Claudio D’Italia Hair Salon Celebrates 45 Years in Brentwood

is one of those close-knit hair salons that you see on screen.

The salon boasts an attentive international staff–including eight hairdressers, three manicurists and two assistants–that sometimes seems like a family.  

And they cater to clients, mainly locals, who return year after year.

“Because we’ve been here 45 years, we have people who moved away and have come back,” says owner Larry Capra.

It is, first and foremost, a color salon.

“Color has always been our main thing in Brentwood,” Capra explains, "because that is where the art starts."

“We can all cut, we can all style, we can all blow dry. Coloring is just a little more special.  Color is something people can change any time they want.”

Claudio D'Italia welcomes kids and adults, business people and those in the entertainment industry.

Owner Larry Capra came to America from Italy at the age of 9 in 1956.

Ten years later, his brother, Claudio Capra, opened his salon in Brentwood. Three years later, Larry joined him.

Claudio Capra went on to open a Claudio D’Italia Salon in the Valley, while Larry Capra owns the Brentwood location.

In the past 45 years, Capra and his team have seen all the styles, he says, “from the curly to the straight to the bob to the Farrah Fawcett look, the layered, the shag and in the last ten years, the straightening.”

Variety, Capra explains, is what has made the difference in recent years. Styles, he says, are “much more carefree and more fun."

“There’s something for everybody...whatever the style is. Whether it’s layered, a funky look, a bob, straight–it’s an individual thing. It’s what makes you feel good."

A woman's haircut/blow-dry starts at $65 (men's prices start at $45), a shampoo/blow-dry starts at $35 and a special occasion up-do starts at $60.

Color treatments start at $85 for one process, and highlights and corrective hair color begin at $100. A body wave starts at $90, a Brazilian blowout starts at $250 and a Yuko straightening is $350 and up.

“I think there’s nothing more beautiful than short hair on the right person, as it is long hair on the right person. Age doesn’t matter. Years ago, people said it’s an age thing. Today, styles don’t matter. It’s a personality,"  says Capra.

"It also used to be a woman would go to the beauty parlor once a week, get her hair done, and that was it until the following week. People take care of their own hair now."

“The area has gotten much younger in the last 15 years,” Capra adds. “It used to be an older clientele. “

But Claudio D’Italia still has their regulars.

Shirley Kleiman, who has been going to the salon for 30 years, says, “It’s like a second family.”

Dione Wainer concurs with the family aspect. She has lived in Brentwood for 38 years and has been going to Claudio D’Italia for at least 20. “It’s accessible," Wainer adds. "And I like the parking.”

“We’ve been here so many years,” Capra says, “it’s amazing to watch [people growing up and adding to their families.] We’ve seen them get married and have kids...their whole lives. That’s the most amazing thing.

“We do what we’ve been doing for many years and we do it well. People keep coming back,” Capra says. “I’d like to thank the Brentwood people for supporting us for all these years.”

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