Racked Chicago

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Maxine Salon Gets Three New Stylists; All Hailing From Trio

by Jared Hatch

Hair mecca Maxine Salon, just below Chicago Ave in River North, is celebrating three new stylists to enhance their already renowned team. Colorist John Blue, stylist Reese Travis, and stylist Aaron David, all formerly of Trio Salon, are now a part of the Maxine team. This is an incredible move for the stylists in their own right as well as Maxine because they understand each other's strengths in cut, color, styling and product knowledge so well.

John Blue is a colorist by day, rapper by night. Outside the salon, Blue becomes Johnny Dangerous, but he knows how to share the spotlight and give his clients that feeling of being a celebrity themselves. John Blue on Gray: "When it comes to gray hair, I'm a huge proponent of keeping things light and soft. Too often colorists will go toward darker tones, which aren't always flattering to the client's skin."

Reese Travis brings a creativity and style to his work that clients love. Throw in a dedication to the latest techniques and you have a perfect combination. The #1 mistake Reese sees is too much product - start with a good foundation, get most of the moisture out, then add the right amount of the right product. When it comes to the art of the updo, Reese is a veritable sculptor. From soft and cascading to sleek and architectural, the result is always a masterpiece, in that flashing-lights-and-hushed-crowd kind of way. Growing up in Iowa, Reese was somewhat at a loss for willing hair models, so he often settled for braiding manes and tails. Totally Midwestern adorable.

Aaron David takes the term detail-oriented to a new level. Sometimes he can be a little obsessive about his work, like if a cut doesn't meet a certain standard, he loses sleep. Aaron is a people-watcher extroidinaire- he gets inspiration from people walking down the street; their clothes, their hair. "I take little bits of the places I go and people I meet, and I make it my own." And unlike his two coworkers, Aaron didn't start out cutting or coloring, he started his professional life as an auto technician. After a few years under the hood, he decided it was time for a creative change which after Trio has now landed him at Maxine.