"The Georgetown-based salon owner put himself on the national map when he became Laura Bush's go-to stylist for cut and color. He maintains an equally demanding schedule these days, zipping back and forth for appointments at his locations in D.C., Manhattan, and Alexandria, Virginia.'"

Vogue Magazine, The Guide to Ultimate Style

"Most of our clientele are in politics They want an easy-to-maintain, respectable-looking cut with a clean line. As a professional businesswoman or businessman, on television or in politics, you don't want your hair to draw more attention than your brain. In Istanbul the difference is that they want their hair as edgy as possible - even the politicians. To me, if I'm in politics, my look should be more professional.'"

Mark Ellwood- Expat Lives, Financial Times

Nuri Yurt

"The need to look stylish and sophisticated applies to both the Senate floor and the tents at Bryant Park. The right hairstyle
is not only a reflection of personal taste - it also inspires self-confidence. No one understand that better than Nuri Yurt, the owner of Toka Salon ... On the more immediate level, Yurt says his goals are straightforward: 'I like to see people smile when they leave.'"

Joy Y. Wang - Avenue Magazine, Making the Cut

The Toka Salon on Madison Avenue in New York City has recently been paid a visit by Vanity Fair beauty director SunHee Grinnell - and she wrote a review on VanityFair.com's Society & Style blog. She writes, "After Toka’s owner, Nuri Yurt, treated my hair with the products, he gave me a full-bodied blowout with slight waves. It was exactly the kind of blowout that I really like—not too big-haired, Miss America curly or too Asian stick straight. Yurt should know how to please fastidious ladies of New York: before opening his salon on Madison Avenue, he established himself as a hairstylist and colorist at his salon in Washington, D.C., where many of his clients are First Ladies of Washington, including Laura Bush. (He cuts and colors her hair.) I hear great things about his salon in the District."

SunHee Grinnell - VanityFair.com, A Hair Treatment at Toka Salon

Laura Bush

One of the reasons the first lady has been looking a little different lately is that she switched hairdressers. Laura Bush had been going to Chreky Salon in Washington, has traded off to Toka, where Nuri Yurt does both her cut and color. A source says that a condition of the first lady becoming a client is that Toka wasn't allowed to announce the change or discuss it unless asked directly. When asked, however, Toka - which has been doing her hair since January's inauguration - confirmed. "We had numerous consultations about her new look," a spokeswoman told the Scoop. "What she looks like is obviously very important to her.  ...But she's very gracious. And she has good hair."

Jeannette Walls - MSNBC.com