Preece & Toff

Posted by The Daily Obsession

on October 31, 2009

Who: Stylists Matthew Preece and Kristoff Ball

What: Preece & Toff Salon at Fred Segal

Where: 420 Broadway in Santa Monica

When: Monday-Sunday

Why: Located in breezy Santa Monica in the former Fred Segal Beauty space, Preece & Toff is a full service salon and spa. When you walk into their beautiful open loft-inspired space, your immediate thought will be that it is a modern zen retreat meet rock n’roll. The minimalist space is mostly black and white, with splashes of color from contemporary art by stencil graffiti artist Nick Walker and legendary artist Shepard Fairey. When you walk in, you check in at the far right of the space, while sleek leather couches offer comfortable seating while you wait. The salon itself is nicely spaced out, so you never feel crowded but instead have the devoted attention of your stylist.

Before I get to the details of my service, here’s some background about the salon. Kristoff and Matthew met at the former Fred Segal Beauty. They worked together again at another well-known LA salon, Chris McMillan, where they touched the tresses of numerous celebs from Pink to Gwen Stefani. When the empty Fred Segal Beauty space became available, they snapped it up and made plans for the opening of their own salon. In November of 2008, they opened their doors with the philosophy of incorporating spirituality and health as a part of their services. (For instance, in addition to the salon and spa, there’s also a yoga studio where Matthew offers free yoga lessons to the staff.) Now if you’re wondering about their skills, not to worry. Their current client list reads like the who’s who of Hollywood, including Alicia Silverstone, Whitney Port, Ashley Tisdale, Gavin Rossdale, Brooke Burke, Rita Wilson and LeAnn Rimes (who gets weekly blowouts here).

For my appointment, Matthew did my cut and color. I wanted a drastic change in terms of cut. The length of my hair was more than halfway down my back. It was just too heavy, and moreover, lacked shape, movement and volume. I wanted to cut at least 6+ inches off to make it a couple inches below the shoulder. Matthew somehow interpreted what I wanted exactly. The result was a shoulder length cut with a ton of layers, movement, volume…and life. It looked healthy and touchable again! He also gave me some highlights – just about 15 in very small groupings. The result gave me a barely there halo of color that glistens and shines in the sun. They could possibly be the best highlights of my life so far. Overall, the caliber of their service is extremely high, and I imagine that this carries over to all the other stylists in the salon. If you’re looking for a new stylist in LA, Preece & Toff is where to go!

P.S. During my appointment, I also tapped Matthew for some of his top blowout tips to share with you:

- An amazing cut is important. Invest in a great cut because it will make all the difference in how your hair looks.
- Have patience. Take a round brush. Wrap it around your hair, and slowly brush through with the nozzle of your blowdryer pointed at the brush. This can take up to 45 – 60 minutes. (This is how the celebs get their hair blown out!)
- To have a truly great blowout, “overdry” your hair. By this, Matthew means to make sure there’s absolutely zero water left in your locks. If there is moisture still, there’s still a chance of frizz!

Preece & Toff is located at 420 Broadway (entrance on 5th) in Santa Monica. Call 310.907.4022 to book an appointment. More photos of the space below.