“I love being creative and making people feel their best,” says hairstylist Philip Foresto.
Last week, he and his wife, Jewel, opened their new studio, Salon III, on Magazine Street above Pollack Glass Studio. It’s already a big success. He no longer accepts new clients and current clients need to book their appointment three months in advance.
“I believe that the main reason why my work is different from the others is that I focus on maintaining the integrity of hair and specializing in colors and high contrasts,” he says.
The salon also offers hair replacement, extensions and hair removal, eyelash extensions, a nail salon, permanent makeup, microblading and waxing. He also specializes in men’s grooming.
Foresto moved to New Orleans from Jacksonville, Florida 10 years ago. His wife’s father and uncle (Todd and Michael Grosch, respectively) were in the hair business in New Orleans and it seemed a good fit for Foresto’s creative passion.
“I’ve always been artistic and I directed that passion into hair,” he says.
He’s particularly known for his beautiful balayage, the name of this technique comes from the French word "to sweep.”
“It’s a freehand highlighting technique that I use to paint on the color,” he says. “It makes the hair look more natural. The hair also grows out more seamlessly compared to foil highlights.”
Foresto is not only known in New Orleans but is a bit of an internet sensation with 18,000 Instagram followers. He makes popular videos on such things as perfect brush outs and how to apply highlights.
Foresto says he enjoys making the online videos.
“They go hand-in-hand with my desire to be creative,” he says.
He says he loves using high-contrast colors in his videos because he says they draw the most attention.
“It’s all about getting good content and making sure the lighting is right,” he says. “Window lighting is everything.”
One of his videos recently posted on MODERN’s Instagram feed.
“I woke up to see my work featured on Modern Salon’s feed and I was humbled and honored,” he says. “It definitely motivated me to put out more videos.”
Foresto is also a member of Behind the Chair, an organization of salon professionals with more than 800,000 members worldwide, which offers 25,000 pages of salon-related articles, collections, step-by-steps and business support on its website. He’s part of their team and often appears at workshops and conferences offering classes in his techniques.
Foresto says owning his own business is highly rewarding.
“It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s above and beyond satisfying.”
Salon III
132 Magazine St.
