1435 Wazee St.; 303-572-1435;
The treatment: Morning Glory shampoo and blow-dry, 40 minutes, $20. Most salons don’t open up this early, but Grand recently started offering services at 7 a.m. for women on the go.
This spa is for: downtown dwellers and working women who want top- of-the-line products and services at a no-nonsense price.
First impressions: At 8 a.m., you get a cheerful greeting from the receptionist and an offer to top off your coffee before you head to the shampoo station.
The treatment: Starting the day with a shampoo and head massage gets the blood moving. It’s invigorating in a way you can’t duplicate at home. And having your locks washed, plumped with volumizers and blown out in small, smooth sections ensures that whatever else happens that day, at least your hair will look great.
Amenities: The offer of muffins and coffee allows you to have breakfast on the run so you’ll get to work with nice hair and no hunger pangs. If you have a minute, check out what’s hanging on the walls. At most salons, you’ll see walls filled with enlargements of outre updos. Here there’s an exhibit of Kim Allen’s black-and- white photographs of Lower Downtown taken from 1983 to 1991.
Make the most of your visit: Pay attention when the stylist is explaining how different products and styling tools work. They use Phytologie and Bumble and Bumble products.
Repeat visit planned? Yes, for a cut or one of the salon’s blow-dry boot camps where you learn to do a pro-like job of wielding the brush and dryer.
Know before you go: Bring quarters for the on-street parking, which is easy to find in the early morning but harder later in the day. Get directions, as the salon is tucked in the back of the West End Lofts.
Suzanne S. Brown
