Hair Salons As Economic Indicators: Sometimes Your Hair Needs New Real Estate, Too

Natasha Khan, Ericka Smart and Moi!

If you want to know how the Dallas economy is REALLY doing, check out the hairdressers. I was once told that Dallas women devour more blonde hair bleach than women in any other U.S. metropolis, and I believe it. I’m one of them!

Dallas hair salons are doing well, very well, thank you. Someone really needs to tell Robert Shiller that the hair biz is almost an indice for the real estate market: when I can’t get an appointment, I know the market is hot and home prices may be on the upswing. Similarly, I know of many hair stylists who had a tough time during the recession, tougher elsewhere than here in Dallas. Why? Our real estate market merely sneezed! And when the price of oil tanks, why you can walk right into any salon in town.

My locks have a total mind of their own. Many of you might know I’m really a curly-haired lass under those straight-yanked locks. Like the bad witch in The Wizard of Oz, toss water on me and I melt — well, I don’t melt, but my smooth straight hair kinks into a twirly, curly mane/mop that definitely has a mind of it’s own.

So why shouldn’t hair have it’s own Real Estate?

Enter Salon Lure, a new place in Uptown West Village that snagged my eye because of the cool interior decor: orange. Why would I be so gaga over orange? It’s truly a Real Estate agent’s favorite color. I can think of  three brokerages off the top of my head with orange branding, the best being Clay Stapp & Associates (they rock) and… oh yes, one other notorious Dallas agent. Blast from the past, but surely a story we will tell our grandchildren.

“Orange you glad you don’t Eat Macaroni Slowly?”

Sorry, inside joke.

Well, I found Salon Lure and was intrigued by the 3000 square foot space at 3839 McKinney. It’s owned by Natasha Khan, Sergio Ortega and Yvonne Hager, three partners who have years of hair experience after working together at another high-end Dallas salon: hairdressers, like chefs and editors, often leave their first jobs on the mothership to venture out and create entrepreneurial, independant satellites. For Salon Lure, this happened in May of 2010. Four years ago. The owner trio bravely started with 3,000 square feet. Wasn’t that a little, well, aggressive I asked Natasha?

“We started with seven chairs in this huge space,” she told me. “Now we’re filled with 16 chairs, all over the last four years, and we need more.”

Natasha says she doesn’t know if it’s the building and the growth of West Village and Uptown, but the salon is always packed. It may help that Natasha and Sergio have both been recognized by Allure magazine as the best colorist (her) and stylist (him)  in the country! Clients pull from Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Uptown, some even from Frisco and Plano. Natasha says she knows Dallas is growing just from the variety of her clientele.

“We style hair for retired gals and guys, as well as the young professionals. A lot of our clients love to walk here, too.”

That is fun, and walkable is great until it starts raining and the wicked witch of frizz erupts.

Anyhow, I love the salon and everyone it it, including the cool earth-centric furniture that reminds me of a Seagrape tree which I saw in Grand Cayman last week – these are original outdoor rooms of the Caymanians.

They use the sprawling trunks as furniture, seats and ledges. The murals in the color/treatment room, which is separate from the individual stations, was created by the same woman who painted murals at Trader Joes: Courtney Miles. Isn’t this a cool place to escape with laptop and ipad while your tresses are tended to. Because Lord knows, you can take the girl away from the beauty shop for about 6 to 7 days, but that’s about it. Dallas hair is big business.