Michelle Obama's New Celebrity Hairdresser?

Michelle Obama's hair looked amazing throughout the entire presidential campaign and going into the Inauguration in January of 2009.   She repeatedly received kudos from the media.

Michelle's hairdresser?

Michael "Rhani" Flowers, co-owner and former (now retired as of 2022) hairstylist at Van Cleef Hair Studio, has been working with Michelle's hair since she was 18 years old, which is the definition of a long hair relationship.

Sadly, Michelle's hairdresser declined to move to The White House with the First Lady.

The buzz went out that Michelle was looking for a new hair guru to keep her tresses perfectly coiffed during the next four years.

Yene Damtew ultimately became Michelle Obama's celebrity hairstylist.   So did Johnny Wright.

Michelle Obama Had To Take Care With Selecting Her New Hairstylist

My first thought about Michelle Obama looking for a new stylist was that she should just fly her longtime hairdresser to Washington for her hair needs. Then I realized it would immediately cause Michelle to be criticized for wasting taxpayer money on flying her personal hairdresser back and forth from Chicago.

Obviously not a good move for a First Lady married to a President intent on cleaning up economic problems.

Before the new First Lady settled with Yene Damtew as her go-to hairstylist, I researched some of the salons she might enjoy working with during her tenure in Washington, D.C.

There are lots of great hairdressers in the Washington, DC, area, including the following possibilities:

1. Ted Gibson

The Collection

Chevy Chase, Maryland

2. Eli Eli Salon

Elie Gerdak Hair Guru

Note:  To make an appointment with Elie, call the number listed.

Master Coiffure European trained hair expert

6700 Old McLean Village Drive

McLean, VA 22101

(703) 442-7323

Elie Elie has regularly been featured in the media and, in the past, was quoted in First, Self, and Good Housekeeping. He is famous for his work with naturally curly hair.

3. Andre Chreky, The Salon

1604 K Street

Northeast

Washington, DC.

Andre has worked with a list of big-name celebrities, including Rita Wilson.

Note:  Since the original publication of this blog, Andre Chreky has closed his salon.

Andre Chreky was famous for working with various first ladies.

4. The Cristophe Salon

This salon has been reported as closed in the D.C. location. The original salon

in Beverly Hills, California, is still open.

The original location was;

1125 18th Street Northwest

Washington, D.C. 20036-3802

Phone:(202) 899-5774

For more information:

[email protected]

Other Celebrity Hairstylist Options For Mrs. Obama

Hairstylist Isabell Goetz worked with Hillary Clinton as her Hairdresser

Hairdresser Benjamin Dubouf worked with the Bidens.

There are other great Washington, DC, hairdressers, and salons who would do an amazing job for Michelle and her family.

Of course, the other option would be for Michelle to import some of the great celebrity hairdressers from New York, which is a short train or plane trip. Would that be an option? Why not? It certainly would be much more affordable than flying her hairdresser in from Chicago.

Michelle might like to try several local hairdressers that have a great reputation but are lesser known. Michelle might actually help a good hairdresser's career by putting her trust in them.

Luckily she found a great match in Yene Damtew.  Recently the hair in Mrs. Obama's beautiful official White House portrait was styled by hairstylist Johnny Wright. 

When Mrs. Obama attended the dedication ceremony for her White House portrait, her hair was styled in a stunning chignon created by Njeri Radway.

Related Articles:

Elie Elie Salon: Bringing Out The Celebrity In You

Elie Gerdak: Hair Guru