{"id":152129,"date":"2025-10-29T21:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T21:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/152129\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T21:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T21:10:09","slug":"jen-atkin-misses-the-awkward-hair-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/152129\/","title":{"rendered":"Jen Atkin Misses the Awkward Hair Phase"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n Photo: Courtesy of Bellami\n <\/p>\n

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Jen Atkin, the celebrity stylist and Ouai founder, has built a career on making hair care feel democratic, from destigmatizing extensions by showing viewers behind the scenes of how the Kardashians actually get their full heads of hair to creating products like the Ouai dandruff shampoo, which makes caring for hair conditions feel like self-care. This month, she was named the global ambassador for Bellami, the premium extensions brand she calls \u201cthe cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Atkin, the partnership is about shifting perception. \u201cIt\u2019s 2025,\u201d she says. Extensions, she says, used to be \u201ca secret,\u201d but now they\u2019re just another accessory in your beauty toolkit.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also thinking about the next generation \u2014 as a mom of two kids, she\u2019s torn between letting her kids experiment and missing the awkward phases she grew up with. \u201cI\u2019m annoyed the tweens don\u2019t go through awkward stages anymore,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I want my daughter to have the confidence to try things. She has the rest of her life for makeup and heels \u2014 enjoy now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, she sees technology reshaping that vision of care and ease. \u201cAI will change everything,\u201d she says. \u201cFrom scalp mapping and data-driven formulas to faster product development \u2014 it\u2019s all about personalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photo: Courtesy of Bellami\n <\/p>\n

Extensions used to be hush-hush. How did we get from \u201cdon\u2019t tell\u201d to \u201cit\u2019s just part of my routine\u201d? <\/strong>
A whole generation grew up on filters and Photoshop, and the response has been, \u201cShow the process.\u201d We share nails, lashes, injectables \u2014 why not hair? Extensions aren\u2019t a scandal; they\u2019re an accessory. I\u2019ve done extensions for years \u2014 red carpets and real life. And working in the Middle East early on was a master class in premium hair and extreme length. The more we stop gatekeeping, the better everyone feels showing up as their best.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your extension-styling \u201cick\u201d \u2014 what should people stop doing? <\/strong>Bad blending. If the texture or tone doesn\u2019t melt into your hair, it announces itself. Extensions should disappear into your hair \u2014 not introduce themselves before you do.<\/p>\n

Was there ever a hair moment that changed how you think about style? <\/strong>I grew up in the \u201980s, when it was all about big hair \u2014 and I already had big hair \u2014 but the \u201990s really shaped how I saw style. You had those fun short cuts, boy cuts, and then that long, glossy, Versace-ad length. I still collect \u201990s magazines just to study the hair \u2014 Claudia Schiffer, the supermodels.<\/p>\n

But if I had to pick one moment? Rihanna\u2019s red-bob era. That was everything.<\/p>\n

Where do you think hair is headed next \u2014 whether that\u2019s a new trend, mindset, or the way we actually care for it?<\/strong>
I was just in Paris, sitting in caf\u00e9s where every girl had that long, one-length, believable hair \u2014 glossy, effortless, almost \u201970s-coded shine. It\u2019s not about the extra-extra Barbie length anymore; it\u2019s about movement, texture, and wearability.<\/p>\n

What haircut or color trends are you expecting to see this winter and into 2026?<\/strong>
There\u2019s a real shift away from over-styled looks toward natural texture, healthy shine, and shapes that move. Think soft, grown-out layers, curtain fringe, and blunt bobs that you can air-dry or style in five minutes.<\/p>\n

For color, warmth is making a comeback: buttery blondes, honey brunettes, and glossy espresso tones. It\u2019s less about transformation and more about keeping hair healthy and just a little undone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Courtesy of Bellami Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily Vox Media, LLC Terms and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[85225,798,18,89059,19,17,89057,89058,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-152129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-5-questions-with","9":"tag-beauty","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-hair-extensions","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-jen-atkins","15":"tag-long-hair","16":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115459511307241599","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}