From shaggy to bombastic - a new 'do

After a month of renovations, 260 York Hair Designs opened on Mon., Dec. 9 in the space formerly occupied by the James Phillips Luggage and Leather Company. The Herald A&E section dispatched two intrepid reporters to try out the salon first hand, and see just what this new addition to the New Haven beauty scene had to offer.

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH Before...

Brian had needed a haircut for several months. Feeling rather shaggy, he put himself entirely at the mercy of his new stylist, Marcus. A shampoo and conditioning with products by the salon standard, Paul Mitchell, soothed Brian's nerves for the chop to come. Having been given free reign, Marcus did not take the easy way out. He gave Brian an all-scissors cut, never even glancing at the electric clippers. The cut was short and layered on the sides, longer and well sculpted in the back, with a slightly overly fluffy sweep across the front that settled to a respectable size within an hour. Marcus was also kind enough not to thin Brian's hair in the least, leaving it thick and full as a result of the layering.

He followed the cut with a blow-dry, styling and smoothing Brian's newly-trimmed locks with a spritz of fixing spray. The result was a vast improvement over Brian's previous shaggy-dog look, full and well-shaped.

While waiting for Meredith's turn, we took the opportunity to check out the decor and reading material. Renovations had turned the former bag-store into a nouveau-traditional setting, with black and white checkered floors, bright but soft lighting, and what is fast becoming the new Broadway standard: wood paneling. The waiting area has the weakest design, with black and gold upholstered chairs. The salon is outfitted with four haircutting stations complete with comfy black chairs, faux-marble counters, and oversized round mirrors with matching light wood trim.

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH ...and after: this is what a salon can do for you. Thank you, Jesus.

Notably absent, however, was the usual beauty-parlor fare of magazines devoted entirely to hair-styling, offering page upon page of cuts and colors which customers can expectantly point to and demand, "Make me look like this."

Meredith decided to be a little less daring with her new look. Reluctant to take much off, she chose instead to have a few inches trimmed and a bit of shape put into her hair. Ibtihage, her stylist, was very accommodating, helping her to decide just how much to lose and offering suggestions on products and ways to tame her often unruly tresses. Ibtihage began with a shampoo and conditioning, also by Paul Mitchell, and took almost an hour to do the cut, checking regularly to keep the sides even. She shaped the back slightly shorter than the front to give the illusion of an even length all around. After the cut, she blow-dried Meredith's hair straight, using Paul Mitchell mousse for volume, and a monster-sized curling iron called a Marseilles (after the man who first invented the curling iron) to give the ends curl and body. She finished with a fixing spray that left Meredith's hair a bit stiff, but not visibly so, and a gloss that smoothed out fly-aways. The styling had lent her hair a bright sheen, bringing out her red highlights to full effect.

In all, the cuts at 260 York were proficiently executed, and the stylists were friendly and attentive. Though Phil's on Wall Street probably won't lose much of their $5 bowl-cut business to York Hair any time soon, 260 York provides a much needed and reasonably priced service for the discriminating customer who has better things to do than hop a train for a New York salon.

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