A stylist’s chair is sacred space. It is a seat of relaxation, renewal and even transformation. It’s also a relational space where stories are shared and bonds are created between beauty professionals and their faithful clients. We asked six Woodbury stylists to pretend you are in their chair. They share bits about themselves, beauty tips, pet peeves and which celebrities they’d most like to make over.
Tiffany Blair, stylist
Salon: Salon Elite
Expertise: Cuts, color, Keratin treatments, bridal and prom hairstyling
Cost: Women’s cuts $39, men’s cuts $29, color $65-$90, keratin treatments start at $125, bridal and prom styles start at $65
Tiffany Blair grew up styling friends’ hair and envisioning her career as a beauty professional. She is inspired by new and revolving trends and is excited about 1980s-style crimping irons making a comeback. With prom season on the horizon, Blair looks forward to opportunities for creating formal looks that incorporate flowers and ornate barrettes. “I’m tired of those casual half up, half down hairstyles,” Blair says. “I love formal hairstyles that look fancier than something you could do yourself at home.”
Blair regularly advises friends to use professional hair products and the right styling tools. Her beauty pet peeves are lumpy backcombing, improper or overly used styling products and visible hairpins. Blair’s celebrity makeover pick is Kristin Stewart of Twilight movie fame. Blair says, “Stewart has beautiful, porcelain skin. But her look is too Goth. I’d lighten her hair and get rid of all that black eyeliner.”
In her free time, Blair loves to shop boutiques, dine out and hang out with friends around a bonfire or at wine-tasting events. She also has a big heart for special needs children and loves the idea of providing hairstyles for special needs teens attending formal events.
Salon Elite
8320 City Centre Drive, Suite D
651.739.3773
Cory ‘Jaxson’ Olsen, stylist
Salon: Spalon Montage
Expertise: Cuts and color
Cost: Cuts start at $55, color starts at $60 through $175
Cory ‘Jaxson’ Olsen was accepted to a fashion design and merchandising school, but fate led him to beauty school instead. His transition to hair stylist was smooth since he thinks of hair as fashion you wear every day. Hair is the fabric Olsen uses to create beautiful colors and shapes.
Olsen is a specially trained colorist and stylist who also offers airbrushed makeup services. His inspiration often comes from the beauty of outer space, movies and fictional characters like mermaids. His beauty pet peeve is boxed hair color and hot roots, a term stylists use to describe over-processed roots that don’t match the ends of the hair. He’s also ready for hardcore side parts to fade from fashion.
“Shorter hair and disconnected styles are coming into vogue,” Olsen says. He gets excited to create retro styles and classic looks like structured bobs or styles with strong, long layers.
Olsen’s frequent beauty tips include taking time for deep conditioning treatments and morning blowouts. When asked which celebrity he might like to make over, Olsen chose Christina Aguilera. “I’d take her platinum colored hair down a few shades to a darker blonde with some low lights,” Olsen says. “The change would give Aguilera a fresher, more youthful look.”
Spalon Montage
8375 Seasons Parkway
952.915.2900
Jennifer Kopp, senior stylist
Salon: Salon Ultimo
Expertise: Perfectress hair extensions and Brazilian blowouts
Costs: Extensions $100/hr., blowouts $150-$320
Jennifer Kopp has always had a passion for beauty. But before choosing cosmetology, Kopp thought she might pursue a degree in psychology. She chuckles at the frequent comparison between hair stylists and psychologists. “I guess I’m a natural with hair and people,” Kopp says.
Making people feel good inspires Kopp whose own daily beauty regimen pumps her up about going to work. And each time Kopp attends another beauty education class, her passion for her profession is re-energized. She is always current with beauty trends like hombre hair color that Kopp notes is still popular but is becoming softer and more natural looking.
In her free time, Kopp frequents hot yoga classes, loves to get outdoors and hangs out with friends. She advises her friends to pay attention to their skin tone and face shape when making decisions about hair and makeup.
Kopp’s beauty pet peeve is “overgrown roots or hair that just needs a bit more love.” She says heavy makeup is another common beauty mistake. “When makeup is too caked, it begins to look like play makeup,” says Kopp, who likes to switch up her own hair and makeup now and then but shies away from anything too drastic. Kopp also loves fashion and says her style fluctuates depending on her mood, but she sticks to trends and “loves dressing up.”
Salon Ultimo
783 Radio Drive
651.738.5904
Marcie Huettl, stylist
Salon: Wild Child Hair
Expertise: Kids cuts and styles, chlorine removal, colored hair extensions, bang trims, neck trims and special occasion hairstyles for events and recitals
Costs: Basic cuts $15.50, additional $3 for wash
Marcie Huettl did everybody’s hair in college and was asked back then why she wasn’t going to beauty school instead. She later decided to forgo her pursuit of a teaching degree in favor of a career in cosmetology.
Huettl loves doing children’s hair because kids are so happy. “If a kid is unhappy, it’s typically because they’re scared. Not because they don’t like their haircut,” says Huettl. She feels badly for kids with bad haircuts because they often don’t have a clue and are at the mercy of their parents’ discretion. Huettl advises parents to seek professional help from a good stylist who understands that not all styles work on all children. She notes, “Your favorite hairstyle may not look good on your child.”
A beauty pet peeve for Huettl is clumpy, filmy hair gel. She encourages people to seek a balance of the right products for your specific hair type. And when it comes to hair types, Huettl is drawn to styling children with curly hair. “I have naturally curly hair and know how beautiful it can be,” says Huettl, who wants to help kids avoid poufy hair in favor of tamed yet stylish tresses.
When Huettl isn’t working, she loves to get outdoors. She loves skiing, snowmobiling, scuba diving or fishing. This outdoorsyness compliments her preference for natural beauty that never looks overdone.
Wild Child Hair
10035 City Walk Drive, Suite F
651.340.1847
Lynsie Hilde, artistic director
Salon: Rocco Altobelli Advanced Educational Academy
Expertise: Cutting and updo styles
Costs: Cuts $58, updos $116
Lynsie Hilde grew up around hair styling. Her mother is a hair stylist. And although Hilde spent time at college studying to be a teacher, she ultimately chose the beauty industry. Now she gets to teach other salon professionals at Rocco Altobelli Advanced Educational Academy.
Hilde is surrounded by a creative artistic team that inspires her work. She also loves to keep up with current trends. Her job has taken her to Chicago, New York, Las Vegas and even Paris to work with Intercoiffure, an international hair dressing organization. She relates the architectural design of buildings in these cosmopolitan cities to haircuts. “I take an artistic view on everything,” Hilde says. “And I love to learn what stylists from all over are doing.”
Hilde’s beauty pet peeve is 1980s mall bangs, mullets and helmet hair. Fuller, wavy hair is coming back into style. But it should have movement and be styled in a way that compliments the hair’s texture. Hilde loves daytime talk show host, Kelly Ripa’s latest haircut. “Her blunt cut suits her small frame,” Hilde says. “Notice how it moves. It’s bouncy and beautiful.”
When away from work, Hilde enjoys hiking, camping and snowmobiling with her husband and three stepsons. And to keep from getting stuck in a style rut, Hilde regularly changes her own hair color and gets a new haircut each time her hair grows out.
Rocco Altobelli
8390 Tamarack Village
651.730.7077
Christa Clark, stylist
Salon: Trendi Salon
Expertise: Cut, color and hair extensions
Costs: Cuts $36, color starts at $65, extensions are $100 per bundle for tape-in and start at $800 for itip extensions
Christa Clark’s mom and aunt are in the beauty business and Clark remembers drawing floor plans for her own salon when she was just seven years old. She especially loves hair color and used to change her own hair color almost every week. But now Clark has hair extensions in a hairstyle she’s worn for nearly a year, the longest she can remember.
In addition to hair color services, Clark offers hair extensions to match almost any hair color. She loves that hair extensions are long-lasting and how they add extra fullness and length.
The creativity of Clark’s professional life spills over into her personal life. She loves to cook and decorate. She credits her mother and grandmother for teaching her to make authentic Italian dishes like eggplant Parmesan. But Clark isn’t sure whom to blame for her shopping addiction. “I’m inspired by almost everything I see on Pinterest or in home stores,” Clark says. And when she’s out shopping, Clark is quick to notice her beauty pet peeve: hair damaged by harsh boxed hair coloring.
Clark’s beauty tip is to use professional hair care products found in salons. And as for celebrity makeovers, Clark would love to re-do the hairstyle of Twin Cities Live co-host Elizabeth Ries. “She is so pretty,” Clark says, “but she needs a re-vamp cut and color to brighten her up.”
Trendi Salon
1705 Weir Drive
651.578.7779
