Butter LA - Spreading the Word on All Things Beautiful.

Diamonds may have been Marilyn’s best friend, but hairstylist John Blaine (left) is definitely a Hollywood starlet’s dream come true. Don’t know his name? Well, ever wonder who’s responsible for keeping burlesque beauty Dita Von Teese’s hair so perfect? Or creating that ideal bombshell hair on Pamela Anderson? Or working a curling iron while sharing laughs with cheeky comedienne Margaret Cho? Know who I’m talking about now? Yeah, I thought so…

Butter: Most of us know you from your recent appearances on VH1’s The Cho Show and Pamela Anderson’s Girl on the Loose as the celebrity IT hair stylist.  How did you get your start as a celebrity hairstylist?

John Blaine: I’ve been in this industry for about 20 odd years now. I graduated from a vocational college and then trained with Vidal Sassoon to cut and color hair. I wanted to know all the ins and outs of the fashion world so I could do it the proper way.  Can you say top ramen for days?!. Ha!
I knew I didn’t want to be constrained to working in a salon so I interviewed with various agencies that repped freelance artists. I ended up signing with Oribe, which would later become the Rex Agency. I started work almost immediately.  I began traveling the world, doing all the Fashion Week shows in NYC, Paris, Milan.   I worked closely with the original “Super 6″: Linda, Christy, Naomi, Claudia, Cindy, and Kate. It was so amazing to see these girls live and be blown away by how beautiful they were, are…

Being based in Los Angeles, it was only natural for my career to progress into working with celebrities, especially now with so much of Hollywood controlling every aspect of fashion.

Butter: You work with some of the biggest celebrities, all ranging from a variety of styles.  Your clients include Dita Von Teese, Margaret Cho, and Paris Hilton, just to name a few.  Now dish it!  Who is your favorite to work with?  Who’s the most willing to experiment?

John Blaine: Pam Anderson walked onto a set and I looked at her and was floored by how beautiful this chick was without a stitch of makeup on. Love her!
I’ve also worked with Paris Hilton. A lot of people don’t know how sweet she really is.  What a big heart, too! Most of my clients are already super-vixens who want BIG everything and I’m known for my over the top glamorous looks… so luckily all of my clients have been easy breezy.  They know what they’re all getting into.

Butter: Is there anyone you haven’t worked with (Living or dead) that you’d love to have the opportunity to?

John Blaine: OF COURSE!!!  Miss Tina Turner, Cher, Helen Mirren, just to name a few. There are so many fantastic ladies, but oh I just love David Beckham!!! But don’t all gays… David call me!!! Ha!

Butter: I’m not a gay man.. but I agree, David Beckham is quite the tight-end… strictly football talk.  Onto a more useful note, although we could probably talk about the football star for hours…what are some of your favorite products to work with?

John Blaine: As far as products go, Bed Head has the greatest hairsprays!! “Hard Head” is my favorite!  ”American Crew” has the best pomades and gels… all men should use this stuff!! Amazing!! And as far as shampoo’s and conditioners go, well “Redken” takes it for me!!

Butter: What’s the biggest hair NO-NO for you?

John Blaine: CRUNCHY, rolled out of bed HAIR!!!! Ewwww!! I don’t know why any girl would ask for it… And a big peeve is when women wait too long to color their hair and their roots being to grow in… TRAGIC!

Butter: Where do you draw most of your inspiration?

John Blaine: History books! Historic art. Historic women. I never ever look at fashion magazines before I start a job! Its the worst for me, because you tend to replicate something you see and you lose a lot of originality.

Butter: I like it. Anything to promote education… So what are some tips that you can give all of us on maintaining healthy hair?

John Blaine: Ask your stylist to show you how to blow dry, curl, style your hair. Condition a lot! Hairstyles today have to defy gravity, that means a lot of products, but it’s important to educate yourself on these products and how to use them correctly!

Butter: Any possibility of creating your own product line?

John Blaine: The product line is coming soon, also a tool line too.

Butter: What salons can us fans track you down at for a fabulous hairdo?

John Blaine: I’m a believer that everyone should be able to get their hair done without having to mortgage your house to do it.  So I don’t have specific rates, I tend to work with my client and their restrictions.  It’s really important for me to have a client’s happiness, not his or her money.  I have a private salon that is not advertised. So many of my clients are all through word of mouth, but you can contact me on my site for more details johnblainehair.com or rougeartists.com

Tune into VH1 on Thursdays at 11:00PM to check John out on the Cho Show

Have a question that we didn’t ask? Want the spread on something beautiful? Let Butter know by leaving us comments and questions…

Posted on September 11th, 2008 under Butter Beauty • Tags: Dita Von Teese, Hair, Hairstylists, Interview, John Blaine, Kat, Pamela Anderson. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback