In Search of the Best Haircut in Town
When I'm on the road, I like to make time to get my hair cut by the hottest stylist in town. This year I haven't been traveling much, so I went in search of the best hair stylist in town and did I find him! Carsten Wilms, owner and central force of the Carsten Institutes in Tempe and New York City, brings European panache, highlighted with a New York fashion edge, to Arizona. He is also passing it on to his students, while making clients look wonderful!
Carsten is a fascinating man, which is good because it helps you focus on something other than watching him cutting your hair in the mirror (he tells me watching moves my head so he doesn't cut where he wants to cut). A native of Germany, he splits his time between Arizona and New York, with some travel thrown in for fun. This fall he's heading to Italy, so discussing the places he's been, or will soon be off to, is almost like visiting them yourself. Of course, he was in New York during the Fall Fashion Week. A photographer, as well as a member of the beauty elite, how could he not be? It's also interesting to hear his pointers to other stylists, presumably his students, but I didn't actually ask, so I can't say for sure. He spends three weeks a month in Arizona, which can definitely benefit from his presence, teaching and fashion sense.
The Carsten Salon is located at 4415 E. Indian School Rd. in Phoenix. For those unfamiliar with the area, it is not, exactly, where one might expect to find the town's best. Only a mile from the tony Camelback Corridor but within the unprepossessing zone between the Biltmore and Scottsdale Fashion Court. The salon itself is camouflaged both by an Einstein Bros. Bagel Shop and its own minimalist exterior, at the corner of two roads more familiar to commuters than tourists.
Walking through the door you know you are in a high-end salon. The white space implies the surgical precision and delicacy the stylists bring to their art. Fortunately, the medical motif is disrupted with chrome, color and plenty of natural light from large windows. The stations for each stylist are liberally spaced, probably to accommodate Cartsen's habit of having clients stand up while he cuts at or below the shoulder.
OK, so what, exactly, made a haircut from by Carsten worth $100? Well, first you need to understand that I have very fine hair. There's a lot of it, but it's fine. Add to that the fact that I really had no idea what style cut I wanted. I think I described what I wanted as "classy with an edge". Carsten knew exactly what I meant. All he wanted to know was how long and whether I wanted the ends done with scissors or a razor. No one else in the Valley has asked that or used a razor on my hair, which annoys me because the only way to get the ends to separate is to use a razor.
The look I ended up with is a jaw length bob with long bangs. It sounds ordinary. It is far from ordinary. Not only were the ends razor cut, but several days later, I've discovered I can actually dry it myself and make it look, not the way Carsten did, but really close. I owe that ability to his careful instructions while he was drying my hair. He made sure I understood the what and the how. Of course, doing it on your own head is a different story than having it done. Even so, I managed a very respectable facsimile, which is another significant difference from other local stylists. The look itself is classic but the length, long bangs and movement Carsten worked into the cut make it, and me, a stand out in the very best ways.
Ok, so maybe I'm gushing a little. I'm entitled. It's really hard for me to find a cut I like, let alone love. But I did. And it was so worth every dollar I spent on it.
So, who is your favorite haircutter or hair stylist and why?
