| Henry Amador Part Deux: Warm, Intimate & Incredibly Talented |
| Karen Marie Shelton |
| Revised: 7/13/07 - Original Publication Date:
10/1/2001 |
Introduction
I
recently caught up with famed colorist, Henry Amador, for a long and
enjoyable chat about what he’s been up to since our very first
interview that took place two years ago in 1999.
As always, Henry was wonderfully charming, insightful and
fascinating as he shared his latest journeys into the world of hair
artistry.
Note: All photos included in this article are copyright of
Henry Amador.
I was fortunate
to catch Henry after he just returned from jetting off to do a
bride’s hair for her out-of-town wedding. The details of his trip
were fascinating and I quizzed him for juicy details.
His trip involved a very special bride.
Henry has been doing this young woman’s hair for years as
she grew from a teen at her Prom, into a recent blushing bride.
As you can imagine, he felt honored to be a major part of
making her look beautiful and feel special on her wedding day.
Creativity & Soul
Since
our last chat Henry has moved from his own salon haunts to a
kinder, gentler setting, with a trendy new concept.
His focus has shifted from the noisy hustle and bustle of a
busy, impersonal salon to a mellow and relaxed small studio
environment (The Henry Amador Salon - 954-396-4247 or
954-396-HAIR)
that nurtures his artistic soul along with those of his beloved
clients.
Not only was he
craving closeness to the beach, Henry was charmed by the studio’s
location set in the romantic old historic area of trendy Fort
Lauderdale. Even better, the studio just happened to be a mere two
blocks from Henry’s residence.
This close proximity gave him the freedom to wander back and
forth between his two loves, his studio and his home.
The short distance from his home to his studio allows Henry
to maintain a flexible schedule for his clients that might need an
appointment at an unusual hour.
Will you find
Henry doing hair at 5:00 in the morning?
Anything is possible if Henry is willing and a client is in
need of his hair assistance. The beauty of the Henry Amador studio is
that it feels like you are visiting your stylist at home.
Why a new smaller, intimate studio? Henry explained that he
craved the excitement of working with a group of like-minded hair
and beauty creative muses who shared his quest for creating "an
eclectic type of salon". And share they do. Henry
described how they all “learn from each other as they experiment and
play with their different hair design techniques”. This
environment of inventive hair creativity adds a special air of
excitement that is felt by clients and stylists alike.
As Henry pointed out “the key to success is to submerse and
surround yourself with others who are like you”. Although it
seemed like a simple concept, it was exactly where he felt he needed
to be with his career. Henry loves the freedom to try new things,
watch others as they evolve on their own paths and share in the
artistic hair endeavors.
Henry really wanted to be part of a studio setting that felt more
like he was welcoming a client into the comfy aromatherapy-filled
warmth of his own home rather than the cold, stress filled and
sterile setting of so many of the larger salons. Clients
visiting The Elite Group are encouraged to chill out, close their
eyes and completely relax as they are made to feel special.
Life is stressful enough and Henry wants them to check their angst
at the door of the studio.
Most clients can totally melt into the studio’s free flowing, yet
edgy spaces, decorated with deep gold tones, teak woods, beautiful
mirrors and candles.
Great Clientele
Henry
was bursting with excitement as he shared his experiences with the
Elite Group. Although
he is always open to taking new clients, the key is timing and
fitting folks into his generally packed schedule.
Henry has a
very long term and loyal base of clients.
Not only has he worked with many of his clients for years, he
also works on their kids, spouses and other family members.
Although Henry relates well to teens and younger people, he is
also the darling of the older set.
In essence, he has the unique ability to be multi-generational in his
hair designs.
When he’s not
traveling, which he does frequently, Henry can be found hanging out
in the studio where the warm and intimate setting is enhanced with
the sounds of jazz.
Word of mouth
buzz about The Henry Amador Salon has kept the current salon team happily
engaged.
Everyone collaborates as a partner in the studio and teamwork
is the modus operendi.
OK, so other
than making the client feel relaxed, listened to, and pampered, what
attracts the constant stream of people to the studio?
Could there even be anything else?
As Henry pointed out, make a person feel special and
beautiful and you have accomplished something that all clients
really want.
Of course it
doesn’t hurt that everyone at the studio is on a first name basis.
Although
there are plans to expand the studio and offer some spa services,
the goal is to remain small and intimate enough to always offer the
clients a totally unique personal experience.
Plans are also underway to do photo
shoots at the salon along with music videos that will be
recorded in the studios off hours.
When I quizzed
Henry about what type of hair he prefers to work with, he laughed
and told me “he loves to do everything that allows him to be
creating behind the chair”. That
means in “Henryspeak” that he enjoys doing the entire process.
This means everything from the cut to the color and the final
styling.
Henry is
constantly motivated to craft fabulous hair designs ranging from
simple sleek styles to wild twists and bold new styles.
He creates for male and female clients that range in age from
the young to old.
Bottom, line,
Henry’s life is dedicated to his intense love for working with
hair. Yes, it is
definitely his passion.
Celebrity Clients
Although
Henry is willing to share just about anything regarding his 20 years
in the hair business, his 38 years on this planet, his astrological
sign (Scorpio) or his philosophies about life (Buddhism), he is
unwilling to name names or provide details about the many
celebrities he has worked with throughout the years.
When I pressed him for details, Henry reminded me that “all of
his clients are celebrities”. While that is certainly the
politically correct answer, it didn’t really get me the skinny on
the stellar folks that regularly sit in his chair.
Henry politely, yet vaguely, reported that he often jets “to
other destinations to do hair for his celebrity clients”. He often
pops in for special events in their lives.
Some of Henry’s clients have him booked way in advance to
guarantee he will be available to do their hair. One long time
client has Henry written into her will to do her hair for her
funeral because “she wants to know that her hair will look gorgeous
into eternity”.
There are several reasons why Henry remains mum about who and how
when it comes to his celebrities. Besides wanting absolute
privacy, his celebrity clients often “owe their heads” to big name
stylists in New York or California. Because they may not want
to be viewed as disloyal to their main stylists back home, the
starts want to keep their Florida trips to Henry under wraps.
Yes, it really is true, celebrities can be blacklisted from some
of the big name salons and stylists if they are viewed as
“turncoats”. Always, putting the needs of his clients first,
Henry is religious about guarding the privacy of his stars. He
believes that celebrities want to feel relaxed and pampered just
like all of us regular mortals.
Henry will go
out of his way to work a celebrity or star into his schedule at a
time when they might have the studio to themselves for absolute
privacy. As he
explained, he tries to be flexible for his loyal customers.
Weaving Color Webs
The
color technique that Henry is most famous for is his masterful
one-of-a-kind color quilting technique, which we discussed in his
first interview two years ago.
Henry's color quilting technique was featured in Modern
Salon, and American Salon,
to name just a few of the magazines that covered Henry's incredible
technique.
Yes, Henry
is still designing interlocking squares of colors that are applied
to a client’s hair to give hair incredible depth, richness and
gorgeous hues. However,
he has evolved past his quilting technique of two years ago into new
dimensions.
Since his first
brilliant work with color quilting Henry has soared to new artistic
heights. Although
he explained that the color quilting was fun and exciting, he has
moved into new horizons with his color creations.
He is trying many different things that open his mind to new
looks.
Henry sees
something different for every client.
He constantly pushes himself to leapfrog over any personal
fear and pushes his artistic side to paint a wonderful new design
using hair color for his clients.
He comes from a place of love and passion for creating the
best color and looks he can for his clients.
Recently Henry
has been creating fabulous headbands made out of carefully placed
color. When I asked for
an example of what he might design, Henry explained that he might
take someone with long blonde hair and create a “color headband”
by sectioning one-inch partings across the top of the hair in a
simple line with darker or lighter colors to give the hair gorgeous
depth and movement.
Another option
is to do a black on blonde or blonde or blonde series of tiny panels
to form a “band of color” that forms around the head.
How the color band is created would depend on a number of
factors.
The headbands
are created with highlights and foils.
Every band is very individual and can be enhanced with
different cuts and hair lengths.
Henry’s natural inspiration partially comes from the
excitement, brilliance and magnificence from the art world.
Paint Is Not The Most Important Thing
Henry is a free
agent when it comes to creating with his colors.
Just like a true artist who mixes and blends, Henry explained
that he constantly pushes himself to move beyond the bonds of being
tied to just one brand of color or one color technique.
As he pointed out “when the paint becomes more important
than the Picasso behind it” you lose the brilliance and creativity
of the individual colorist. Henry
firmly believes that “color is not the answer and loses importance
in the grand scheme of developing new color methods”.
Sadly, as he
explained, many of the color companies today limit colorists and
prevent them from soaring unfettered into a cloud of their own
fantasy hues. Henry has traveled the world performing on stage, teaching and
working with many colorists who are slaves to a specific color brand
that blocks their ability to be the best that they can be for
themselves and their clients.
In all
fairness, he pointed out that clients can handcuff colorists with
their demands that certain colors or brands are used.
Colorists should, in Henry’s opinion, focus first on making
their clients happy and beautiful rather than using a brand or hue
that the client insists is the color they want on their heads.
His sincere
hope is that all colorists learn that the brand of color they use
doesn’t matter as much as their ability to create the colors that
are a true expression of their creativity.
He also hopes that “colorists learn to escape from the
fear” of not using the right brand, of upsetting the clients who
demand a certain color and from their own abilities to excel with
new products. Fear
blocks people from soaring to new heights of achievement and
creativity.
After Henry
explained that the “power to create color is not in your bowl but
in your technique”. He
works hard to avoid “getting stuck in a box” when it comes to
his color creations. “Trusting
your own eye and having fun with color” can result in incredible
new designs and creations.
Henry is also
never a slave to his timer. He
never ever sets his timer and walks away from a color that is
processing. He stays and constantly watches it to see what is happening.
I asked him what color brands he enjoyed playing with.
After 20 years of working with color in all forms Henry reported
that he “uses everything”. He loves to interchange color from
different product lines.
Henry’s
loyalties are to the business of creating beautiful hair and not to
any specific hair care line whether it be color or for products.
He did admit that being in a small studio has some major
advantages when it comes to selecting colors and products.
So what products has Henry played with? He has used ARTec, Goldwell, Clairol’s professional line, Wella and Regal
from Italy, to name just a few of the many brands.
As far as hair
care products go, Henry really likes ARTec’s Pure Hair line and
has used many different brands over the years.
Giants Of The Hair Industry
Henry is
a master stylist and colorist who has paid his dues in the hair care
industry over the past several years. In previous times Henry
has been a very popular platform hair artist who would perform at
many of the big hair industry shows like IBS. He also served
as a creative director and worked with some of the hair idols of the
industry.
Although Henry believes in total independence in his creative
work with hair, he did tell me that he has tremendous respect for
some of the giants of the hair industry like Leland Hirsh (one of my
own personal hair idols) who single-handedly created ARTec.
Henry
explained that he assisted Hirsh in the past. He worked with Hirsh during the Haircolor USA days.
Henry relayed
that he was visiting with Leland during the time that Hirsh was
writing the actual descriptions for the ARTec textureline products. Yes, Leland personally wrote every single word for every
bottle
that is sold today by ARTec.
Henry admires
“Leland and ARTec because it is company created by hairdressers
for hairdressers”. Not
only did Leland sit on his bed painstakingly writing text for empty
bottles, he was determined to create products for stylists.
Henry pointed out that the ARTec color line follows the same
tradition and that “ARTec creates colors by colorists for other
colorists”. Henry deemed Hirsh “a true genius who is amazingly on
target with his eye for color and his editorial work”.
Transformations Through Paint
“Using color
to bring joy and happiness to people is such an amazing and powerful
gift”. As Henry
explained, “color can and does make such a fabulous difference for
so many people”.
He relayed the
romantic story of the daughter of a loyal client who came to see him
to escape from her longtime look of plain straight hair.
Henry decided to play with color to bestow a bright new
dazzle to this attractive, yet shy, young woman’s hair.
He masterfully transformed her look by adding subtle, yet
sensual warm red tones. He
also slightly reshaped her hair so the beautiful new tones shimmered
as she moved.
The next
morning on her way to college, the co-pilot arranged for her to have
a better seat, which turned out to be for his own view of her
“gorgeous hair”. This quiet, shy woman blossomed overnight,
capturing the heart of her very first boyfriend, in the process.
These kinds of
life changing experiences mean a lot to Henry because they are so
fulfilling for the work that he does with color.
A master colorist can help a person feel good about who they
are and that makes Henry feel good about his work in this
challenging field.
Pulse On The Hair Industry
As
always, Henry has his pulse on the hair industry. He gave me
some incredible insights into what to expect as we move towards the
future
and beyond.
He did
remind me that it could take as long as two years for hair trends to
change from the time they first appear on the runways or on
celebrities. Fashion trends and fabric textures have an overall impact on
color and hair changes that evolve over time.
Right
now the client wants to look “done”.
They want to look like they just stepped right out of the
salon. The same is true
with hair color. Clients
want an obvious finished look.
Hair color is more geometric and works as part of the overall
piece. Different shapes and sizes created with color are still very
exciting looks.
Christina Applegate’s look where contrasting colors of hair are
interwoven is hot. Black and white together like cookies and
cream is popular as is color applied to specific individual sections
of the hair.
In the
North part of the United States the trends for color seem to go with
the seasons. For Fall
and Winter the colors tend to be darker tones like reds and deeper
burgundy.
In the
Southern part of the United States blondes continue to be big.
Blonde on blonde, icy blonde and sunny blonde are very
popular. In general,
there is a tremendous range of blonde that is hot and women choose
the color that enhances their individuality.
Southern women and California women want a blonde, tan,
healthy look that is year round.
Uniqueness Is Very Hot
Henry
reported that individuality continues to be a big consumer hair
trend. The number one thing that is happening in the hair
industry today (and will continue to happen) is a great push for
complete originality.
Clients
are not necessarily following a specific trend in the color or cut
that they choose. Many
are still focused on achieving and maintaining their own individual
look that plays up their special beauty or best features.
Hair
consumers are no longer willing to wear their hair a certain way
because the hair industry tells them that they should.
As Henry pointed out, consumers want to follow the innovators
and not the copycats.
Special Consumer Hair Color Wisdom?
Two
years ago when I first interviewed Henry he provided a wonderful tip
on softening stubborn gray
hair.
I reminded Henry about his fabulous advice.
I reported that I received many emails from HairBoutique.com
visitors that had appreciated Henry’s great advice.
I asked
Henry to share a new color related consumer hair tip for this latest
interview. I specifically asked him if he could advise consumers about
the proper use of the many different "color shampoos"
currently available on the market.
Henry
told me that believes that ARTec is one of the better brands because it has
"a
very good pigment load" and allows color professionals to custom blend the
colors for a unique look.
Henry
cautioned that many consumers might have a hard time using the color
shampoo at home without the advice of a professional.
He also pointed out that the mistake many consumers make is
not alternating the use of the ARTec color shampoos with the ARTec
Kiwi shampoo.
As a
rule color shampoos should never be used in moderation (no more than
one or two times a week) to avoid drying out the hair.
Consumers get into trouble with color shampoos when they try
to use them every day. This
is a big no-no and will definitely dry out the hair.
Although
he likes the ARTec brand, Henry said there are actually lots of
great color shampoos on the market that will put some pigment into
the hair. Henry said the key to success with color shampoos (like ARTec,
Aveda, Redken, etc.,) is to avoid overdoing the use of the
product.
Summary
Henry
Amador is an amazing inspiration.
It was a great honor to be able to catch up with him after a
two-year absence and discover that he continues to make all of his
life’s dreams come true.
When
Henry and I finished chatting I discovered a mound of 25 pages of my
handwritten
notes strewn everywhere on the floor.
After
our long chat I immediately scurried off to try and capture the true
essence of Henry, the brilliant colorist, stylist, artist,
philosopher, humanitarian and muse.
This proved to be a torturous task as many drafts, revisions
and rewrites poured out of my head into my PC for weeks on end.
To make an appointment with this amazing hair professional call
Henry The Henry Amador Salon at 954-396-4247 or (954-396-HAIR) |