Champagne WISHES, Caviar Dreams
In his new salons at Wynn and Encore, Claude Baruk makes both come true in the form of Champagne-colored highlights and indulgent caviar hair treatments.
Celebrity stylist Claude Baruk floats among some of the world’s most glamorous hot spots with ease—but he’s landed permanently in Las Vegas, where he just opened a first-of-its-kind hair spa at Wynn Las Vegas. Baruk had been summering in Saint-tropez and spending his winters in Courchevel. In France, his work included “house” calls to private yachts, styling for celebrities such as Naomi Campbell and Uma Thurman, and big high-fashion photo shoots. So he arrived in the US as managing director of the Wynn and Encore salons already understanding the international jet-set glam that permeates the Strip. Luxury travelers are no strangers to spa treatments, but while indulging in facials and massages Baruk had a realization: No place offered a similar experience that focused solely on hair. So he built the world’s first hair spa, which recently reopened as Claude Baruk Salon at Wynn.
“It’s an exciting new concept,” he says. “It is like a regular spa treatment room but for hair. You’re in a private cabin with nice music and ambience, and all of the attention is on you and the nourishment of your hair. It’s an experience you cannot find anywhere else.” Among the treatments booked in the private room: various hair masks, anti-frizz Keratin Smoothing Treatment, Kérastase’s 24-carat Ritual for shine and softness, and a Shu Infusion Ceremony that hydrates the hair and scalp while cleansing built-up impurities. His famous Ultimate Caviar Ritual, also by Kérastase, is especially popular. It starts with an indulgently lengthy scalp massage, before a “caviar” treatment is mixed with a mask cream and applied. “You start right at the roots and work all the way through rows of hair,” he says. “It makes hair smooth and shiny. It’s revolutionary—the best treatment on the market.” After moving to Las Vegas last year with his then-pregnant wife and young daughter (he is now the proud father of two little girls), Baruk got right to work rebuilding both the Wynn and Encore salons from the ground up. Claude Baruk Salon at Encore opened in the spring, and Claude Baruk Salon at Wynn reopened in the fall. Both reflect his clean, modern aesthetic and the heightened luxury that speak to Wynn’s discriminating clients. “Everything is 1,000 percent different and completely new, from floor to ceiling,” he says. “There’s fine new furniture from Italy, all modern and mostly bright white with gray accents.” Baruk’s A-team of 12 top stylists and
“All of the attention is on you and the nourishment of your hair. It’s an experience you cannot find anywhere else.” — claude baruk
manicurists and three makeup artists are all on hand to offer the complete beauty package. The salon also offers updos, bang trims, extensions, blowouts, perms, and relaxers, in addition to barber services, makeup application, lash extensions, and nails, plus the special treatments done in the private spa room, of course. His own proprietary smoothing technique uses steam and a straightening iron to massage a hair mask into the hair. “It renovates hair completely,” he says. “The steam opens up the cuticles of the hair, which gets the cream deep into the hair. Then the iron closes it in. It’s a very, very deep treatment that makes hair shiny.” Baruk has his own five-step technique for cuts that he calls the “best way to maintain a consistently high level of service for all of my clients.” His French balayage highlighting technique forgoes foil for an impressive freehand method that offers greater depth and a sun-kissed finish—perfect for clients in sun-soaked Las Vegas. “It’s done on wet hair for a very natural effect,” he says. “It’s been a huge success.” But you need only witness the parade of stunning manes coming out the door to understand that.
Claude Baruk Salon at Encore, 702-770-4480; Claude Baruk Salon at Wynn, 702-770-3900