Skin Bar opens in Garden City, encouraging support for victims of domestic violence
The philosophy behind Jessica Bianculli’s Skin Bar New York wellness spa is, “When you look good, you feel good, you do good,” she says. And after a long road to success, she's living out her own mantra.
Bianculli, 37, owns a spa in Huntington and a new satellite office in Garden City. While services include facials, microneedling, eyebrow shaping and laser treatments, supporting women is at the center of her business model.
Bianculli, of Huntington, says experiencing mental and physical abuse in the past led her to feel shame and doubt herself. Her business, however, has helped make her into a new, empowered woman, she says, and she wants other women who have experienced mental and physical abuse to know that they can start a new and better life as well.
Bianculli had been working as a part-time aesthetician before opening her first spa in Huntington in 2017 with a $10,000 loan. Last month, she added the Garden City location.
Before starting her own business, Bianculli says her “biggest fear” was that she wouldn’t be able to make it financially on her own.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow when you have to take accountability and recognize how little self-worth someone has to have to continue to stay with an unsupportive and abusive partner,” Bianculli, who has two daughters, 5 and 6, says. “I would never want my daughters to be treated as ‘less than.’” The Huntington resident adds, “I definitely feel much stronger now.”
With the opening of the Garden City location, Bianculli aims to support The Safe Center LI in Bethpage by offering discounts to customers who make center donations. The nonprofit provides services to victims of domestic violence, including counseling services and access to a 24-hour assistance hotline (516-542-0404).
“You feel a lot of shame in these situations and you are so emotionally distraught it is very hard to think clearly or logically about how you’re going to move, feed your kids, et cetera. When I visited The Safe Center, they literally have every service under one roof and provide a lot of the provisions I was looking for,” she says.
At each spa location, for every $25 a customer gives to the shelter, a 10% off voucher is given toward services and packages. Clients receive a 20% off voucher for a $50 donation, and 30% off for every $100 donated.
“My business is about elevating and enhancing a person’s appearance to give them the extra confidence boost I was looking for myself during that time," Bianculli adds. “I’ve decided to become vocal because I believe we all have a purpose that involves being a service to others. If you can take the negative and help enough people turn it into a positive then it was well worth it.”
Skin Bar New York is located at 775 Park Ave., Suite 310 in Huntington and 950 Franklin Ave., LL9 in Garden City; skinbarnewyork.com; Call or text 631-339-2698 for both locations.
