A native of Italy, the unbelievably suave De Magistris has been tending the tresses of a discerning clientele in Belmont Center for 30 years. He often visits Europe to return with fashion-forward looks, and the women who entrust their heads to his tender hands are as well-coiffed as the most chic in Paris and Milan. Not surprisingly, he served for two years as the artistic director for Tocco Magico, a hair color line from Italy. In short, once you've discovered this hidden talent tucked away in the 'burbs (where, incidentally, you can always find parking), you might reconsider your devotion to Newbury Street.

The Salon Issue

name: Leon de Magistris
salon: Leon & Company
years of experience: 35

inspiration: "An internal desire to always be on the cutting edge — always looking for something new and different to make my clients feel confident in their look."

first hair experience/ memory: "Cutting my mother's hair when I was 17 — she was the only one who trusted me at that point to cut their hair. I have no idea if she really liked it, but being the only son of an Italian mother, I could do no wrong!"

Far from the madding crowds of Newbury Street, this princely Italian does portrait-worthy cuts. If your roots have you in a rut or your style is sadly reminiscent of the 70s, he can resurrect your lackluster locks with the skill of a surgeon and the charm of Casanova. Internationally acclaimed, he's worked with labels such as Escada, Ferragamo, and Oscar de la Renta, tended to the tresses of models and celebrities and even has his own line of outstanding hair care products. His staff is a group of equally talented Newbury Street ex-pats, and his establishment has all the pizzazz of a downtown salon. Worth a trip to Belmont even if you live in the city.

Remember when you used to sneer at bottle blondes? Stylist Leon de Magistris and his staff of colorists have changed all that with bold, rich hair colors that look better than the real thing. (His latest venture, known as California highlighting, mimics the look of sun-kissed hair without foil strips or hours of harmful sun exposure.) Moreover, deMagistris' talent and sway go far beyond the Boston-area beauty scene. He's the former U.S. creative director for Tocco Magico and regularly grabs international attention with runway coiffures in Europe. None of which stops him from running his 33-year-old Belmont salon like a finely tuned machine.

You'd expect to find a kindly gardener and art collector holed up in Belmont. But a jet-setting hair- and fashion-industry giant? In Leon de Magistris, they're one and the same. Between chopping models' locks in Italy (where the revered Tocco Magico has named de Magistris its U.S. artistic director) and jaunts to New York to teach other stylists the latest cuts, de Magistris still finds time to keep everyone in his quiet, close-knit suburb trimmed and styled to perfection.