Chaz Dean Interview

CHAZ DEAN

by Brent Lambert @FEELguide

Meet Chaz Dean, the renowned founder of WEN Hair & Body Care, celebrity hairstylist to Gwyneth Paltrow and many other superstars, and proud papa of three of the most beautiful dogs you have ever seen. BELLO was lucky enough to spend some time with Chaz at his stunning home in the Hills in February, just a few days before the spectacular Autism Speaks gala fundraiser in Beverly Hills, of which Chaz was a major supporter. We had a chance to talk about many things including: the nature of true beauty, the biggest misconceptions about the world of glamour, and the best sources of unconditional love.

I've been involved with autism with Holly Robinson Peete for almost 18 years now," Chaz tells us as he reflects on the very first autism fundraisers he participated in with Holly. "I think only the first year we were there it was for another illness -- Parkinson's Disease for her father, and sadly he has since passed. Then when her twins were born with autism she founded her foundation. So it's been 17 years I've been helping with her foundation." For his entire life, Chaz has been working hard to make the world a better place, and that definitely includes his building of a beauty empire which has helped countless women and men realize how they can be as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside. We asked him how satisfying it must feel each time he turns the chair around for the big reveal.

"It is really rewarding, and that's why I love doing what I do," he says. "And it's ironic that you just asked me that, because earlier this morning for FOX we did a makeover. It was a Valentine's Day makeover for a very deserving mother of two who is super busy. She's trying to run her business, her pilates studio, and she works around the clock, and her husband works 12 hours a day -- so there's not much 'me' time for her." The unsuspecting mom was a newbie to the world of beauty and glamour. "In her whole life she had only colored her hair once, and it was with a box color. So we gave her a great new color. And she was like a lot of my clients: sometimes they come in thinking they want something, and they explain it to me. That's when I tell them, 'OK, if you want me to do what I think is best for you, here's what I would do.' And they will usually tell me to go ahead and do it. I feel lucky that my clients trust me and respect me to do something that goes against their own intuition."

So how many of his clients let Chaz run with his creative intuition? "I would say 99% let me do it, but the ones that don't let me run with my vision, well, the result ends up in a place they shouldn't be. It's the same thing with the makeover we just did. She thought she wanted to go lighter, and as soon as I saw her I knew we had to go darker. And I explained why -- I said her hair color is the same as her skin tone and it was making her look rundown. As soon as I speak the truth they understand the reasons. She said how she never thought she would have looked good in darker hair because she thought it would make her look older than she is. But it actually does the opposite."

One of the biggest misconceptions about hairstyling is that going blonde is always a good choice. "A lot of the people who sit in my chair are blonde-a-holics. When I dig deeper with these clients I ask them: 'Are you intentionally blonde? How did this happen?' And many will answer, 'Well, I just go to the salon and this is what they do to me.' It's because people don't communicate, or they don't have thorough consultations. It's all about skin tone, lifestyle, eye color, and maintenance of your hair."

So how does one know if blonde is the right way to go? "The best two examples I always give are Elizabeth Taylor and Sofia Loren. The older Sofia got, for example, she began to go blonder and it just blended in with her skin tone and it washed her out. She wasn't exotic anymore. Elizabeth Taylor was the same story. A lot of times they do it because they think, 'I'm grey now and if I go blonde it will be less noticeable.' But that's not the case. Sure, it might be a little bit harsh to see the grey coming in, but considering what it does for your overall look, it's much better to stay with what works for your skin tone and eye color."

The best way to know if blonde is your color is to look at your skin tone. "Olive skin tones with yellow undertones need to avoid going blonde because it makes you look jaundice and sallow -- not a good look. The Kardashians, on the other hand, can get away with being blonde because they change their makeup to match their hair. They change their skin tone with strong makeup in order to make sure it works well with their new hair color. It's not their natural skin tone. Without the new makeup that accompanies the new color it won't look good -- no matter how beautiful you are. Theycan do it because they have a team around them who will change their skin tone, and that's what people don't realize."

For someone who has worked so closely with the world's most beautiful people for nearly 25 years, we thought it was worth asking what inspires him the most these days with regards to beauty? "You would think it would be people, but it's not," Chaz tells us. "It's nature, as you can see around my property. It's the bamboo forest and the lush greenery, etc. These are what inspire me. So when I work on someone's hair I want it to be bouncy, and not stiff or contrived. I want it to be a reflection of the honesty of nature. Then there are designers I love as well, such as Dolce & Gabbana, and Balmain, and so forth. But I'm moreso inspired by nature, and even the colors of nature."

Since he first went into the lab to create his very first product, Chaz has gone on to build a line of more than 500 products. "When I first launched WEN I worked on it for five years first. I wanted it to be perfect on every single hair type, no matter who you were. I launched in November 2000 with Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner, which was for every type of hair. It worked on everybody. But it you were to ask me 18 years ago if I could have ever imagined growing from one product to the 570 I have now, I never would have believed it. Also, I've never discontinued a product."

Turns out, all of Chaz's products emerge from a demand from his clients. "Every product I have made comes from a demand from my clients -- whether it's on QVC or from the salon. I listen to my customers. We've also expanded to WEN Kids, to WEN Men, to WEN Pets, to fragrances, to candles. The next expansion is Bella Spirit which is in the skincare family. It's a much more honed in line of products, like our exfoliating lip treatment that doesn't contain sugars (sugar treatments tear up the skin and your lips take a toll). Its exfoliant is a healthy alternative: lemon peel and rice, which is from the seed of black rice."

Chaz also shares some inside information on another of the biggest misconceptions about the world of A-list beauty and glamour. "Even the most beautiful and famous women in the world have insecurities. You wouldn't think it, but they do. It reminds me of that scene in The Help: 'You is smart, you is kind, you is important.' I think if everyone in the world was raised with that kind of positive reinforcement the world would be a much better place. They need to add 'beautiful' to that mantra though. I think it's important. It registered with me when I saw that movie. It was a message the little girl wasn't getting from her family -- she was getting it from the housekeeper. We all need that during our childhood. I've heard our self confidence is programmed within us by the time we're five."

If smart, kind, important and beautiful are some of Chaz's mantras, then another would most definitely be love. Aside from his friends and family, one of the biggest sources of love in Chaz's life are his three sweet and gorgeous labradors. "They fill me with 100% constant unconditional love with no judgement whatsoever. No matter what kind of day you've had, as soon as you come home they're there full of love waiting for you. I mean, I go out to the garage for 5 minutes and when I come back it's like they haven't seen me in a week! I call them my earth angels."

His dogs are also an essential part of what he considers to be his 'perfect Sunday.' "My perfect Sunday would be a day spent at home with my angels [his dogs], with the doors and windows open, just chilling. People ask me constantly, 'Hey, do you wanna go for brunch on Sunday?' And I tell them -- it's my only day off! I cherish my Sundays at home with my dogs. It's my perfect Sunday in every way. They make everyday better."

CHAZ DEAN STUDIO 6444 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028 www.chazdean.com