’re also trying to bring in newer treatment styles, even things that aren’t as common in the United States. They are interested in what works, Rose said, not necessarily just what’s going to sell. They test everything they consider bringing into Beleza on themselves first.
“I want to bring technology and services from all over the world,” Rose said. “I want services that work.”
They hope that whatever someone chooses to have done at Beleza leaves them feeling good.
“Beauty for us is the whole person,” Rose said. “Beauty is walking out of here happy.”
They also plan on bringing health education to Beleza. They have a women’s health and wellness component of the business and nurse practitioner Kerry Rausch, of West Hartford, is there to assist in all things medical.
“It’s a big piece of what makes us a little different than other places,” Rausch said.
In the end, Conti wants people to be able to relax at Beleza.
“Everybody needs to relax,” Conti said. “There’s such a rush in our daily life. You can spend a whole day here and get away from the stresses of our life.”
Copyright © 2022, Hartford Courant
Copyright © 2022, Hartford Courant

source