Not Cut-and-Dried

Two men in their 20s can’t take their eyes off of the two bikini-clad hair stylists at the Bikini Barber Shop in Costa Mesa.

“Hi, guys; need a trim?” stylist Tiffany Gambsky asks.

Another customer sits in the barber chair and pretends not to notice that Gambsky is wearing an electric blue bikini top and tiny sarong that only half covers her bikini bottom.

Bikini Barber Shop is banking on the notion that, when it comes to choosing a beauty salon, hair isn’t all that people have on their minds.

In Orange County, it seems, there’s a beauty salon to suit all kinds of tastes, from chichi to cheesecake.

Some avant-garde salons have the ambience of a contemporary art gallery, with all-white interiors and framed pictures. The message behind the artsy ambience: that stylists are artists, and clients are works in progress.

Clients never know what to expect when they visit Crew, an out-of-the-ordinary salon at the Lab in Costa Mesa.

The interior changes almost daily, thanks to a revolving exhibition of photography and art and rotating funky furniture such as animal-print love seats and chairs, which clients can buy.

Stylists don’t have permanent stations. Mobile, stand-alone mirrors move wherever they stand to work on clients.

The decor’s only permanent features: large, vintage-looking ball lights that dangle from an asymmetrical ceiling.

“We’re never caught in a rut,” says Thomas Gaglio, salon owner. “We change [the mobile stations] weekly. Sometimes I roll them outside,” and stylists cut hair in the Lab’s courtyard.

“Clients either want to get in and out of a salon or be entertained,” Gaglio says. “In this environment they want to be a little more daring. We can come in and really create.”

While Crew attracts everyone from baby-boom executives to grandparents, it’s often visited by the Gen-X crowd that subscribes to the Lab’s creative, nonconformist philosophy. Average cost of haircut and blow-dry at Crew: $50.

Salons have different ways to make clients feel special. Some pamper their patrons, offering wine or cappuccino amid plush surroundings.

At the Jose Eber Salon in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, clients are often drawn to the celebrity name (Jose’s) and the sophisticated black-and-white decor. Even the stylists are chic; the male stylists often sport ponytails, and the women favor drastic, deep-hued lipstick and burgundy-hued hair.

Eber is usually on the premises one day a month, and clients pay dearly ($75 to $100) for a 10-minute consultation with the master. A team of stylists does the actual cut and styling, for about $75 a haircut.

During a recent visit, Eber sports his trademark cowboy hat (with snakeskin trim) and long hair worn straight down his back. He runs his hands through a client’s hair and tells her in his French accent what changes he recommends.

Debbie Donahue of Fountain Valley sits in a barber chair studying her reflection while Eber contemplates her long blond locks. It took her three months to work up the nerve to visit Eber.

“I’m nervous,” Donahue says.

“When is the last time you had a [style] change?” he asks.

“Six years,” she says.

After inquiring about her hobbies and lifestyle, Eber makes his pronouncement:

“First, I want you to become a redhead,” he says.

“OK,” says Donahue, looking a little shocked.

“Then I want to lose the length,” he says, pointing to a spot midway on her neck that will involve a hair loss of at least eight inches.

At this, Donahue’s eyes grow wide.

“It’s going to be perfect,” Eber tells her, and Donahue’s off to be colored and cut by other stylists, an autographed copy of Eber’s book, “Beyond Hair,” under her arm.

As if its modern light fixtures and upscale interior weren’t enough, Jose Eber Salon will unveil new, more luxurious surroundings in May--more than doubling in size to create an Art Nouveau-style urban retreat. The retreat will be decorated in warm hues of terra cotta and cream with wood accents and come equipped with a cappuccino bar. There, clients will receive facials, massages and other treatments.

“It’s our job to make people feel better about themselves,” Eber says.

Somewhere in between the no-frills salons and the plush establishments are salons that strive for a tasteful environment without pretensions.

At Salon Salon in Laguna Niguel, co-owner Anthony Cupo wanted to create a clean-looking, contemporary “New York-type of salon.”

“We wanted it to look upscale but more trendy,” Cupo says. “We wanted to make it look like a SoHo, loft-type of salon, not a mom-and-pop place.”

The floor of the salon is concrete, offset by the warmth of the wooden styling stations. The decor is modern and simple but does not have artistic aspirations.

“We’re not punky; we’re a yuppie salon,” Cupo says. Average price of a haircut and styling at Salon Salon: $40.

For those who don’t care about sleek decors or celebrity stylists, Orange County has many low-priced, walk-in salons such as the Haircut Store and Supercuts where they don’t need an appointment and a haircut can be had for about $10.

Bikini Barber Shop, which opened in December and offers haircuts for $9, put a new twist on the standard drop-in salon by having the stylists wear swimsuits.

“The first client we had was a 70-year-old woman,” says Greg Hall, co-owner of the salon. “Everybody thinks it’s pretty funny. We’ve only had one negative phone call from a woman who said, ‘I don’t think that’s appropriate.’ I told her, ‘Lady, you can see more [skin] at the beach.’ ”

Posters of bikini-clad women hang on the walls, and surfboards adorn the salon’s simple interior. A common question asked by patrons: Don’t the stylists get cold working in the swimsuits?

“We keep the heater on,” says stylist Christina Escobar.

Others ask if the stylists will do private haircuts; they don’t.

“Often they’re surprised they got a good haircut from a girl in a bikini,” Escobar says. “I’ve been cutting hair eight years. I don’t cut hair any different.”

The salon operates much like a Supercuts. Patrons drop in and wait for the first available stylist.

Says Escobar: “They don’t mind waiting.”