We live in a world that’s all about having choices. There are dozens of hair color techniques to try, hundreds of salons to get it done at, and even more stylists capable of executing your new ‘do. When it comes right down to it, choosing a salon can be downright overwhelming. That’s where Vasken Salon in White Plains, NY, aims to be different than its competitors.
Thanks to the totally personalized service guests receive and the expertise behind the chair, owner Vasken Demirjian has built a business putting each customer’s unique needs and timeless color ahead of trends that may pass in a few months.
If you’re in the market for a stylist that’s all about you, read on to learn more about Vasken Salon.
“My brother had grandiose ideas, he thought salon businesses were all about making it bigger and creating more—that was not my idea,” Demirjian explains. “I thought it was important to have a jewel box.”
It took two long years of managing the salon before Demirjian officially claimed the business as his own and started the process of revamping it. In the process, he had to learn an entirely new skill set: the art of coloring hair. The experience taught him how capable people can be when stretched outside of their personal comfort zones.
“If you are driven and have passion, you can pretty much do anything in life,” he says.
At Vasken Salon, Demirjian focuses on creating the most luxurious and personalized service for his guests. By hiring a mix of experienced international stylists and young, fresh-out-of-school artists to the 25-person staff, Demirjian hopes to build a salon that’s a mix of experience and new, creative ideas.
“They come in as a hair person, but I make them into a specialist,” he says. “Nobody does everything in my salon, they can’t. It’s just not realistic.”
“The goal of the salon was to create a backdrop to a canvas,” he says, citing hair as the ultimate art form. “We want to create an artwork, an installation, and at the same time a salon unlike any [other] salon.”
To do that, Demirjian’s team pulled ideas from around the world. The ceiling of Vasken Salon is covered in 2,000 lampshades, a design feature inspired by the lobby of a Japanese hotel.
When you visit Vasken Salon, the intent is to let go and be taken cared for. Luxury finishes including porcelain flooring help to reinforce the spalike feel. Demirjian hopes that the elegant, refined color the salon’s well known for is only one portion of the business’s overarching aesthetic.
“Taste becomes tangible...If you have taste and if you know how to materialize taste into a living person or inject them with your idea of your taste, then they run with it,” he says.
It isn't just customers that have noticed, either. In 2010, the salon won the prestigious North American Hairstyling Award for Salon Design Of The Year—and we haven't even gotten to the services yet.
Inside, his staff work to provide customized color to every guest—an ethos Demirjian insists on.
“We have so many different sentiments, so many different emotions when you’re dealing with clients,” he explains. “It’s not about hair anymore, and it is a lot more than that. It’s about giving greater customer service. It’s about becoming a greater aesthetic judge.”
Notably, the salon carries and recommends Kérastase products to its customers. Demirjian has been a fan of the brand since its Europe-exclusive days, thanks to a former girlfriend who worked as a beauty editor.
“Kérastase is quality,” he says.
At Vasken Salon, a color appointment with the owner will run you $400 while standard color services fall closer to $110. A women’s haircut costs between $95 and $125 depending on texture (curly cuts are performed by DevaCurl certified stylists), while a men’s cut is $100. The salon also offers specialty services like Brazilian blowouts ($350), keratin treatments (from $150), and event styling (from $115). A blowout is $45.
Thanks to the totally personalized service guests receive and the expertise behind the chair, owner Vasken Demirjian has built a business putting each customer’s unique needs and timeless color ahead of trends that may pass in a few months.
If you’re in the market for a stylist that’s all about you, read on to learn more about Vasken Salon.
The Brand
Unlike many salon owners, Demirjian never intended to run a business. Working professionally as an antiquities dealer in London, the Istanbul native planned a trip to visit his brother’s salon in White Plains, NY. Tragically, the brother passed away in 1994, leaving Demirjian to pick up the pieces of a business that had already been open for a decade.“My brother had grandiose ideas, he thought salon businesses were all about making it bigger and creating more—that was not my idea,” Demirjian explains. “I thought it was important to have a jewel box.”
It took two long years of managing the salon before Demirjian officially claimed the business as his own and started the process of revamping it. In the process, he had to learn an entirely new skill set: the art of coloring hair. The experience taught him how capable people can be when stretched outside of their personal comfort zones.
“If you are driven and have passion, you can pretty much do anything in life,” he says.
At Vasken Salon, Demirjian focuses on creating the most luxurious and personalized service for his guests. By hiring a mix of experienced international stylists and young, fresh-out-of-school artists to the 25-person staff, Demirjian hopes to build a salon that’s a mix of experience and new, creative ideas.
“They come in as a hair person, but I make them into a specialist,” he says. “Nobody does everything in my salon, they can’t. It’s just not realistic.”
The Location
When it came to the layout of the salon, Demirjian approached the process with an international traveler’s eye.“The goal of the salon was to create a backdrop to a canvas,” he says, citing hair as the ultimate art form. “We want to create an artwork, an installation, and at the same time a salon unlike any [other] salon.”
To do that, Demirjian’s team pulled ideas from around the world. The ceiling of Vasken Salon is covered in 2,000 lampshades, a design feature inspired by the lobby of a Japanese hotel.
When you visit Vasken Salon, the intent is to let go and be taken cared for. Luxury finishes including porcelain flooring help to reinforce the spalike feel. Demirjian hopes that the elegant, refined color the salon’s well known for is only one portion of the business’s overarching aesthetic.
“Taste becomes tangible...If you have taste and if you know how to materialize taste into a living person or inject them with your idea of your taste, then they run with it,” he says.
It isn't just customers that have noticed, either. In 2010, the salon won the prestigious North American Hairstyling Award for Salon Design Of The Year—and we haven't even gotten to the services yet.
The Services
Above all else, Vasken Salon has become known as a business dedicated to outstanding color. That makes sense, primarily since it’s located just outside of one of the world’s largest repositories of art and culture.Inside, his staff work to provide customized color to every guest—an ethos Demirjian insists on.
“We have so many different sentiments, so many different emotions when you’re dealing with clients,” he explains. “It’s not about hair anymore, and it is a lot more than that. It’s about giving greater customer service. It’s about becoming a greater aesthetic judge.”
Notably, the salon carries and recommends Kérastase products to its customers. Demirjian has been a fan of the brand since its Europe-exclusive days, thanks to a former girlfriend who worked as a beauty editor.
“Kérastase is quality,” he says.
At Vasken Salon, a color appointment with the owner will run you $400 while standard color services fall closer to $110. A women’s haircut costs between $95 and $125 depending on texture (curly cuts are performed by DevaCurl certified stylists), while a men’s cut is $100. The salon also offers specialty services like Brazilian blowouts ($350), keratin treatments (from $150), and event styling (from $115). A blowout is $45.
