THE BIG BREAK INTERVIEW:
CHRISTOPHER and STANLEY
THE CHRISTOPHER STANLEY SALON
by Margo Curry

Upon entering Christopher Stanley Salon, you cannot help but explore all of your senses. An array of paintings are displayed to help support the art community in Manhattan. The music ranges from “The Girl from Ipanema” to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” Christopher and Stanley immediately greet me with smiles and hearty handshakes. They inflate my ego, with comments such as, “This is your show.” I just knew this interview would be a good time.

BIGBreakNY: What made you decide to open your own salon?
Stanley: We worked in another salon where we met, Antonio Prieto. Chris and I have been friends for years.
Christopher: I came in to teach a class and I was looking for work in the city. I was actually working in Brooklyn and Stanley was the manager (at Prieto).
S: I loved his class so I asked him if he ever wanted to work in Manhattan.
C: That was December 6, 1995. We had gone as far as we could at Antonio Prieto Salon. We thought the best thing would be to branch out on our own.
S: We found this place in the same neighborhood which allowed us to keep the same clientele.
C: It was very serendipitious. This place found us.
S: It all happened so fast. After we turned down the first space in mid-June, Christopher and his brother, our electrician, walked by my partner, Mitchell Speer, who is real estate agent. They stopped to chat on the street about available spaces. Right then the landlord passed in front of the store (where we are now) and put up a for rent sign in the window.
C: My brother who gets excited over nothing, said, “you have to have this place!”
S: We were excited about the two bathrooms!
C: It was perfect—a lot of foot traffic, between every train in Manhattan…We signed the lease on July 16th, 2002. We opened officially September 24th, 2002. It has been a whirlwind ever since.

BBNY: Can you tell me about the apprenticeship program?
C: We have two very well trained assistants who do color. Stanley helps with that and I oversee it.
S: You go to school to become licensed, however you learn the craft of hair cutting and coloring in a salon when you are part of an apprenticeship program.
C: …Because they are coming in at a reduced rate they are not treated any differently than the clients who pay regular prices. It takes a little bit longer and we dry the hair to see the color but don’t style it. I leave the apprentice to do the work.
C: The skill level of the apprentice determines the time needed. Natashia is the most experienced. She handles several clients and spends almost all day Tuesday doing models.

BBNY: Actual models?
S: We call them models. Actually it’s short for, “model heads,” which the apprentices work on.

BBNY: So I could be a model?
S: You too could be a model. You do not know what is going to walk through the door at any given moment. Christopher, being the genius of hair color that he is, has to assess the appropriate hair color to complement skin tones and suit the client’s personality. We work well within the confines of what the model wants. If the model does not want red hair we will not give that client red hair.
C: We do not want to do something for the sake of doing it. We want to maintain a certain quality to the hair.
S: Sometimes, you have to tell someone that a request is ridiculous. You have to learn how to say no. We teach the apprentice why it is not right.

BBNY: Is it true that one of your clients is Julia Roberts?
S: I cut her hair and blew it out a few times. I did not do her color. With most celebrities they have four or five stylists and if they have their own colorist, they do not stray. She asked me what I thought about her hair. I told her I “did not want to step on anyone’s toes…” She was very nice.

BBNY: How do you classify your clients, more trendy or classic?
C: I have been thinking about that a lot lately. We are a very high end salon. Basically, it is more executive-level clientele, with some creative types, who do not have to be traditional. We don’t get really the young rock-and-roll types. My work is classic. I taught hair color for Goldwell for ten years. I approach hair color like you would want to buy the right lipstick. Paul, the other colorist, is more edgy. Stanley is more traditional and Noelle is more of a rock star. My technique may be considered trendy when it comes to highlights. A lot of trends do not fit every person. I always engineer the color to match the client.
S: One time I had a woman that had very large features who wanted a “Winona Ryder” cut. I had to say this might be in but not in for you. A lot of trends do not fit the client.
C: Sometimes changing the hair changes everything. With media a look may come out in May. But the picture was taken five months prior. The timeline is funny.

BBNY: Do you educate your clients about styling?
C: We have a very educated clientele. I am like that old commercial: the best consumer is an educated consumer.
S: They know how to style their own hair. If I do not teach a client how to replicate the look at home, then what good is it?

BBNY: Yes. I hate that. It never looks like the salon.
C: Well, that is normal. It is called leverage. My arms are not on your body, so it is easier for me to style. So, we want to help you to almost replicate.
S: I blab on about the family and have fun but as soon as I start styling I get into education mode. I make sure the client knows what the products can do to enhance the look I have given them.
C: I am very big on analogies. You don’t treat your silk blouse like you would treat your blue jeans. We also love pictures. A lot of times you do not know what a person is thinking.
S: Our terminology is so different from theirs. What is a lot of layers? What is light brown?
C: I will say to them when it comes to their hair, do you want your hair to whisper, talk, or scream?

BBNY: Did I understand that you were in the running for a TV show?
C: Yes. There can be any number of dramas in a day. One of our clients, from the Oxygen Network, thought we were so silly that she submitted us as a story. She always has a good time here.
S: One day a client brought in a bag of wigs and I proceeded to try on all of the wigs and parade around. She thought this was the way we were everyday. In reality, this was a given moment at a given time.
C: I think we lost because we are too boring. We like each other too much.
S: We have been friends for years and we both have the same philosophies. We do not believe in the idea that clients should be lucky that we are their stylists. There is no snobbiness here. This is your show. You are just using our stage. We love our secretaries as much as we love our celebrities.
C: Ultimately the celebrities find out about you through regular clients. Julia Roberts was referred by her assistant. It is all word of mouth, the best advertising.

BBNY: Are there any products that you favor?
C: Goldwell, AlphaParf, and Farmesi.
S: All of our products are safe for color-treated hair!
C: We have just taken on a new line called Elumen. We use it primarily as a glaze. The line is based on the new ion technology that you hear about in all of the Japanese products. It leaves your hair in amazing shape after it has been treated. It can be taken out of the hair after twenty-four hours. That is the advantage. It is made by Goldwell, the Mercedes of hair color.

BBNY: Do you attend shows for the newest styles and products?
(Both grimace.)
C: When I taught, I did. But a show is a whole other world, with a lot of glitz and glamour.
S: It is more of a theatrical event and I end up laughing a lot.
C: I am more of a behind-the-scenes kind of a guy than a performer. The education from Goldwell gave me a very technical background.
S: The shows demand drama. It is for shock and presentation. I once saw a guy teaching “slicing techniques,” slice the top of a woman’s ear off!
C: It is a lot of bad Fabio imitations with dancers hacking off the hair…weeding a garden.
S: The result is very intense for the moment. I am looking for longevity in the client relationship and for success in helping them look their best.

Experience the process of getting the right hair. My dad mocks my mother and me about the amounts we spend to get the right hair. But after my experience at the Christopher Stanley Salon, he said, “They did you a huge favor.” I was shocked hearing this from the man who knows nothing about hair. I remarked, “You think my hair looks great.” “No, I think you look great and your hair shows that.” It is all about you at the Christopher Stanley Salon.

The Christopher Stanley Salon is located at 48 West 22nd Street. Call (212) 924-2877 to set up an appointment.

© 2005 BIGBreakNY, LLC. No material may be reprinted without permission.