From the NY Times:
ANTHONY DICKEY’S much anticipated salon, Hair Rules New York — an earthy-industrial space with high ceilings and oversize windows — opened last month in Hell’s Kitchen. The salon, which Mr. Dickey operates with his business partner, Kara Young Georgiopoulos, specializes in curly, frizzy and otherwise texture-challenged hair. It is the kind of hair Mr. Dickey, whose client list has included Sarah Jessica Parker and Rihanna, is quite familiar with.
On a recent afternoon, Mr. Dickey — who himself grew up with a bright red afro — discussed the relatively recent entry of professional techniques for styling African-American hair.
“We’re talking about an industry that was segregated,” said Mr. Dickey, speaking of the late 1980s, when he was working as a stylist in the fashion world. “The popular black models of the day — like Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell — mostly were given weaves so stylists wouldn’t have to struggle to figure out how to work with their natural hair.”
Mr. Dickey noticed a shift in the mid-1990’s when celebrities like the singer India Arie began posing for fashion magazines. “With hip-hop and R&B having such unique individual style, it forced the fashion industry to include ethnic hair stylists,” he said.
Ms. Georgiopoulos, a former model, and Mr. Dickey have been in cahoots ever since he helped her with her own high-maintenance curls.
Their Hair Rules product line, which came out last year, includes a sulfate-free shampoo, which, according to Dailey Greene, an assistant Hair Rules stylist, “doesn’t have the usual stripping agents that make my hair lock up.”
Haircuts at Hair Rules, 828 Ninth Avenue, (212) 315-2929, start at $65 for men and $100 for women.
The Buzz will stick with the dreads around the corner.