Scattered throughout the northern suburbs are four venerated shrines to beauty, the most talked-about luxury salons in or near Lake County. They are heavenly havens for the rich and the famous, the blond and the beautiful, the dark and the handsome, the tan and the taut-and, of course, the rest of us.
These salons came up most in conversations with Lake County salon watchers as the places to luxuriate.
In these temples of pleasure and serenity, your hair, face and body are treated with artistic reverence, while you are treated like royalty. Amid serene and elegant surroundings, you can sip sparkling water or wine while your hair is styled to artistic perfection; enjoy classical music while having a facial, manicure or therapeutic massage; or escape the world and all its stresses in a hot hydrotherapy bath, laced with fragrant and stimulating oils or seaweeds.
Hairstyling and other services at these salons salons can cost more than average, of course, with cuts ranging up to $60. But their clients rave that the results and the royal treatment are well worth the price. Plus, each salon has its own one-of-kind, club-like mystique, created by charismatic owners and fueled by sightings of some of the North Shore’s most beautiful and famous people among the clientele, from sports stars and entertainers to socialites and tycoons.
But, perhaps most enticing of all, each of these salons offers its own unique version of heaven on Earth: a full and blissful “day of beauty” during which clients can revel in the full range of salon and spa services. For a couple of hundred dollars, you can be prettified, pampered and plied with gourmet food and refreshments all day long in a modern version of Queen (or King) for a Day. A team of beauty professionals will make you look and feel like a million, even if you don’t have a fortune.
“The full range of salon and spa services aren’t just for the rich and famous anymore. Today, people’s lives are so busy and stressful that a little pampering isn’t a luxury; it’s therapeutic,” said Fred Piattoni, executive director of the Chicago Cosmetology Association.
Yet, as wonderful as these salons may be, they can sometimes seem intimidating to the uninitiated. But fear not. Following are profiles of the owners and the salons, so you can walk in knowing what’s what.
Susan Glick, fashion director of the Apparel Center in Chicago, a wholesale markeplace for clothing buyers that often uses fashion models, said of these Big Four: “If you’re looking for cutting edge haircuts, color and trends, these are the names to look for.”
Michael Thomas Hair Salons
To WBBM-TV newscaster and Highland Park resident Penny Daniels, beauty is serious business. As a result, she said she won’t trust her hair to anyone but Warren Michaels, 47, of Glenview, co-owner of Michael Thomas Hair Salons in Deerfield, Buffalo Grove and Chicago.
“In television, you have to worry about every hair on your head, how it looks, how it falls. Warren was recommended to me as the best haircutter in Chicago, and I feel he’s lived up to that reputation. The whole staff is exceptional,” said Daniels, adding that her colorist is head and shoulders above all others.
Michaels and partner Tom Ramagnano, 49, of Lincolnshire, who together founded the first Michael Thomas in Deerfield 21 years ago, are passionate about professionalism in their salons.
“We take our work very seriously. We strive for excellence and consistency through ongoing training and by really listening to our clients,” Ramagnano said. “And we never skimp on the way we deal with people.”
Indeed, clients are treated royally from the moment they arrive, whether for a haircut or a full day of beauty. Special greeters welcome, check coats, offer refreshments and settle clients in to the salon’s serene and comfortable surroundings. And then there’s the salon’s famous seven-minute head massage, included with every shampoo.
“We’ve been doing the massage for 21 years. Now the industry has seminars on how to do it,” Ramagnano said.
The owners of the business, named Salon of the Year at the Chicago Cosmetology Association’s January benefit, have also received national accolades for hairstyling, coloring and other salon services-in part, they said, because every staff member is a specialist in one field only.
“We’re completely departmentalized. Everyone is an expert in their area, from the colorists to the makeup artists,” Ramagnano said.
And while the salon attracts local and national celebrities, such as actors Kelly McGillis and Robert Conrad and NBA star Danny Ainge, Warren said most clients are just regular people who want to look and feel their best.
“Our typical client isn’t trendy. She or he is classy, sophisticated and natural-looking,” he said.
In addition to the full range of hair services, the salon offers skin treatments, makeovers, manicures and more, with massage therapy available at the Buffalo Grove and Chicago locations.
Mario Tricoci Hair Salon and Day Spa
In 1976, Mario Tricoci, 52, of Long Grove opened what he said was the world’s first independent salon located inside a mall.
“It’s hard to believe now, but it was a revolutionary concept at that time. No one thought we could make it,” said Tricoci, who opened his original salon in Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.
Since then, he and wife Cheryl have not only made it, but they’ve made it big. They have six large salons and day spas in the Chicago area, including a north suburban location in Arlington Heights and a new spa outside Woodfield Mall.
In each place, clients enjoy hairstyling, manicures, pedicures, facials and makeovers at the hands of highly trained beauty experts, including Tricoci himself, who still cuts one day a week at each salon.
But the big story at most of Tricoci’s salons is the day spa. Separated from the salon, the spa includes an atrium lounge (where gourmet lunches are served) and a dozen beautifully appointed private rooms. In these rooms, clients have massages, body wraps and hydrotherapy baths and other services on an a la carte or package basis.
“Most beauty salons have a closet for a massage or facial, but we have a true world-class day spa,” Tricoci said.
One popular feature is the “wet room.” There, the client lies on a towel-covered table above which hangs a “rain bar,” with multiple showerheads. The technician may massage the body with exfoliating sea salts and citrus oils, apply a seaweed masque treatment or wrap the client in linens soaked in stimulating herbs, then rinse with a warm mist of water from the rain bar above. A therapeutic hydrotherapy bath might follow.
According to Cheryl Tricoci, “Day spas have arrived. People who lead successful, stressful lives can’t always spare a week to go to residential spas like La Costa in California or Canyon Ranch in Arizona. But they can spend a few hours here and get the same results.”
Among Tricoci’s entertainment industry clients is Nydia Rodriguez Terracini, who hosts the nationally syndicated Minority Business Report on WGN-TV. “I wouldn’t go to anyone but Mario,” said Terracini of Mt. Prospect. “The last time I had a facial there, I swear I came out looking 10 years younger. In fact, my producer said not to get another one because I was starting to look too young for the show.”
Of course, the salon caters to non-celebrities, too, such as an elderly woman (who wished to remain anonymous) who was given a Spa Package last year as a 70th birthday present. She liked it so much that she now insists her children give her spa gift certificates for every birthday and holiday.
“She told me she’s so happy not to be getting handbags anymore,” Cheryl said.
Teddie Kossof Salon and Spa
On a sign in Teddie Kossof’s office, “WIN” is an acronym for What’s Important Now. After touring his sprawling 17,000-square-foot Northfield salon and spa facility, one quickly realizes that what’s important to Kossof today is just about anything related to beauty, health and fitness.
His salon actually is a trilevel mini-mall of salon, spa, fitness, medical, beauty and food services, the idea being to give clients every life-enhancing service they could ever want in one place. There’s even an in-house travel agency where clients can make vacation reservations in between treatments.
Kossof, 48, of Northfield, a former college football player turned hairstylist, opened the salon in 1976, renting out one floor of the building he now owns and occupies in its entirety. He plans to add on a complete health and fitness center in a few years.
“I’ve been a leader in a lot of areas,” he said. “People are so busy today, making their lives easier and better simply makes sense.”
Kossof offers independent contractors, from personal trainers to doctors, the opportunity to work under his umbrella. Drs. Nick Caro and Richard Sofinski are his newest partners, specializing in eye care and consultations on radial keratotomy, a surgical procedure to correct nearsightedness.
“Ophthalmology is simply another part of a total beauty and fitness package,” said Caro, who joins a dentist, cosmetic surgeon and dermatologist at the salon.
Kossof, who still styles, is a regular at Chicago’s major fashion shows and maintains a high profile on the charity circuit as well. He’s even been in a Revlon commercial and has styled the hair of many stars, from singer Lainie Kazan to actor James Earl Jones.
Gloria Rinella of Winnetka, a prominent North Shore volunteer, is a longtime fan.
“Teddie’s so needed on the North Shore. I just got back from a week at Canyon Ranch, and it was fantastic. But he has all those services, and more right here,” she said.
Charles Ifergan Coiffures
There’s a cosmopolitan air about the Charles Ifergan salon in Deerfield, thanks in part to manager Jean Michel Ifergan, 48, of Deerfield and formerly of Paris, Mexico City and Beverly Hills.
His brother, Charles, who founded the original and still highly fashionable salon in downtown Chicago in 1973, asked him to open and operate their first suburban location 12 years ago. (There is now an Oak Brook location, too.) Since then Jean Michel has made sure his north suburban clientele enjoys the same high-fashion haircuts and beauty services that put the downtown salon on the trendsetting map.
One of his clients is Penny Levin of Highland Park, president of Pal Productions, a business consulting firm, and among the “Top 100 Women to Watch,” according to the Today’s Chicago Woman monthly newspaper.
“There is a distinct European feel to the shop, a sophistication you don’t normally get in the suburbs,” Levin said. “I used to have very long hair, but Jean Michel convinced me to go very short. At first I was shell-shocked, but he was right. It’s a dynamic look.”
Jean Michel, who retains a strong French accent, said, “Charles set the standard for Chicago. We do not sell haircuts; we sell fashion. We send our education director to Paris and all the major beauty events around the world, and then we create our own signature look.”
When he moved to Deerfield from ultra-chic Beverly Hills, he said he had his doubts about the clientele he would meet. But he’s found his typical clients to be fashion savvy.
“Most want to look like our models,” he said, pointing to a salon photo gallery of Ifergan hair and makeup models. “But some still want to look like movie stars, and I do my best. Of course, sometimes it’s impossible. … I tell one lady she reminds me of a movie star, but I don’t tell her it’s Edward G. Robinson!”
Ifergan stylists rotate around all the salons during the week, working and training as a team. Charles Ifergan styles and trains staff in Deerfield on Fridays, where former Chicago Bear Jim Covert and wife Penny of Lake Forest are among his clients.
Penny Covert said, “Nancy McMahon (quarterback Jim’s wife) originally referred me to Charles, and I love what he’s done for me. But I’d trust myself to anyone here, because the entire staff is so professional and efficient. They make sure it’s my special time to relax.”
In addition to hairstyling and makeovers, the salon also offers manicures, pedicures, facials and massages.
Tranquility and Escape
There are several quiet beauties in the northern suburbs, smaller salons and spas that offer a high-quality, lower-profile alternative to the fashionable flash of the big-name players, including Tranquility in Barrington and Margot’s Hair Salon and Escape in Lake Forest.
Angela Smith founded Tranquility 10 years ago with the goal of bringing “a Michigan Avenue salon to downtown Barrington.”
One of the ways she has done that is to hire Marilyn Bennett as her salon educator. Bennett is on the education committee for the National Cosmetology Association, which launches trends and teaches new styles to the industry. Thus, Tranquility has an inside line to the latest looks, products and beauty services. It is also one of the few salons of any size to offer hydrotherapy bath treatments as part of its complete spa services. And for added client privacy, all the technicians have their own “offices.”
Kim Duchossois Lenczuk of Barrington, whose family owns Arlington International Racecourse, is a loyal patron. She said, “The last thing I want is an intimidating, pseudo-hip salon. . . . I like Tranquility because it’s a very private, professional salon. It’s suburban but has a metropolitan feel.”
At Margot’s in Lake Forest, whether you’re well-to-do or just a mom with a lot to do, owner Margot Hernandez and her staff treat everyone with the same friendly professionalism that has become the salon’s trademark.
“Our goal is to make clients relax and really enjoy themselves, while receiving the best in hair and beauty services,” explained Hernandez, who has been in Lake Forest for 12 years.
On the sunlit upper floor of Lake Forest’s downtown indoor arcade, the elegant, flower-filled salon serves adults and children alike. Last year Hernandez teamed with stylist Ginger Savino in creating an adjacent luxury spa for men and women, called Escape, where massages, skin renewal treatments, tanning and other services are offered in serene and private surroundings.
World traveler and Lake Forest Travel president Lydia Scuderi said, “Margot has a flair. She’s not your typical suburban hairdresser by any means. In fact, when I go to salons in Paris, they’re not half as good.”
Mary Brown of Lake Forest, a mother of five, noted, “I’ll never go to a Chicago salon again. Margot has it all, and she makes everyone feel like family.”
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Michael Thomas, 724 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield, 708-945-6900. Mario Tricoci, 999 W. Dundee Rd., Arlington Heights, 708-398-2070. Teddie Kossof, 281 Waukegan Rd., Northfield, 708-446-9526. Charles Ifergan, 380 Lake-Cook Rd., Deerfield, 708-940-0900. Tranquility, 123 Main St., Barrington, 708-382-6001. Margot’s Hair Salon and Escape, 272 E. Deerpath Rd., Lake Forest, 708-615-2310 and 708-615-2155.
