World Famous New York Dry Cut

Not everyone is cut out to do antique watch repair, perform microsurgery, or paint Old Master miniatures. The same it true of dry cutting hair. “It takes a bit of a mad man.” says Mark Schwartz, heir apparent of the creator of the Sahag Dry Cut.

The Dry Cut is a highly specialized technique popularized by the legendary John Sahag, with whom Schwartz worked as a stylist, instructor and director of education for twelve years. More than simply cutting hair while it is dry, as many stylists now do, the dry cut is a discipline unto itself.

Schwartz performs the dry cut from the Schwartz Salon in Red Bank with the same level of craftsmanship previously available at The John Sahag Workshop in New York City and Maniatis in Paris, where the technique evolved.

The method is akin to sculpting, enabling the cutter to visualize a new shape as it takes form. It is performed with painstaking attention to detail, from preparing the hair, to layering and tapering, virtually one strand at a time. The scissors touch every single strand of hair- not just the ends.

The first step is straightening the hair and preparing the texture for precision cutting. If the cut looks good straight, it will look good any way – straight, curly, long or short. The next step is tapering the hair into multiple lengths, refining layers, and tapering into the bulk, even for styles that don’t appear to be layered. It is with layering and shifting weight that the new shape is created. Unnecessary bulk is then removed thru the crown and back to give the style more lift and volume.

“Learning the dry cut requires many years and uncompromising commitment to ones craft”, Schwartz adds. Doing it on a daily basis takes a motivated perfectionist with the desire to work magic. Indeed, for Schwartz, styling hair seems more like religion that vocation. He has developed his craft circling the globe, studying throughout Europe, working in Hollywood films and television, and styling supermodels for runways across Asia, Europe and South America.

Devotees attest to the magic, to the exceptional movement and volume of their hair. The dry cut delivers a highly distinctive but soft shape that fits each individuals hair type, lifestyle and spirit.