Females Grab Plum Celeb Hairdressing Gigs

Historically the majority of top celebrity and high fashion hairdressers have been men. Yes, women have always been present in those celebrity worlds but they have tended to be the minority.  There were always a lot of theories about why this was true and in some cases the reasons made perfect sense.  In other cases, not so much.

During the past twelve years I have been focused on the happenings in the hair world, I've also noticed that the biggest names in celebrity hairdressing have definitely been predominantly male including Vidal Sassoon, Frederic Fekkai, Louis Licari, Ted Gibson, Orlando Pita, Laurent DuFourg Frankie Payne, and Ken Paves, to name just a few.

(Image of Ted Gibson - DailyCeleb.com - All Rights Reserved).

Note: The celebrity hairdresser names I have included are based on my own opinion and do not include all the names I might include.  The list has been abbreviated to keep this blog an appropriate length.

The biggest female celebrity hairdresser names often included in the list with the men have includes Sally Hershberger and Vivienne Mackinder in the United States, Antoninette Benders in England and Caterina di Biasi from Australia.

Sally Hershberger made her name with the iconic Meg Ryan shag and more recently as a judge on Bravo/TV's Sheer Genius.  Vivienne is well-known and respected for her revolutionary hair work in both the professional and consumer hair worlds.

Another renowned female celebrity hairdresser is Odile Gilbert who has been a darling of the fashion world and top magazine photo shoots.

Odile learned her hair craft in Paris at the Bruno Pittini Salon.  She spent seven years in New York until the 1990s when she moved back to Paris and opened her own salon.  Odile continues to work part time for top fashion magazines and creating hair for various spring and fall couture shows.  Most hair consumers, at least in the United States may not be aware of her amazing work.

In the last couple of years I have been aware of a shifting of the male dominence in the celebrity hair world to include more females. Celebrity hairdresser Kim Kimble has made a name for herself by creating spectacular hair styles in every imaginable venue from films and TV to coiffing the superstar for fashion shoots and magazine covers.

Hairdresser Ursula Stephen has captured the eyes of the world with her edgy hairstyles for Rihanna.  Jessica Galavan has created amazing hairstyles for a range of superstars including Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham.  Cynthia O'Connor used to partner with Rita Hazan and was a star apprentice under Oribe.  She has established herself as go-to celebrity hairdresser in New York, especially in the rock and roll world.

Also coming up in the ranks are Sabrina Michaels, Louise Moon and Jenny Cho who has worked with Ashlee Simpson, Christina Applegate and a dazzling array of big names on both coasts.

WWD Beauty recently referenced Michelle Fiona, one of Bumble and Bumble's rising "celebrity" hairdressers in the fashion world.  Michelle works with Manhatten hipster Zooey Deschanel and other "names".  In their article discussing the rising hair career of 31 year old Michelle Fiona, WWD Beauty pointed to the push by Bumble and Bumble to increase the number of female hair artists at the helm of the hair for the New York fashion weeks.

Why are more females grabbing plum celebrity hairdressing gigs?  In the case of Michelle Fiona, WWD Beauty explains the committment by the B&B organization to push their females more into the key roles, especially in the fashion worlds.

In other cases, female hairdressers are more focused on taking their hairdressing careers into the celebrity hair market and going after jobs in that industry.

In past interviews with both Kim Kimble and Ursula Stephen they both referenced their specific goals to be in the celebrity hairdresser world and focused their attention on winning big name hair clients ultimately capturing Beyonce in the case of Kimble and Rihanna for Ursula Stephen.

Other reasons for females grabbing more plum celebrity hairdressing gigs?  In some regards female hairdressers can offer a different perspective on hair and fashion.  In other cases the clients may prefer working with a female over a male.

Of course in the past few years the explosion of new cosmetology colleges across the United States have encouraged a new focus on hairdressing as a hot new career with women often being the majority of the student population base at many schools.  As more females enter the hairdressing profession, there will be more females made aware of the types of careers available in the celebrity worlds and pushing to move into the celebrity hair, fashion and entertainment industries.

Finally, the celebrity, fashion and entertainment hair worlds have become more open to emerging female hairdressers who wish to commit to the demands of that type of hair world.  This is due to the rapid expansion of celebrity hairdressing salons into new locations and venues.

For related articles check out:

Laurent D - Hollywood Hair Sultan

Frankie Payne: Celebrity Hairdresser To The Stars