Robert Hallowell's 60 Hair Secrets

Robert Hallowell's 60 Hair Secrets

Robert Hallowell's 60 Hair Secrets presented below are based upon close to ten years of time I spent with this amazing man.

I first met Hollywood hairdresser Robert Hallowell through his then-publicist, Jayne Morehouse.  We were introduced via email in 2001. I was hooked after the first sentence.  Eventually I interviewed him by phone about his long time client, Jennifer Love Hewitt.

From the very first phone call we had, Robert and I were connected.  I felt I had met a soul mate.

Truth be told, I would trade all of Robert Hallowell's 60 hair secrets presented below, for 24 hours of uninterrupted time with the man his beloved clients called Raw.

Note:  Robert Hallowell passed away on November 24, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

Listed below are Robert Hallowell's 60 Hair Secrets:

1. A delightful double Gemini (June 16), Robert thought about hair 24/7.  He's even confessed to dreaming about hair.

2.  Nestled into the back of Robert's magnificent Mount Washington house was a delightful retro style hair salon.  I could live in that room and never leave if Robert was there.

3.  One of the first things you noticed when you entered Robert's house of hair delights were little Roomba robot vacuum cleaners whirling around the floors making sure no loose hairs from Robert's non-stop styling escape unnoticed.

4.  An assortment of very unique cats and dogs (aka the critters) lived at Robert's beautiful home.  Non resident cats would regularly stroll into the house to visit hoping to snag some of Robert's famous treats.

5.  When Robert was in his massive kitchen whipping up hair treats, his cats will gather around hoping to sneak samples.  Robert always called out "No Shopping."

6.  The back "guest house" behind Robert's pool was jam packed with all types of hair goodies, include toupees worn by some of Hollywood's greatest stars.  He would disappear into the back and reappear with an array of amazing hair gems.

7.  Robert loved to do hair treatments outside on his patio which featured a breathtaking view of Los Angeles.  At night LA's lights twinkled like little gems in the distance.

8.  The long time stylist named his company The Kitchen Beautician because he often ended up working in the kitchens of his celebrity clients' homes.  He sometimes grabbed ingredients right from their kitchen cabinets as he worked on their hair.

9. A Los Angeles native, Robert was a model in LA and New York before he decided to go into the hair world.  He was very handsome with long blonde hair, piercing eyes and an amazing smile.

10.  Robert graduated from the renowned Vidal Sassoon Hair Academy in Los Angeles (1983 – 1984).

11.  In 1984 he caught the entertainment industry hair bug when he worked on styling hair for his first music video.

12.  He's was a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for his history of styling hair in Hollywood.

13. Geena Davis was one of Robert's longest celebrity hair clients.  He was her hairstylist on TV's The Geena Davis show and Commander In Chief.  He also was her hairstylist in the films Stuart Little 2 and The Long Kiss Goodnight.

14.  Robert first met Geena on the film set of Angie.  From that point on Robert became Geena's go-to hairstylist.  During a period in her life when Geena was dealing with personal challenges, Robert stayed with her in a secluded beach house.  Robert swore to me the house "was haunted".

15. His list of 100+ celebrity clients included, but wasn't limited to, Geena Davis, Courteney Cox and Lucy Liu.  Once Robert called me from Bruce Willis' jet which was traveling from Canada to California with Lucy, Bruce and a "famous psychic."

16.  In the music industry, he worked with such artists as the Pointer Sisters, The Jackson's, Rod Stewart and Chris Isaac.

17.  When Robert was the on-set hairstylist for Marg Helgenberger on CSI, he received special permission to give me a tour of the hair and makeup trailer where he worked on the famous red haired beauty.  He also managed to sneak me onto the famous set where we saw an actress laying on a slab for a dead body scene.

18.  During his work with Lucy Liu on Charlies Angels he traveled to Europe with the star.  He coiffed her hair for all the red carpet events.  He adored Lucy and sometimes stayed with her in New York where she had a spectacular apartment.

19.  To thank Robert for doing her hair for a big awards show, Mary Louise Parker sent him milk and cookies, his favorite treat.

20.  During his time as the on-set hairstylist for Geena Davis on Stuart Little, he met actor Hugh Laurie before his became a household name on House.  He was a great fan of Hugh's.

21.  Robert was Jon Cryer's hairstylist on Two and A Half Men.  He also styled Holland Taylor's hair and met Charlie Sheen along with the rest of the famous cast.

22. A huge advocate for recycling, Robert was famous for his trips where he salvaged a vast array of items, including hair toys.

23. When Robert worked on hair on The X Factor he met Simon Crowell and the rest of the famous judges.

24.  Over the years Robert was a hairstylist on the set of Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) where he worked with Eve and a long list of celebrities.

25.  In 2003 Robert launched his famous hair care line Prawduct which was chock full of healthy hair ingredients.  Robert explained his philosophy behind his amazing line by noting  "You should put the same products on your scalp and hair that you ingest into your body."

26. Why did Robert create his Prawduct line? He said “I was with Geena Davis on a long film project and I was using all of the best hair care items around, but her hair was breaking and my hands were splitting.   So it made me really look at what was in these items. I have always been interested in diet and nutrition, so I put two and two together and starting mixing up things myself in my kitchen. I found that food-based natural items are very effective.”

27. Robert's Love That Shine Spray was adored by celebrity fans for its unusually low silicone content which prevented product build-up and long term damage to tresses.

28.  One of his best friends in the Hollywood Hair World was Mary Guerrero, head hairstylist on AMC's Mad Men and DWTS.

29.  Robert and Mary worked together many years doing hair on many Hollywood sets.  Robert had "known Mary for over 20 years when they met at the union hall applying for their credentials for the hairdresser's union."

30. An extremely busy man, Robert worked an average of 18 - 20 hours per day doing Hollywood hair.  Regardless, he always made time for me,  which is one of the reasons I loved writing about him and his work.

31. Sometimes Robert didn't even it make it home from his Hollywood hair styling projects, literally working on hair around the clock.

32.  The first time I met Robert in person in Los Angeles we hung out at a Johnny Rockets built over the famous La Brea Tar Pits.  He'd just finished doing hair on Dancing With The Stars.  He entertained me with lots of stories about his life in the hair world.  I laughed so hard, I cried and could barely eat.

33. Robert was part of the hair and makeup team for Hart Of Dixie for Warner Brothers.  He adored that gig and was sad when the show was cancelled.

34.  Not only did Robert do hair on The X Factor and The Sing Off, he was part of the hair and makeup team for The Voice.  He was a huge fan of The Sing Off's Nick Lachey telling me he was "a lovely man".  He also adored Christina Aquilera from The Voice.

35.  When Robert called me on the phone to share hair, ,beauty or life tips he would start the conversation by singing "Ohhhhhhhh Karen" in his rich melodic voice.  Ditto when he left me voice mail or sent email.

36. At his amazing house, which had a retro hair salon, a large in-ground pool, sweeping gardens and a guest house full of hair tools, Robert had a pizza oven where he loved to bake under the stars.

37. One of the best long hair trims I've ever received was performed by Robert in his quaint antique salon.

38. While visiting Robert you never knew who will show up at his house.  I've was often shocked to meet big name celebrities and TV producers who popped in to have their hair done.

39.During one visit to see Robert in LA I surprised him while he was doing hair on-set at a photo shoot.  It was his birthday and I brought him a birthday cake. For the first time since I had met Robert, he was completely speechless.

40. Devoted to his Hollywood clients Robert often traveled long distances to style their hair.

41. A huge animal lover, Robert regularly shared special animal training tips with his Hollywood clients.  He confided how he'd helped Courteney Cox with tips about potty training her dog.

42.  When he sensed I was having a difficult week Robert will often send me a random photo which instantly made me laugh.

43. Wildly talented with hair extensions, Robert's results were simply amazing.  Often it was impossible to tell where the real hair ended and the extensions began.

44.  In addition to hair extensions applied for length and fullness, Robert was highly sought after for his work with hand woven human hair crown caps and hair pieces.

45. There isn't a hair texture the wildly talented hairdresser couldn't transform into luscious clouds of heavenly hair.

46.  He was amazing with curly hair cuts, sniping them both dry and wet.  He could easily make sure the natural texture was enhanced to be worn in a variety of hairstyles.

47.  Robert was a guest judge and mentor on Shear Genius, the reality TV hair competition on Bravo/TV.

48.  A hair styling pioneer, Robert often discovered new hairstyling products and tools before the rest of the hair world.

49.  Robert wore his own blonde hair in a long silky ponytail.

50.  He nicknamed the shape my hair formed when it was pinned up as "the hair tube".

51.  Robert was very generous.  Over the years he's spontaneously gifted me with an array of interesting hair related gifts.  He also arranged for huge gift boxes welcoming me to LA to be delivered to my various hotel rooms.

52.  The celebrity stylist was an edgy dresser and could sometimes be spotted in a collection of fashion forward fedoras and hats which showcased his long locks.

53.  A former member of the Ricki Lake Show hair team, Robert was often touched by the stories of the various guests he met.  Sometimes he would be moved to tears.

54. Robert loved Ricki and called her "Rickilicious".

55. His number one styling tool was something he liked to call OPH… "Other Peoples Hair"!

56. Robert's secret hair bag full of OPH items included “miscellaneous colors, texture and lengths" which Robert would "yank out a bit and toss it into the hairstyle to save the day!”

57. When prepping celebrity hair for The Red Carpet or on-air, he relied on "colored “fillers” sprayed onto the scalp which enhanced, extended and expanded the hair's appearance to make it look more like perfect tresses."

58. Robert had a special hair compressor which allowed him to gently mist color onto celebrity scalps to add instant volume and add color to the scalp bringing it closer to the hair than the skin.  The result? Thinning hair was camouflaged completely.

59.  When driving to celebrity client's homes his traveling companions often included an array of hair mannequins propped up in the front and back seats.

60.  Robert’s hair mantra was “Less is more!”

Summary - Robert Hallowell's 60 Hair Secrets

This blog is dedicated to Robert Hallowell who was an amazing hairstylist. Although Robert had a huge list of celebrity clients, he loved to work with non-celebrities and welcomed all inquiries.

When I referred people to Robert I would ask them to tell him I sent them and blow him a few air kisses from me.

When Robert Hallowell passed away on November 24, 2015 he took a major piece of my heart with him.

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