Hair We Go...

Well, *I* go. Loving this school thing for E for many reasons, one of which, I get to make an appointment for me without trying to secure childcare. My hairdresser is a 30 min ride with no traffic so I have a hard time trying to get there knowing an hour of driving time has to be accounted for when asking someone to watch E. Why do I go so far away when there are FIVE salons on the main drag in my town? Because everyone knows that once you find your perfect hair person, you drive any amount of miles. Who doesn't want movie-star hair?

I've been going to Don Grazano since he was working at Arthur Angelo in New Milford when I was in college. He then opened his own place in New Milford, then another place in Norwood, closed New Milford and now just has Norwood- Salon Azano, 451 Livingston Street, Norwood: http://www.azano.net/

He's super busy so if you want an appointment, you best have your calendar out and expect it to take a few weeks to get in to see him unless you have a flexible schedule. But, I've never had a bad haircut or color and lately, I've been just deferring to his thoughts on what I should do with my hair. Before I go further though, I should say, he's not going to just do whatever you want if he thinks it's going to damage your hair or make it (and by extension, him) look bad. So, be ready for a bit of a 'tude if you try to tell him how to do what he does best. You have to have trust. If you bring in a picture of someone's hair that is a totally different type than yours and you say, "I want this hair", he's going to be honest and tell you whether you can realistically have it or not. Don't get pissy- that's his job. You don't want someone coming into your job and telling you how to do it- you'd have an attitude too! Just go with his recommendation and you'll leave with a haircut/color that will get you compliments everywhere you go. I know because people on the street have stopped me to ask where I get my hair done. I swear.

So, the biggest reason why I've been going there for so many years (I'm 37 now and college was a LONG time ago), is personal attention. I went to college an hour and a half away and would drive or have someone drive me all the way back up to Bergen County to have him cut & color me. At times, like when I was working in NYC and commuting, I couldn't make it to him within his open hours, so I'd try someone else here and there. I tried two places in the city, one in Maywood and one in Woodridge. So dumb. Big mistake. I should've just taken a personal day.

My biggest issue with all the other places was feeling like I was forgotten about. Don isn't afraid to shampoo you. He may be the "owner" but his attitude doesn't scream "owner". He isn't too important for any of the jobs he expects anyone else to do there. There is Brittany who does my shampoo usually if I'm lucky enough to get her to wash my hair. There is nothing I look forward to more than my professional hair washing and she is the best around. It's like a real massage and hair washing all rolled into one. She really cares about what she's doing and you can tell. But, if for whatever reason she wasn't there or had another client (she cuts too), Don does it. He did it today actually. Brittany had a male walk-in haircut so that was that.

At these other places, I was paying more, yet, I felt like I had 20 different people touching my head and I didn't like it. One person shampooing, another drying, another timing the toner, whatever. First, I then have to tip all these other people, driving my bill up ridiculously. One time, at a place in the city, they put toner on my hair and left me in the back shivering (it was freezing in there mid-winter) for who knows how long. I spent the entire time wondering if they forgot about me. They didn't tell me what was going on or what to expect and I couldn't see anyone back there. Since I never experienced the 20 person cut & color before, I was freaking out on the inside. I was five seconds from getting up to find someone before someone came back to get me.

The point is, if I'm paying for the top dog in the salon, that's who I want. I understand that other people do shampoo but I'm sorry- everything else should be done by the person I made the appointment with. Don has NEVER had someone else blow-dry my hair which is what happened at one of the other places. I'm pretty sure most people also go to their hairdresser because of the "relationship" they have. They feel comfortable, they dish, they get to know each other. That's why there are so many articles written about "breaking up with a hairdresser" and how difficult it is to do. I don't know how you cultivate a relationship with a hairdresser (or is it stylist? colorist? both?) if you see them for five minutes and they send you off to someone else. I get it if you purposely go to one person for a cut and another for color, but not if you're going to the same one for both.

There are two other girls who cut and color there- Melissa & Sani have been there for years- it's not like every time you walk in you see new faces. That says something about any business. I don't know how long Brittany has been there but it's definitely been years, just not sure it's as long as the other two.

I just love the personal atmosphere of Salon Azano. The prices are mid-range of places in the area. I've seen WAY more expensive (for less personal attention) and less. They sell the complete line of Eufora products. I never was a big fan of buying salon products before but any that I have bought from Don I fell totally in love with. They made a huge difference in my hair quality. He only sells what he believes in, not just what is going to make him money. He's extremely passionate about what goes on your hair so you feel good about what you're purchasing. There's never been a huge sales pitch, he just tells it like it is and let's you make the decision. Even if he knows I don't have the cash at the moment to purchase, he still goes through all the details of what the new products will do for me. He sells other stuff too but I'm talking about hair right now, so I'll leave that to him or his website to tell you about the other stuff he does there. Intrigued? I would be too. Check it out!

Basically I highly recommend. Although by doing this, it'll probably make it harder for me to get an appointment. Oh well. They deserve the recognition!