Chris Cuomo ... Hair Stylist?

Oct. 22, 2008 — -- Chris Cuomo has been a lawyer and a television news anchor, and now -- a hair stylist. That's right. The native New Yorker hit the hair salon after taking an aptitude test that suggested being a hair dresser would be a good career for him.

But the world of salons might as well be Mars to Chris, and the idea of styling and cutting people's hair seemed farfetched. After all, Chris struggles to get his daughter's hair into a ponytail.

Yet, with good friend Edward Tricomi, of Warren Tricomi Salon in New York City, he was ready to take on the challenge. Tricomi said he had faith in Chris' ability, and the basis for his confidence was knowing that being a great stylist is all about communicating well and relating with a client.

Knowing that, Chris was ready to roll up his sleeves and start his first lesson. He worked on a client named Kimberly, and Tricomi walked him through every step of the process.

"I ask what they want, but right away I can see that 12 styles really will work," Tricomi told Chris.

Then it was off to washing. And after the wash and rinse, it was on to the point of no return -- the cut.

"First, I'm going to give you a pair of scissors, your first pair of scissors," Tricomi said.

From there, he counseled Chris on hair cutting techniques. Tricomi makes it look easy, but in reality, the stylist has had more than 30 years of experience and has developed signature techniques.

While Chris was more than happy to watch the professional, his turn soon came.

"Chris, I think you did well. Now it's time to take the training wheels off and try out your own client," Tricomi said.

With words like lawsuit, injury and career ender dancing through his head, the chance of something going horribly wrong was so high that there was only one logical move.

"My producer," Chris reasoned.

So, producer Maureen White ended up in the hot seat. The two share the same nickname, "Mo," and so he thought she'd be a good match, or at the very least, she wouldn't go after him.

First, the two discussed the best cut for her face.

"With my bone structure and my skin tone, what do you think is the best look for me?" White asked.

"I think you have a very nice bone structure. I think you could go short or long. Look how pretty your jaw is. Look at that face. Look at that pretty face," Chris said.

Chris also thought bangs would be nice.

"We'll clean up the edge of it, take a little bit off because that makes it more healthy," he said.

"I just want to look good, Cuomo, make it happen," White said.

After the consultation and a wash, which included Chris massaging her temples, it was time for the cut.

"This is where it gets hairy. No pun intended," Chris said.

But after getting the hang of things and going for "random layers," Chris suddenly felt in his element.

"You said you wanted the layered thing. Now look. It was going in before, and now look it's going out," Chris said. "I didn't even intend this. It was just the creativity coming out of me, like -- whoa."

Everyone was happy with the finished product, and Mo really did look beautiful ... of course, Tricomi fixed everything Chris did wrong.

But one aspect that was all Chris was the satisfaction of making someone feel good about herself. It was a good time that ended with a signature smooth hairdresser line.

"You looked beautiful before, but all I'm saying is that this Maureen eats at a different lunch table than the old Maureen," Chris said.