Ken Paves: Making Of
A Celebrity Hair Superstar! |
| Karen Marie Shelton - Copyright - All
Rights Reserved |
| Revised Date: 05/25/10 |
Introduction
Since the time I was a small child I always knew when I
met someone that would become significant in my life
because my stomach would do a quick little flip.Over
the course of my lifetime my stomach has signaled the
arrival of lifelong best friends, great business
partners and special loves.
 |
|
Cameron
Electra, Ken Paves & Jessica Simpson
Operation Smile Event
9/24/03 |
|
Courtesy Ken Paves
All Rights Reserved |
Such was the case when I first met Ken Paves in
Dallas, Texas on a hot summer day while he performed
superhuman hair tricks on the beautiful blonde tresses
of Jessica Simpson.
Truth be told, I was invited into the closed
Seventeen Magazine shoot, for a five minute interview
with the still single pop star. While I did manage
to choke out a few lame questions for the very beautiful
and gracious songstress - my stomach flipped when I
spotted the hair whiz as he literally flew through the
room brushing, combing, smoothing, fluffing and tousling
at warp speeds.
Leaping Over Crouching Cameraman
From that first moment when I watched him leap over a
crouching cameraman to rescue Jess from a rogue strand I
was hooked by this iconoclastic hairstyling innovator.
After spending several hours watching Ken whip
Jessica's hair into a dizzying array of stunning styles,
I felt like we were destined to work together on other
projects. And so began my good fortune to become a fly
on the wall of Ken Paves' life as he ascended the throne
of Celebrity Hair Superstar.
Ironically, when I first met Ken, it was still
technically the early days of Jessica's career.
Although the beautiful blonde was preparing for her
upcoming Fall wedding to Nick, she had not yet filmed a
single episode of the reality show that made her a
household name, had not uttered her famous chicken or
tuna and had not yet achieved the fantastic fame that
she now enjoys.
Although he had been working with many A list
celebrities when I met Ken, his star also was still on
the rise. One of the topics we discussed was the
fact that he had just finished his first show with
Oprah.
At that point he had not opened his famous
Detroit salon, had not launched his best selling
hair care line and was still living behind
the scenes.
Out Of The Shadows
 |
|
Ken Paves |
|
Courtesy Ken Paves
All Rights Reserved |
Ken's appearances with Jessica on The Newylweds in
combination with his ongoing brilliant makeover work on
Oprah pushed the hair guru out of the shadows into the
public eye. Soon he was being quoted in InStyle, Allure,
Star and US Weekly.
As the viewing public watched Ken's brilliant
hairdressing work with Jessica and his other major
stars, he became a household name. Images of Ken
with Jessica became commonplace. Soon he became a
major celebrity in his own right, followed everywhere by
paparazzi.
His Detroit salon was featured in Celebrity Living
Magazine and recently People Magazine did a feature on
the hairdresser that some of his celebrity clients are
calling "the Vidal Sassoon of his era".
When I think back on the historical moments that Ken
shared with me I have too many great memories to list in
just one article.
If I was pressed to list some of
the best times I would have to say that Carmen Electra's
wedding day was one of those fairy tale moments.
Ken called me from his cell as he prepared to coif the
beautiful celebrity for her wedding day. Even
though I wasn't there in person, Ken shared some of his
time on that special day with me and I actually felt
like I was living vicariously through Ken's eyes.
I had goose bumps throughout the entire conversation.
Another great memory was when Ken called me literally
in the middle night as he worked with Carmen for a
magazine shoot. The adorable and very sweet star
was calling out message to me via Ken who was chatting
with me on the cell.
Of course another memorable moment was when Ken
invited me to Beverly Hills recently where he arranged
for me to be the only press person present for a top
secret shoot with one of his uber famous clients.
I spent four days with Ken and Team Paves.
Assuming the Karen Shelton Fly On The Wall pose I was
so focused on not missing an entire event that Ken would
spot me furiously scribbling notes and would call out,
in true Ken Paves mode "Karen Shelton - step away from
that notepad".
The Real Truth About Ken Paves
 |
|
Ashlee Simpson
& Ken Paves |
|
Courtesy Ken Paves
All Rights Reserved |
Over the years I have seen the good, the bad and the
ugly with Kenney.
So much has been written about him in the media that
you probably know a lot of surface fluff and facts about
this famous man.
But do you really know the man behind the
fabulous hair designs, perfect blonde highlights and
long lean physique?
What is he really like? Ken is first and
foremost a brilliantly creative artist whose canvas just
happens to be hair.
So what drives this man? He is driven by his
need to help all of his clients, whether Hollywood stars
or housewives, release their true inner beauty. He wants
women to love themselves and to feel pretty and happy.
Yes, he is an unabashed workaholic who is also a
perfectionist. But this genius hairdresser is not about
Ken Paves. He is about his clients, his family,
his friends and his "kids" who are part of the many
charities he supports. I was actually surprised to
discover that Ken Paves is also humble and still gets a
case of nerves when working with a new high profile
client.
Of course this is craziness since I have watched Ken
Paves doing amazing hair designs in a matter of minutes
while in the middle of a hurricane of activity.
Although he makes his hairstyles look simple, in
reality, they are often very complex creations that
appear to have been created in an instant.
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Ken Paves
2007 |
|
Image by Trae
Patton
Courtesy of Bravo Network
-
All Rights Reserved |
When a celebrity is lucky enough to book time with
Ken Paves, and yes, this can be a challenge in
Hollywood, she has 1000% of his attention. Ken
flips off his cell phone and gives his total attention
to his client of the moment.
Honestly, if I ever needed any type of delicate
surgery, I would want to hire Ken to supervise the
surgeon. His eagle eye misses no detail - however
small and he is a perfectionist. Even though he
might not know his way around the operating room, if I
hired him to be "my guy", he would make absolutely sure
that everything was done properly, or Ken would be
asking some very pointed questions.
One thing that has always impressed me about Ken is
his undying loyalty and his overwhelming kindness.
Ken Paves is not driven to be famous. He is driven
to make a difference in the world and to selflessly give
of himself.
Yes, Ken has his faults, as do all humans. This
super busy man has been known to abruptly hang up on me,
which has evolved into our private joke over the years.
I never take offense and have even learned to beat him
to the hang up punch.
One of his other human traits is that he hates to
ever let anyone down, which results in him working too
hard and always taking "just one more hair client" even
though it may be midnight. Ken is devoted to his
mom and his family and his beloved animals. He has
a heart of gold and sincerely cares.
If I was dishing dirt on Ken Paves, the worst thing I
could say about him is that he works too hard, he pushes
himself too much and he has a hard time saying no to the
many requests for his time and attention.
Summary
Like many successful top players, Ken Paves has a
reputation as a formidable hairdresser that can
literally spin straw strands into golden tresses in
record time. His almost singular devotion to his
clients is legendary.
Note: All
Paves Hair and
Beauty related products are available in the
HairBoutique.com Marketplace.
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Original Publication Date: 10/06/2007 - Revised Publication
Date: 05/25/10 |
