I have long hair. It’s the first time in my adult life that I have had it this long. But, while it is long, it has no shape other than “long”. (*I’m hesitant to do anything with it, since it’s long & i would hate to give it up, so, it’s just *there*) So, when I had a chance to have my hair cut by world renowned hairstylist, and ION Studio co-owner,Leonardo Manetti (*who also happens to be a good-looking Italian), I jumped at the chance.
Leo has a great background of how he ended up here in NYC, which includes starting as a wood-sculptor, honing his hair styling skills in Dallas, TX, to styling for fashion magazines worldwide before opening NYC’s first green salon with his two friends, (*who have also been featured in worldwide fashion mags & just happen to be good-looking Italians, too), Pasqual Ferrante and Marco Santini (*you may remember me talking about Marco during NYFW last September).
Let’s talk about this space for a minute. Besides it being wind-powered with the goal of a 0% carbon footprint, it was also established as a multi-functional location. All of the stations can be pushed back to open up the area for other types of activities like art shows, or even fashion presentations like the Ann Yee Spring/Summer 2011 collection this fashion week. Not only do they keep the surroundings “green”, they also use the Davines line of products, which are made with “high-grade, natural ingredients”. (*I enjoyed a shampoo & hair masque before my haircut & was lucky enough to get to talk James, who is from Tulsa, OK, while leaned back in one of the custom built “trust fall” chairs by EcoSystems.
Anyway, back to Leo & my hair. After ruling out bangs (“Oh no no no…”) and layers, we decided to keep my length, clean up the ends by taking around 1.5″ or so off – getting rid of all the dead/splitends – and giving a just a hint of shorter fringe around my face to break it up a bit. I was sincerely amazed at what that change did to my hair. It felt lighter, smoother & looked so much healthier than when I had walked in, that’s for sure. I appreciated that he was honest about what would work for me and my face shape & worked with me about keeping my length – I really felt revitalized when I was done.
If environmental beauty is your thing (*and why wouldn’t it be?), and you are in NYC, I would definitely recommend you track down this salon for your hair (or even event) needs. And even if you don’t have one of the partners work with you, my girl Meredith, from Retrodiva’s Beauty can tell you that you can get great work done by one of the other stylists at the salon.
Lemme know – is going green at your salon a high priority to you? Or is it just stylist, or even location, that makes you go where you go?
*Disclaimer: Services were provided by the salon for PR consideration.
Great view of both the upper and lower areas of ION Salon in NYC.
The downstairs washing area, including the “trust” chairs, that look odd, but feel comfy.
Before: My hair was long, but it had no shape, nor pretty ends.
Leo’s curls would stick up like wings when he would catch the blowdryer air in his face. Ha!
Leo’s “Zohan” moment after he put the finishing touches to my hair.
Checking out the back of my hair, while Leo fluff’s the hair in place.
After: Still long, but with shape & nice cleaned up ends, with a bit of fringe around the face.
The lovely Meredith, RetroDiva, after getting her pretty hair all blown out.
To achieve this look Santini used the following:· An old-fashioned sewing needle· Elastic string· Davines DEDE Conditioner· Davines For Wizards No. 4 Glossy Modeling Putty
“First, Santini wet hair with Davines DEDE Conditioner to condition and strengthen the hair without leaving it heavy. He then dried the hair and separated it into two sections. Backcombing by the nape of the neck, Santini used an old fashioned sewing needle and some elastic string to weave the hair together to create an organic ponytail. Lastly Santini applied Davines For Wizards No.4 Glossy Modeling Putty, a paste that creates texture and separation with natural movement, to the hair to finish the look.”The result had all of the models looking similar, but slightly different.
