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All stories relating to salons

The Hype

Pretty Young Things
May 31, 2010 | 9:46 am

1 Comment

Rachel McAdams gathers human hair for oil spill relief

So fresh and so green, green

According to Shinan Govani’s column today, Toronto starlet Rachel McAdams has been doing her part to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Known for her eco-crusading (she helped launch the site Green Is Sexy), R-Mac was spotted in the city’s salons, asking for leftover hair. The purpose: to make large bundles of hair called hair booms, which are placed in the ocean to sop up oil. The problem: they don’t work—the booms become so waterlogged that they sink. Nice try, Rach. Points for effort.

• The trouble with tresses [National Post]

• Read all our Rachel McAdams news

The Goods

Beauty School
November 16, 2009 | 9:00 am

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Just Opened: The Cabinet Salon opens atop Queen West

cabinetowners

Alex MacDonald and Emma Rose, owners of Cabinet (Photo by Karon Liu)

Cabinet, a relative newcomer to the salon scene, has a slight speakeasy vibe about it. Open since early fall, it’s tucked away on the second floor of a century-old building, above the knick-knack haven Outer Layer, and has a turn-of-the-century look that could be mistaken for a Murdoch Mysteries set.

Named for the 17th-century French term for a place where people met to discuss the fine arts, Cabinet is unfussy in its decor, with dark wood floors, neutral walls and antique-looking furniture. The space, which was once a photo and film editing studio, also serves as a rotating gallery (the Toronto artist Steve Rose is currently featured). The large windows overlooking Queen Street make it a prime spot for people-watching.

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The Goods

Shop Talk
November 13, 2009 | 11:30 am

6 Comments

Macho manis and powerful pedis: Mankind men’s salon opens

mankind

Well manicured: Jason Culala and Noel Naguiat of Mankind (Photo by Karon Liu)

Wearing pink, shopping for clothes and getting highlights—the male sex has come a long way, but there are still a few milestones to hit, namely, having mani-pedis.

Noel Naguiat, who opened Mankind Grooming Studio for Men on Monday, remembers being laughed at when he went to a strip mall nail salon to have his nails cleaned. “It’s common for men to get manicures and pedicures in Europe and in parts of Asia, but here, a lot of guys feel embarrassed,” says Naguiat. “It shouldn’t be like that.” To create a masculine environment where men can get grooming advice without being gawked at, Naguiat, who is also an art director at an advertising agency, teamed up with his wife’s stylist, Jason Culala, to open Mankind.

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The Goods

Shop Talk
November 3, 2009 | 4:29 pm

1 Comment

Torontonians score the most honours at the national hairstyling awards

contessa

A style from top Ontario stylist Robert Barbosa (Photo by Justin Borbely)

While most people were gorging themselves on tiny chocolate bars and mini-bags of chips on the weekend, the country’s aesthetic elite were attending their version of the Oscars, the Contessa Awards. Held at the Sheraton, this was the 21st edition of the Contessas, which recognize excellence in hair, makeup and nails.

Though the title hairstylist of the year went to Vancouver’s Chad Taylor, and the award for the top salon went to Glam in Montreal, Torontonians took home the most awards (but, hey, who’s counting?). After the jump, the Toronto winners.

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The Goods

Shop Talk
September 9, 2009 | 10:03 am

7 Comments

Just Opened: West Salon and Spa puts a pretty face on Queen West

westsalon-1

New kid on the block: West Salon and Spa (Carmen Cheung)

Sandwiched neatly between Brooklynn Bar and The Beaver, the recently opened West Salon and Spa is a bit out of place among the late-night watering holes and restaurants along this part of Queen West. But the owners, Priscilla Medeiros and Rob Banton, carefully selected the location by keeping a close eye on real estate for over a year.

The hip thirty-something couple are no strangers to the neighbourhood—they live in the area and Banton is part owner of nearby Nyood restaurant, which shares the same open feel, soaring ceilings and discreetly glamorous style of the new beauty parlor.

Medeiros, a former songstress and dancer, lights up when she explains the different spa services. In addition to hair treatments like blowouts, cuts, and colour jobs, customers can also schedule appointments for massage therapy, manicures, pedicures, facials, spray-on tans and laser hair removal.

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The Goods

Shop Talk
August 20, 2009 | 8:45 am

23 Comments

Top stylist Allan Parss tells us why a $150 cut is worth it

allan-1

Prime cut: Allan Parss prefers using a razor to scissors (Photo by Carmen Cheung)

If the influx of blow-dry salons in the city is any indication, we are visiting our stylists a lot less these days. Fewer cuts means more money in our wallets, so it’s not surprising Torontonians are developing a penchant for long-lasting haircuts, like the ones stylist Allan Parss is famous for giving at his swank Wellington Street space. We chatted with the 20-year veteran about why a good haircut is worth spending money on now, how the recession has affected his business and why flat, straight hair is on its way out.

Your haircuts usually cost about $200. Why?
With a good cut, you don’t have to do much the next day—that’s why it’s worth it. Most of my clients get compliments the day after a cut. A good haircut shows off.

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The Goods

New in Shops
July 22, 2009 | 12:21 pm

5 Comments

Just Opened: Do My Hair blow-dry bar opens today

domyhair1

Salon owner Deborah McGrath says the blow-dry business is recession proof (Photo by Karon Liu)

When a client leaves the salon, the inevitable countdown from having an impeccable do to having a flat, windblown bird’s nest begins. So consider the freshly opened Do My Hair blow-dry bar (the inclusion of the word “dry” is imperative) a pit stop between cuts.

For $32 ($22 for men), women will have their tresses washed and styled in about half and hour—ideal for a post-gym, pre-dinner touch-up or before a stressful job interview.

Unlike at typical hair salons, part of the store’s policy is to encourage walk-ins, rather than keep appointment books, says owner Deborah McGrath, who comes from a corporate consulting background. “A hair appointment is supposed to make life easier, but I find that my entire day has to revolve around that one appointment, which defeats the purpose.”

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