The Hairdresser And The Badboy Parte Due

Go grab yourself a cold one and get comfy my pretty little pets. Your about to become privy to the most entertaining, hilarious, riviting story of your life, and Im not giving out hall passes for bathroom breaks. Detentions perhaps, but no bathroom passes. The stars of this story you ask? Hmm, Ill play nice and give you a little hint....ready?......The confessed badboy of hair himself and the reformed badboy of Hollywood. Dont give up, its on the tip of your tounge-----GRRRRRRR, you guys want me to hand ya everything! The one, the only, Giuseppe Franco. A world renowed hairdresser, who hails from Jersey, has the most wondigeous clientel list in the 90210 zip code and then some. His 1st class salon bears his own name, the go to guy for everyone who is someone on the silver screen and beyond. Mickey Rourke, the A lister who's soul seems to have scar tissue and at 1 point was diggin' his own grave. Who's now got his shiot on straight and is blazin' a trail across the globe with the likes of Sin City and Domino. A man whos been to the skool of hard knocks and taught the teacher a thing or 2.

An unlikely pair of friends who's backrounds are as different as night and day. What made these 2 dudes click? Could it be they were just 2 street rats who found honesty, loyalty and non judgement with one another? We may never know exactly, but its like my mom always used to tell me.....you can pick you nose, you can pick your azz, you cant pick your family, but you can pick your friends. Giuseppe and Mickey are like the male version of Thelma and Louise (now dont go askin me who'd be Thelma and who'd be Louise). Theyve been thru everything and then some, brothers till the end. People come and go, but the friends whom you refer to as part of the family, like these 2 do, they are your anchor, your confident, your security blanket all in one. Sometimes your own family is willin' to disown ya, but your chosen family, they arent gonna go kickin' your azz to the curb. Whilst on my yearly vay-cay to L.A. I had my choice of either returning to Giuseppe Francos salon or experiencing another famed hairdressers salon I had met by chance while on vay-cay. L.A. is a funny place....I was sittin' havin some drinks at this little place that will remian unnamed (lmfao) and this sharp dressed dude is givin' me the once over, I mentally wrote him off as odd. Next thing I know he's all up in my hair, feelin' it, smellin' it and chattin' me up. I'm thinkin' he has a hair fetish thang and am tryin' to come up with a way to get rid of him while retaining the manners that my mom drilled into me as a kid. He asks who does my hair, and I proceed to tell him that I'm not a local, but I do have a appointment at Giuseppe Franco's salon the next afternoon. He tries his damndest to persuede me to cancel my appointment at Giuseppes, come to his salon and that he would do my hair for free. I really don't want or need anything for free, I may be from the hood but I have a friggin' job! I'm wondering why he has such a hard on to do my hair and am thinkin' he's an escapee from the local looney bin till he hands me his business card and it all became abundently clear. He's an very prominent hair dresser that Ive seen on TV. Gawd! Im such a total dork sometimes. I was way flattered, thanked him profusely for the offer, and kept my appointment at Giuseppe Francos salon. I kept it because for one, I keep my word, and if I made an appointment, Im damn well going to keep it and not cancel last minute-like on anyone. Plus, they worked their magic on my hair last year when I attended a film premiere. This year, I wanted the same results. I didnt want my hair lookin' like roadkill for the television premier I was due to attend that night. I went back to the best, where I knew I could count on kick azz results, wouldnt you?


So there I was, the California sunshine is winkin down at me, Im chillin' at the most famous hairdresser in the worlds salon. I was nervous, cuz I didnt know if Giuseppe had tripped across my Hairdresser and the Badboy article. I thought, well Ill just keep my flapper shut and fly under the radar incognito like and try to blend into the woodwork persay. At the most I figured Id have sumthan fun to write about when I got back home. Dayum, was I wrong! The door to the salon swings open and out bursts none other than Giuseppe Franco. Hes got an infectious smile, his arms are scattered with tattoos reminicent of the 50's, hes a razor sharp cat that dosent miss a beat. Hes high octane, friendly, and has an aura about him that exudes confidence. You instinctivly know he isnt one to pull the wool over your eyes, however, try to pull a porky on him and you better beat cheeks outta town as fast as you can. (Hmmm, maybe he should unleash his bad self on the phone company, they have his name spelled wrong on my caller ID. Wait, maybe my caller ID dosent read Italian?..lol) He strolls over and asks if Im so and so. Being the inherit smart azz that I am, I point at my mom (yuh I took my mom on vay-cay with me, got a problem with that?) She points at me...busted!...My mom fesses as to who she is, so there I am left standin', wondering if Giuseppe is gonna run my azz outta there. Gus (yuh I call him Gus cuz dayum, a white bread like muhself has a hard enough time tryin to pronounce his name, let alone type it a zillion times in this train wreck) points sinister like at me and says " your in big trouble " and goes walkin' back towards the salon door. Im standin' there like a complete knucklehead contemplating slicing off all my fingers so I can never type anything again, or sprinting down to Rite Aid and buyin' some adult diapers. Giuseppe turns around and is laffin at my dumb azz and says " you made me and my brother very, very happy." I mustve had a glazed doughnut look on my face while trying to recover from the shock of not gettin' whacked, cuz he says " me and my brother, Mickey Rourke." Dumbfounded, I thought to myself, hey self, not bad for a girl from the hood. I am glad I made em' both happy, but ya know, all I did with the 1st article was tell the truth as I saw it. Mom was right all those years ago, honesty is thee best policy.


Being at Giuseppes salon is akin to having the world as your oyster. Your going to get well groomed, well fed, watered and then some. Your not made to feel like an outsider lookin' in, your made to feel as an insider lookin' out. Its like a group of friends from the neighborhood that welcome ya back after youve been gone for a bit. I didnt see 1 person leave Giuseppes salon that didnt get a big hug, or at least a warm handshake. To be blunt, cuz Im a blunt kinda girl, Im not sayin all this cuz Giuseppe is Mickeys best friend, pffft that! If Giuseppe was a total douche bag, believe me, Id tell ya. Gus is a no gimmicks, no bull shiot, no Beverly Hills attitude kinda dude. Dont be intimidated by the zip code, heck, everyone sits down on the crapper the same no matter who ya are or where ya live. Dont feel like you arent up to par to relish in the bangin' ambience of his salon. He may be located in Beverly Hills, but he is no starched collar snob, hes the furthest thing from that. If you get some champagne at his place, rest assured youll be sippin' (or slammin' ..lmfao) the same exact bubbly as Barbara Streisand does when she gets her tresses done there. You can also learn alot at Giuseppes salon too! I learned, among other things, how to eat a club sandwich from Giuseppe himself while sittin' havin a smoke. How to eat a club sandwich Giuseppe Franco style (mentally say the following with a Sopranoesque accent, well maybe Jersey? New York? Pffft, I dunno, Im from cheeseland after all peeps!) " take that middle piece of bread out, its just in there to make it look bigger, like ya got more. Then your eating the good stuff, the meat, the cheese, a little bit of mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato. Thats the 1st thing I do, take that middle piece of bread out, its useless! " I tried the Franco club sandwich eating method later in the week, and I must say, that useless piece of bread made a bunch of hungry pigeons happy.


When Giuseppe talks about food, hes passionate, like all the Tallys I know...lol. Hes also passionate about being down to earth and giving. I overheard him say that he treats everyone the same, no matter if their rich or poor, famous or a blue collar workin' man. He has been known to discount the price of his haircut, so the family on vacation staying in the Motel 6 or its equivelant can go home with a Giuseppe Franco haircut. He really, truly dosent care if your on the A list or trailer trash, if you made your appointment hes going to honor it and not let some big name, big ego try and use their clout to snatch your slot.


Giuseppe is into doin' a good lil sumthan everyday, he is catholic and all about pleasin' the man upstairs. His theroy is what comes around, goes around.(Note to self....find out who that man upstairs is sometime. I got kicked outta church back in the day and aint neva' been back for fear Id burst into flames when I walked thru the doors...lmfao). Heck, dont be embarrassed of your pile o shiot rental. Stash that trashy car in the $6.00 all day park behind the salon and to the right. I saw my fair share of beaters up in there. Plus its better than payin $15.00 to park your flippin car. I can come up with alot of different ways to spend $15.00...hmmm, Mulberry Street Pizza anyone?(another note to self....when eating pizza and am hungry enough to honk down 2 slices and am short on time, do the 2 slices stacked/folded method that Mr. Drago taught me. Maybe then I wont look like I need a bib and diaper wipes when I chow down).


After jawin with Giuseppe for a bit, he personally invited me back the next day. I must have had a * are you talkin' to me? * look on my face cuz he says " come on back and hang out with me and my friends, cuz thats whut we do. You dont have to be gettin' your hair cut to hang out ". So the next day finds me at Giuseppes salon once again. Im sittin' out on one of the benches( wishing the benches had cushions cuz dayum my junk in the trunk prolly still has imprints from em....lmfao j/k ), minding my own business and in strolls friggin' Arnold Schwarzenegger, tokin a big 50 ringer, flanked by security peeps. Just a typical day at Giuseppe Francos place. I secretly wanted to say that little ditty...girly man...but really, I didnt fancy gettin' shot up by Arnolds security peeps. LMAO!( that little ditty makes me bust a gut every dayum time I see it ) I did observe that Gus is a fukin cowboy! Here he is givin one of Arnolds security peeps shiot by askin..."Can I shoot your gun?" The security dude says " yeah sure why not?" and just nonculantly walks off. Gus immediatly throws his arms straight in the air, looks skyward and says " yes! " He does this crazy dance, and dayum all he needed was spurs on his boots, a gunbelt and a horse and hed be The Outlaw Josey Wales.


During the course of that day I got the chance to blab with his off the hinges staff. I really wish I could do them all justice here and mention them all personally by name, but back down the road apiece I had a brain aneurysm that brought on a series of strokes and grand mahl seziures, thus my cat scans and MRI's resemble swiss cheese. I am surprised I can make it home most days, let alone remember all this to tell ya. But I was told point blank to my face by one stylist not to worry cuz they had all forgotton my name already anyway. Well that makes my job easier, so now I dont feel so bad about not remembering everyones name. The entire staff at the salon was so helpful, friendly, and best of all, they know their shiot. Their clientel lists may read like an Oscar nominee, MTV awards, Golden Globe list thang, but they are real. It must be a prerequisite of workin' there, you cant have your head up your own azz sorta thang. There are no glorias, shelias or ego maniacs workin' there, they are there for you and no one else. No one in Giuseppes salon has dirt in the skirt syndrome or a Jimmy Fong thang happenin'.


So Im hangin out, juz takin in the whole experience. People are comin and goin, Gus is everywhere and into everything. Nothing slips by him, hes got his fingers on all the pulse points. Did I mention this man is in perpetual motion? No he dosent have ADD, maybe its those 5 splendas in his beautiful steamin' cup of coffee he has at 530 every morning? There was a slight lull, when some of the salon peeps and Gus could chill out for a few minutes between clients. We all got to blabbin' bout smoking and Gus being the accomplished story teller that he is, starts in on this hilarious thang. He says..." yeah I tried to quit smokin like 18 years ago, I was horrible! I fired everyone in the shop and hired em all back like a week later ". LMAO...The Donald aint got nuffin on The Franco.....he starts gettin' into his tale more and more.... " yuh my brother Mickey went to one of them hypnotists to quit smokin. Pffft, he walked outta there smokin, so obviously it didnt work! So then Mickey sees one of them drugstores across the street and goes in. Hes walkin round, sees them nicotine patch things and buys some. So he comes round my place later, hes wearin' this patch and hes still smokin! I say...Mickey!! You cant smoke and wear the patch at the same time! So I ripped it offa him ".


Bout this time my gut is juz a rumblin' for some chow. So mom and I go hoofin' it across the street, in the crosswalk even. Were bout half way across and bout get run down by some scrot bag drivin' a * Im challenged below the belt * Rolls. Yuh you can bet your azz I gave that wanker the international I love ya sign. Pffft. We hustle across the street and duck into Mulberry Street Pizza. Its a throwback to the old days when they had the neighborhood family run restuarants.( I did kinda expect to hear some Dean Martin Thats Amore..ya know...when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, thats Amore. When the world seems to shine like youve had too much wine, thats Amore when we went in, but didnt...dayum, I love that song. ) Im eyein' up the yummies, wanting 1 of everything, look up and theres celeb photos galore. Even better, theres some Mickey piccys too. Ones I havent ever seen before..woot woot.... Course theres other celeb photos too, like Chuck Zito, but I cant remember em' all. Mom and I park our azzes out front, it is LA and all bout outdoor dining. Our pizza comes all hot and gooey. Im like rabid hungry, bite into my slice and its like the big O. I cant even describe it, other than if ya want the best orgasmic pizza experience around, this is thee place to be. Forget that CPK shiot that tastes like hurl on dough, get your azz to Mulberry Street Pizza pronto.


Giuseppe Franco and Mickey Rourke, what can I say? Theyre men cut from a different cloth. Society dosent weave quality fabric like that nowadays. The mold broke after these 2 coyotes sprung fourth. They are like 2 war veterans, pivitol to one anothers exsistance. They havent lost sight of where they came from no matter who their rubbin' shoulders with nor how much scratch they have. They cant be anyone but themselves. Their only crime? Not sellin' out to a town that wants to own you lock, stock and barrel. Ive said it before and Ill say it again, theyre old skool mavericks. Take em' as they are or leave em', the choice is yours. Personally Ill take em'. Id rather have 2 honest, loyal, goodfella-esque friends like them than a pack of liars, carnies and geeotchers any day of the week.


If ya venture to Gus's place, be dayum sure ya hook up with his product line! OMFG, if his product line were men, Id never leave the house(wink, wink). They have the latest, greatest thang for your hair. When I asked about the low down on his hair products, he gave it to me straight up.

-------------------------------FKD--------------------------------


No it's not internet slang for my favorite word. It's definitly not a feminie hygiene product, nor a florist. WTF is FKD?
FKD is a trio of cutting edge, inspirational, hair gurus who are redefining the meaning of hair excellence.


The F is for Franco, the one and only Giuseppe Franco. The motivational force, brains and brawn behind this awe inspiring line of hair products.
The K is for Kanno, Joe Kanno that is. Genuinely friendly, wildly talented, highly popular. Giuseppes right hand man since 1999. A Japenese hair straightening Master and then some. The only person to date able to accuratly read the tattoos on my back. It dosent get any better than this.
The D is for Drago. Calogero Drago. A highly respected, very well known Italian hair stylist who moved to the U.S. to learn from the F&K duo. Instead of headin' back to Italy, he remained in the U.S. to lend a helping hand in launching the Giuseppe Franco Kanno line of hair products.


We all know that Giuseppe Franco has the talent, education, reputation and longivity to prove he's a dependable dude. Its almost unheard of, but, he's been in the same location now for over 22 years! Yuh, holy shiot is right! Considering he's in the epicenter of a city built on fast forward and broken dreams. If you look up the definition of a self made man, Giuseppe Franco's name would be first and foremost.
It all started when Giuseppe had a dream. He envisioned a line of hair products that would provide 1st class results while being benificial to your hair at the same time. Not an easy task considering the opposite is usually true. Ya know, sure something makes your hair look kickin', but then ya wash it out or over time your hair starts gettin' all that mucky build up or that dried out, frizz ball apperance. A difficult task at best, to construct products that would let your real beauty from within shine thru. He researched the process forever and a day before proceeding with anything. Giuseppe believed in his dream so much, that he used his own scratch out of his wallet to travel to Japan. There Joe and himself worked with a team of hair product experts. An expensive and risky venture at the time, but Mr. Franco kept the faith.


Giuseppe being on the verge of anal retentive settles for nothing short of the best. Who can blame him? He's not going to bottle some horse piss and letcha dump that on your head. Well that is unless your into that sorta thang...lmfao...he isnt going to put his name on a product, nor stand behind one, that he knows nothing about, nor dosent believe in 110%. He even uses his own products, and ya know how Tally men are bout their hair! Giuseppe and Joe really put this team they worked with thru the test. The hair product olympics if ya ask me. Giuseppe and Joe were involved in every single step of the creation process, from start to finish and everything in between. They personally watched as the products were brought to life to their exact specifications before their very own eyes. There was no slippin' anything in there that Giuseppe or Joe didnt know about beforehand. An added bonus is, no soft, warm, fuzzy bunnies were used as guinea pigs in the production process. So wtf Im tryin to say is, there is NO animal testing goin' on...woot woot to that!

-----------------------Onto the goodies!----------------------------------


The Giuseppe Franco Kanno line is overflowing with everything from the basics to the treats. This line of hair heaven has wings and is absolutely flying off the shelves. Rare was the person that I saw leave Giuseppes salon empty handed. They have your everyday must haves like shampoo and conditioner. But they arent like anything *everyday* that youve used before.I can personally vouch for them, and Ive never looked back since. Now, I actually look forward to hair washing day, and with as much hair as I have, believe me thats a miracle. That Herbal Essence commercial chick aint got shiot on this product line. If she used it, shed prolly have multi's instead of singles.rotflmfao...I cant possibly name all the products they have, but the ones I gave the hairy eyeball to were....

Luxury Addict. Which is this weightless hair serum that gives your mane that jaw dropping, shiny, soft look. Me being the hair product whore that I am, have tried skads of products like this, but none of em fufilled their limp wrist promise to me. Until this one! This is the real deal folks, no lies, no bullshiot here. My hair after using this was like friggin' glass it was so smooth. It lived up to its every claim and then some. Nope, it didnt weigh my hair down one iota or make it look like I had been thru an Exxon oil spill like all the other inferior products that I stupidly used before.

Then they have this hair gel for men named Rock Hard. No explanation needed as to why I was attracted to this one. I didnt fool around with it, but did kinda think that they should have one for chicks called Slippery When Wet.

Next up is The Balm. What is it about your hair that day you dont wash it? Its like your hair does everything you want it to. It looks great, feels great, its friggin' perfect. Want that look and feel everyday without having your hair honk? Then this pomade better be at the top of your must have list, plus it smells good to boot. Im in love with this particular product. If it were a man, Id cook, clean and give up the booty for it.

Now dont go thinkin' youll have to dip into that 401K to afford all this luxurious hair loot. Giuseppe better than anyone understands the value of a dollar. Ounce versus ounce of any of those product hocking, QVC sellin' sluts, the Giuseppe Franco Kanno line KO's them all without even breakin' a sweat. All of the products in the Giuseppe Franco Kanno line are interchangable. So even if your a dude, dont go feelin' skivvy bout buyin' a possibly chick like product and vice versa. Heck, Ive been known to wear mens underwear and use their deodorant, but youd never guess it by lookin' at me sorta thang. These amazing products are perfect for the whole family. Mom, Dad, and ankle biters alike. Gram and Gramps too! Well that is if Gramps is lucky enough to still have hair. Even if gramps is a chrome dome hook him up with some suds for his hair piece, heck that thang needs washing too!


Ok, so where do ya hook up and learn more about these fab hair products? Get on the telephone, let your fingers do the walkin' and dial the 7 digits(maybe 10 if you from outta town..lol) 310-274-8967. Or if your lucky enough to have digs in the Beverly Hills area run dont walk to 350 N Canon Drive. If ya cant do either, check the eye candy at http://giuseppefrancosalon.com/
Oh yeah, you can also ride the vibe of the salon and get your noggin' filled with some factoids while your at it.
They'll get you set up with pricing, shipping and all the rest. Trust me, youve never been in more capable hands.

*** Id like to thank the entire staff at the Giuseppe Franco Salon for bein so welcoming and down to earth. A rare find in a cut throat kinda town. Also, a special thank you to Giuseppe Franco for taking the time out of his hectic schedule to blab wif me, being such a giving person and most of all, for just being himself. Also, for allowing me free use of his press kit, and letting me run amuck in his salon to observe while picking his brain. I also gotta thank Stephy that lil Tally girl I love so much, who is always there no matter what. NLL in a NLW! ba fuan gu to all the jamooks and disbelievers.You know who you are. ***