24 hours with Christo
The road less travelled
Cornering the hairdressing market for curly hair is Christo, born who in Cyprus who now runs two salons, one here and one in New York
He took one look at my hair and told me to come back the next day. After numerous disappointing hair cuts and years of unproductive hair products, I had little faith in what could be done to fix my unruly, curly hair; but I went back the next day. Three and a half hours later, I emerged from Curlisto feeling and looking like a changed person. But not just anybody could do what Christo had done. Specialising in curly hair, Christo has managed to climb the social and business ladder, land firmly on his feet with a hair salon on Fifth Avenue, a curly hair product line and even an Oscar invite to style celebs’ hair at the Oscars!
Christo was born and raised in Cyprus. At the age of 12, he realised he had a passion for hairdressing. “I used to work at my uncle’s hair salon for some time cutting friends’ hair and I loved it,” he said. By 1988, he had moved to France where he worked for five years with a team of hair stylists and Wella International. “I was training and touring with the best, learning about everything from cutting techniques to colouring,” he explained.
However, Christo was never interested in the basics. He was intrigued by the gap there was regarding curly hair and decided to take the most difficult route of hairdressing. “I had trained on straight and wavy hair but that’s nothing compared to the kind of treatment curly hair requires,” he says, “because curly hair has a mind of it’s own. I believe that if you can cut and style curly hair then you can do straight hair blindfolded.” It was only a matter of time before Christo made the art of styling curly hair a full time job with a salon now in Nicosia but more importantly, a product line of over 40 products, all designed to relieve frizzy and unmanageable hair.
Nowadays, Christo lives in New York with his wife, who he met at a fashion show and their six-year old daughter. Living in New York, it goes without saying that Christo isn’t much of a sleeper. He’s up by 6 and goes straight for the coffee machine. “I don’t really have breakfast, so my next step in my daily routine is walking my collie, Jolie.”
Since 2002, Christo is the proud owner of Curlisto, a hair salon on Fifth Avenue in New York. But in order to keep his mind clear and avoid turning into a workaholic – he proudly announces he is not- Christo has another passion. “I practice Tae Kwon Doe and I have a red belt, which is one level lower than the black belt. It’s something that relaxes me and I also meditate every morning at 7 for half an hour.” By 7.30 he’s in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Alexia, his daughter and by 8:15 he drops her off at the Greek-American school she attends, goes home, takes a shower and he’s at the salon by 9:30. “Although my days do involve a lot of work at the salon, Monday is a day where I sit down with my agents and publicists discussing various fashion shows I will be taking part in and other major events,” he said.
Rubbing shoulders with celebrities is something Christo has surprisingly gotten used to. “Well, yes, I was at the Oscars, which was the best experience ever. Actually, it was a three-day experience because we had the celebrities coming into a private huge penthouse, where we gave them styling tips and consultation for the special day but overall as well. But I’ve also styled hair at the Grammys and I’ve met Nia Long, Stephanie Seymour, Debra Messing, Anna Vissi, who I have also styled.”
The list of events and fashion shows Christo has taken part in are countless and his clients number around 2,000 but come 6pm, the hairstylist closes the doors to his salon and heads home. “But it really doesn’t end there. I get home, get ready for one of my Tae Kwon Doe classes and by 9pm, I’m home decked and dressed to go out for dinner,” he says, reminding me that he never gets enough sleep despite his hectic schedule. But maybe he should start resting and gaining his strength for major fashion shows down in South Beach Miami, LA and San Francisco, which he has been summoned to attend. “Even when I don’t get into bed by 1 am, it doesn’t bother me and I would never change my job.” Celebs and highly exposed events? Who would wanna change?
