I’m no stranger to fancy salons—I’ve had my hair snipped and lightened (and darkened and banged and extensioned and reddened…yeah…you get the picture) at the best of them. No matter how many chichi places I visit, however, I never get over that initial fear of walking into a new salon. You know the drill: as you walk in, fabulous people rush around, air-kissing and looking gorge, making you feel incredibly out of place and lame. (This feeling is usually magnified all the more by the fact that, when going to get my hair done, I inevitably look like a homeless person.) When I went to the LA-outpost of the Warren-Tricomi salon this weekend, I expected more of the same. Sure, the salon would look amazing and the stylists would probably be great…but my unfashionable, sneaker-wearing, salon-sullying presence would be tolerated for the editorial mention at best.
To say I was pleasantly surprised by the warm, friendly demeanor of the (yes, very talented) stylists would be an understatement. My colorist Kaz (who also does Lauren Conrad’s color) didn’t go the normal route of explaining what’s disastrous with your current shade and how he is the Only Person In The World who can fix it. Instead, we chatted for a few minutes as he examined my strands and texture and we discussed my loooong hair coloring history, finally mutually settling on a blonde with more contrast and a lighter base. (Hey, I’m in California, after all!) Then, we discussed travel and celebrities, and he spoke about his daughter. An hour later, Christine, a pixieish, cheerful girl with a bleached crop and a wide smile (who, by the by, has been doing LC’s hair for years!), sliced into my bangs, cleaning up my layers and using a Hot Tools iron to coax my hair into fat waves, sharing advice on her favorite products and conditioning tips all the while. The result, below.
I don’t think this photo really does the salon justice, but it’s a pretty, soothing, chilled out space–very West Coast!
