House Rules

Aside from learning the dirty details of Tiger Woods' affairs and discovering the hot new trends according to Suri Cruise, not much gets accomplished during lengthy hair appointments. But, one local salon would like its clients to pass the time with an option that goes beyond a stack of gossip rags. Global House of Hair's color bar is studded with personal computers.

Jill Nuthak-St. Onge, creative director for the Summerlin salon, got the idea by "just watching how (her) clients behaved."

Lugging a laptop to hair appointments to take care of unfinished business seemed like an unnecessary hassle. Jill originally had her office-dwelling clients in mind with the PC stations, but quickly discovered they offered a plethora of benefits. Catching up on Facebook, updating Twitter and shopping on the Web all make an hour and a half appointment fly by. The fact a little Web surfing manages to mute antsy kids doesn't hurt matters, either.

Keeping the client top priority has worked out well for the salon. Business has improved each month since its May '09 opening, despite a bruised economy, and new clients poke their heads in daily. Jill credits that to their Albertson's shopping center location. In fact, for one walk-in client who had to be seen then and there, the owners stored her groceries in their fridge so she didn't have to make a trip home.

It's thoughtfulness such as this that separates Global House of Hair from high-end salons on the Strip, but the service is indistinguishable. For the ladies who drive through tourist traffic and trek through casinos to have a celebrity hairstylist work on their hair, the salon has its own secret weapon. Global Director Michael St. Onge's 28 years of service in the hair industry took him from sweeping floors to styling hair at Fashion Week in New York to the corporate level of Loreal, where he met his wife, Jill. He's worked on Charlize Theron, Fergie, Victoria's Secret models and has made appearances on the "Oprah" show.

But you have to talk to Jill to discover that because her husband isn't one of those stylists fighting his clients for space on the red carpet. Michael refuses to wave his resume under anyone's nose, but when a client's looking for bragging rights, the staff point to him. "He's our 'somebody,' '' says Jill, who specializes in color.

According to Michael, it all starts with getting to know the client, what they love about their hair and what they hate about their hair. The three-person staff (Jill's nephew Eric Nuthak serves as artistic director) make sure they have a clear vision of the cut or color their client's asking for before the shampoo begins. "Without a good consultation you're in the ditch before you even start," he says.

From there, the staff make sure to keep clients completely in the loop. Unlike swanky salons, the shampoo, blowout and style are all part of the haircut here, rather than charged individually. If someone changes their highlights from regular to Balayage, they're told up front the change in price ($75-$95).

Jill compares the trickery used to drive up costs with the deception she's experienced at spas. "I get massages and I've had them ask if I like the smell of a eucalyptus oil," she says. "Of course I say yes, but that's because no one tells me it's another $65. ... There aren't any surprises at our front desk."

The goal when opening Global House of Hair was to debut a high-end salon with mainstream prices. Women's haircuts start at $53, single process color starts at $55 and updo's start at $60.

There might not be Swarovski chandeliers dripping from the ceiling or white-gloved attendants opening the door for you, but Global House of Hair still has that VIP feel to it. Set in a sleek, mostly white salon accented with bold shots of tomato red, the establishment certainly has the look. Shu Uemura and Loreal Professionnel products decorate the retail shelves. But it's when the sun sets over the Red Rock mountains -- the view from the salon windows -- that clients are reminded not all perks are born on the Strip.

The way Michael tells it, nothing is guaranteed until you've sat in the salon chair and left a happy client. Not even at the pricey places. "You can go to a beautiful, high-end salon," he says, "but that doesn't mean the person working there is high-end."

Global House of Hair is located at 11700 W. Charleston Blvd. Suite B110, 476-5300