Never has the adage, new do, new you been more apt. As we get set to wash this challenging year right out of our hair, Travel Curator turned to top NYC hairstylists to share the latest trends and the lowdown on how the concept of the traditional hair salon is being reimagined thanks to high tech apps, immersive art and even the idea of taking a much-needed vacation.
Salon: ArtistOnGo
More of a traveling salon, ArtistOnGo is a genius app that allows you to connect with top hairstylists and colorists at any salon you desire. Think Airbnb meets Bumble, but for your hair. The tech platform features top salons throughout NYC and Brooklyn, so you search, choose your favorite or the closest destination and then match to a stylist – who you can rebook in the future if you feel you’ve found the one. Answering the call for convenience, especially for those reluctant to travel too far from home right now, it’s a win-win for stylists who have the flexibility to rent a chair at any salon that suits them to work their magic on their clients.
Stylist: Grant Bennett Hair
ArtistOnGo emboldens the stylist to be an entrepreneur and this really is the future of the hair industry. I’ve been in this game for 21 years and it used to be that the salon had all the contacts and clients but today via Instagram you can create great content, build a clientele and become your own business. And now thanks to ArtistOnGo, we stylists have a platform to do exactly that and only pay for the cost of the chair. The beauty of it is also the flexibility it provides, you can expand your network and build a clientele all over the city. I often work from Antonio Prieto salon, it’s a beautiful space, it’s very warm and I feel comfortable there, but then every salon I’ve checked out on the app has been great. I now have the freedom to work on the upper east side Wednesdays if I want and maybe I’ll do Brooklyn Fridays.
Latest Hair Trends:
“I specialize in low-maintenance healthy beautiful hair. Right now, it’s about a cut and color that fits in around your schedule and can be maintained for longer, instead of every six weeks, clients want to wait like 12 weeks before their next appointment. Color-wise rose brown is the new thing, a fresh take on rose gold. It’s a little darker so it’s great for brunettes or in the fall-winter months and is an awesome subtle way to give you a unique, edgy shade without feeling like you’ve gone too far. It’s important to maintain the tone, so I tell clients to use a rose brown color conditioner every week and at the six-week mark, I send them a demi-permanent color deposit so that the hair looks as good as it did on day 120 as it did on day one. I still love balayage, but we are moving toward looks that have a deeper contrast and a more detailed punch than the hand painting techniques can achieve. We’re seeing a lot of foilayage, which recreates the low maintenance look of balayage with foils, teasing and root shadow. This gives a beautiful soft melting look with more lift for more contrast and less brassiness. Right now it’s about darker roots, a bright money piece that frames your face in the front and more lightness toward the ends which is super low maintenance. For cuts, layers are back. Shags are really cool again, as well as face-framing angles. That being said, the Lob lives on as a great way to bulk up finer-textured hair. Bangs are definitely back, cutting right on the corner of the eye or through the cheekbone and letting them grow out softly to again give you that three-month lifespan. They are also great for the cooler months, as you don’t want a sweaty forehead in summer. For me, it’s about making sure my clients feel beautiful when they leave the chair and are expressing their personality through their hair and natural beauty.”
Salon: LRN Beauty, Studio 522
Founded by master colorist and blonde expert, Lauren Paglionico, LRN Beauty is a salon-come-art studio nestled inside Studio 522, a loft-style gallery in Manhattan’s famed Chelsea art district devoted to increasing the visibility of women visual artists. A far cry from factory-floor bustle, the intimate, art-covered space is warm and sun-soaked so you feel like you’re being welcomed into a homey sanctuary in the city.
Stylist: Lauren Paglionico
“At LRN Beauty we believe the salon experience and having your hair done is about so much more than cut and color. It is expression or joy and discovery. We approach each client with care and intuition – to uncover their true beauty and the most inspiring look reflects who they really are and most importantly, easy to recreate at home. Our services extend cuts, styling and color to extensions, makeup lessons and professional hair and make-up for weddings and events.”
Latest Hair Trends:
There are some great hair trends to look forward like the tousled bob which is a more lived-in version of the traditional polished bob. We are also seeing a twist on the retro curtain bang. Bangs can be high maintenance but this modern bang is slightly longer and blended, so they’re easier to grow out and look super cute when you wear your hair in a ponytail. Women are also embracing their natural curls and waves rather than fighting it. If a haircut isn’t an option right now, I recommend doing a weekly conditioning treatment to stop ends from splitting. One of my favorites is Shu Uemura Silk Bloom Hair Mask for damaged hair. We are definitely seeing a resurgence of clients wanting fresh color. Women are no longer interested in rooty highlights and feel they don’t translate well over Zoom. Right now, the most requested blondes are Hailey Bieber and Rosie Huntington-Whitley who both have sandy blonde highlights with a brighter pop of blonde around the face. For brunettes, it’s bronzy balayage, which is super low maintenance but gives the illusion you have been on the beach for months. Redheads tend to lose their vibrancy so many are switching from a deeper red to a lighter golden-copper. If you are a brunette or redhead with gray roots and can’t make it to the salon to get them covered, I recommend a root touch-up spray like L’Oreal Professionnel Root Concealer. If your hair gets brassy over time try IGK Mixed Feelings. There is a purple version for blondes and a blue version for brunettes. These drops are highly concentrated and cancel out brass on the first use and you can add them to your shampoo, conditioner, or styling products. Overtime color tends to lose its vibrancy, so to maintain that just out of the salon shine, I love Oribe Glaze, which acts as a top coat and is a secret hair weapon between salon appointments.
Also check out these fabulous concept hair salons in NYC
Salon: Treehouse Social Club, East Village
This new hybrid hair salon/tropical forest oasis by New York hairstylist Misha G opened up in a dilapidated French bistro. Inspired by her need for a vacation, the plan was to make the space feel anything but a traditional salon and every inch a social club where the local community congregates for hair services, film screenings, live performances, creative talks, karaoke, and gay discos. To that end, there are floral robes, green harp chairs, arched vintage shelving salvaged from the Waldorf Astoria, bar carts for stylist tools, and as you’d expect from the name, plenty of lush greenery from ivy, to Monsteras, palms, and a large outdoor patio where you can indulge in alfresco hair services under a Japanese maple tree. A champion of the LGBTQ community, Misha enlisted a visual artist to create murals that pay homage to legendary drag queens, trans icons, and Dolly Parton. So fun.
Salon: L’Appartement Hair Boudoir
If you’re longing to visit Paris, the good news is you can step into the world of quintessential French glamour at L’Appartement Hair Boudoir on NYC’s iconic 5th avenue. Paris was brought in. Inspired by the historical grandeur of a typical Parisian apartment, the full service hair and beauty salon (there’s head to toe treatments under one roof) is the brainchild of celebrity hairstylist Tiffany Kaljic, who once owned luxury salons in Cannes and who has styled celebrities and models for Cannes Cannes Film Festival, and Paris, London, and Milan Fashion Weeks. Beyond the French inspired interiors – black and white checkerboard and parquet flooring, stunning chandeliers, decadent antique mirrors and stunning chandeliers, the salon also showcases the work of upcoming artists. Très chic
