McLean Salon Worth the Drive from D.C.
People are picky about their hair — always looking for the perfect style and the perfect stylist. And in the DMV, there are plenty of choices from the cheap $13 cuts at the chains to the expensive, fancy salons that serve mimoas. In a town like D.C. each has their place from the broke college student to the high society crowd and everyone in between.
Last week, a friend and I ventured out to the suburbs for a visit to Salon Tony in McLean, Va. As a guy, I have short hair that only needs an electric buzz on the side and a scissor trip on top and I pay $13. So my female friend, who has shoulder-length hair usually worn in a ponytail, was a good test of Salon Tony’s staff.
She had prepared all day, finding styles she found attractive and posting them of Facebook, asking friends which they thought would look best. She settled on the one above — shorter in the back, longer in front with bangs.
As we entered the salon, owner Tony Chamoun was expecting us and greeted me by name. We were offered a seat while Tony finished with his current client and offered a refreshment. Then she was given a robe to put over her clothes to keep them clean and taken to the shampoo area to begin the process.
After the shampoo, she was seated in a chair where Roger Chalhoub, Tony’s senior stylist who’s been there six years, consulted with her about what she wanted. She shared the photo she had printed out, but told Chalhoub about some changes she wanted — longer in the back so she could pull it back and no bangs. But he explained that because of the way the style hung, she had to be willing to take the plunge or pick a different style. In the end, she agreed to the short style and was offered the opportunity to donate her ponytail to Locks of Love, a non-profit that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Her donated hair will be used to create the highest quality wigs, primarily for children with alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure.
After cutting off her locks with a razor and wrapping them in foil, Chalhoub proceeded to blow her hair dry then cut and style it. When he was done, as you can see, he had done a perfect job replicating the photo and she was thrilled with the short style. And so were her friends on Facebook, who offered comments like “WOW~~~ love it! the new do brings out your gorgeous face more!!!” and “Soooo cute!” Others added ” Wow I didn’t know you were still a teenager!! Looks great.” and ” It’s adorable! Good choice.”
As for me, I was coming off a cut and color I didn’t like at a new salon I had visited about a month and a half ago. But Chamoun gave me a look I like and is easy to maintain — just wash and gel. No blow dry necessary to delay my getting out of the house. He also was able to get rid of most of the color from the previous salon, that didn’t match my natural color and had a reddish tint.
To ensure his salon always stays on the cutting edge, Chamoun is a member of the Haute Coiffure Francaise, and he and staff travel to Paris twice a year to participate in the international hair show to train and pick up new style inspiration and products. The ongoing training enables staff to provide clients with the latest hair designs, advanced top quality hair care products and hair styling services. Chamoun and Chalhoub will be going over for the fall show in the next few weeks.
Salon Tony uses the highest quality, internationally-known products with innovative formulas, uniquely designed for both women and men to enhance the natural beauty of the hair. The staff uses L’Oreal Professional brand Majirel shades for natural to vibrant permanent color results. They also can create custom colors using the Koleston Perfect brand shades manufactured by Wella Professionals. They offer Kerastase Paris advanced hair conditioning treatment and Phyto products.
Salon Tony is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. in a brick professional building at 6858 Old Dominion Dr., Suite 101 in McLean. Its about a 30 minute drive from downtown D.C. There is plenty of free parking in the building’s parking lot. In addition to cuts and color, Salon Tony offers nail services as well as make up. They also provide hair and makeup services for special occasions such as weddings.
Win free services from Salon Tony
You can win a shampoo, cut and blow-dry ($90 value for women or $30+ for men) or full highlights, shampoo, cut and blow-dry ($235 value). Just like Salon Tony and DC Heels on Facebook and Tweet about the contest. Please note, you cannot win both packages.
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Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.