Banishing Bad Hair Days since 1997!™

Jessica Galvan - Celebrity Hairdresser To Posh Spice & A Host Of Other Stars

Introduction

Victoria Beckham Blonde Pob

When it comes to the life of celebrity hairdresser Jessica Galvan, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

The daughter of a famous celebrity hairdresser, in Monterrey, México, Jessica and her sister Erika grew up watching their talented mother coif some of the biggest celebrity names. Jessica's mom was also in demand in other countries, including Spain and Puerto Rico.

As the bubbly Jessica explained it, from the time she was a little girl hanging out in her mom Silvia's salon, she "loved the biz". It was in her blood and from a very early age she knew she wanted to follow in her mom's shoes.

She had a "true passion for the hair business" and wanted it to "play a major part in her life".

Holding onto her dreams of becoming a celebrity hairdresser like her mom, Jessica embarked in 1991 on a major life adventure.

After researching all the major hair academies in the United States, she and her mother selected Toni & Guy in Carrollton, Texas as the place for Jessica to go to cosmetology school.

Her mother, who studied at the Vidal Sassoon Academy, "always loved the Toni & Guy methods". She was impressed "by the fact that the actual Toni & Guy founders and owners were always in their academy helping the students become the best that they could be with their hair techniques".

Victoria Beckham Blonde Pob

Jessica's mom felt it was extremely important that Jessica be able to "learn directly from such an esteemed hair dressing family".

Also, the school was brand spanking new. It has just been opened right before Jessica attended which was another reason for the decision to attend.

When the teenaged Jessica arrived in Carrolton (a suburb of Dallas) she immediately focused all of her time and energy into learning everything she could about the hair world.

Of course, she confessed, "all those years watching her mother and helping her in the business, made cosmetology school an easier experience for her than for others". After all, she had all those years hanging around watching and helping her mom to fall back on.

For Jessica, Cosmo school was "like arriving home". She "adored her experiences at Toni & Guy and couldn't wait to graduate and start working with hair".

During her time in Dallas, at Toni & Guy, she did some work assisting other hairdressers as an apprentice and was thrilled at the opportunities it offered her to learn even more about doing hair.

Blazing A New Celebrity Hair Path To Beverly Hills

Victoria Beckham

After putting all of her attention on her hair studies, Jessica, who was barely 21 years old, finished and was ready to start her own professional hair career.

Although the plan was for her and her sister (who accompanied her to Texas) to back to Mexico and work with their mother, Jessica was hit with a revelation. She wanted to stay and do hair in the United States. Even more amazing, she really wanted to move to California to live and work.

Laughing, she admitted her mom "almost had a heart attack" when she told her that she wished to stay and move to California to make her own way. And that she wanted her sister Erika to go with her.

Victoria Beckham

However, her wonderful mother agreed that her two beloved daughters should stay in the United States, "at least for awhile".

Jessica's mother understood that her daughter wanted to make her own way in the celebrity hair world and not ride on her famous mother's coattails. An impressive goal indeed.

Jessica packed up and moved to Los Angeles, California where she knew absolutely no one. She managed to overcome the fact she had no connections and immediately landed a job as an assistant in a high profile salon where she blossomed.

Even though she had no clients when she moved to Los Angeles, word of mouth about her work spread and soon she had built a good clientele. As Jessica said "things were hopping for her and her hair career".

At times, she laughed "it felt almost too easy for her". Everything just "fell into place", for which she is extremely grateful and appreciative.

Opening The Jessica Galván Hair Studio

Jessica Galván

Jessica Galván All rights reserved.

Although hard to believe, her move to Los Angeles happened just ten years ago. Every single minute of her hair journey has been "amazing" and has "been such a blessing".

Once she had established a solid clientele in LA, she took another "big risk" and in 2002 opened her own hair salon in Beverly Hills with her beloved sister Erika, who is "her business manager".

One of the very first celebrity clients she worked with at her Jessica Galván Hair Studio, was Paula Abdul.

Many high-end clients followed the famous American Idol judge to Jessica's skilled hands.

These clients included actors, musicians, producers, writers and other Hollywood notables. Thus her career as a celebrity hairdresser, who has received lots of media attention, was up and running.

Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Over the past five years Jessica has created a wide range of hair designs for Paula which includes cuts, colors, hairstyles, extensions and even wigs.

Jessica reported that Paula has gorgeous chocolate brown hair that is very healthy and super shiny. She adores working with Paula and had the opportunity to work with her on American Idol for Seasons 3 through 6.

In the process of working with Paula she traveled to several of the Idol cities including New York.

Paula Abdul

In the earliest days of working with Paula, Jessica expressed she had a lot more time to devote to traveling with Paula and trying lots of new hair techniques.

Now she has less time to devote to just one client because she is so busy with other clients.

As a result Jessica no longer travels with Paula. When Paula needs on-the-road hair assistance, she sends her Jessica Galván hair ambassadors to work with Paula. Jessica also works with Paula when she is in LA and does her hair for celebrity Red Carpet events.

The Importance Of The Total Image

Paula Abdul

Jessica admitted she is "a bit of a control freak when it comes to hair clients, but in a very good way".

She confessed she wants "to control the entire image process for her clients".

For her it is "very very important to create the total image". Although she is not a make-up artist, she will co-ordinate her hair work with someone she "trusts to do great make-up".

When she works with a hair client, she begins by "visualizing the big picture". She looks at the "final result she wants to achieve" and then works back from there. Jessica is always getting ideas of ways to make her clients looks fabulous and wants to make sure they get her very best.

She pointed out, "unlike a lot of big name celebrity hairdressers who only specialize in either cut, color or other parts of the hair biz, she is an expert in all those areas. She can do cut, color, styling and is a master at hair extensions.

When celebrity clients work with Jessica they "have the advantage of having a complete hair look" which is "custom designed for them" and "incorporates the perfect cut, hairstyle and color".

Hair Extension Expertise

Paula Abdul

Extensions are extremely common in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and Southern California, although maybe not as much throughout the rest of the country.

Jessica is a huge fan of hair extensions and wants to educate people about the many benefits which they can provide.

She is thrilled with the high quality of human hair extensions because when applied correctly, there are so many options you can offer.

Jessica pointed out that hair extensions can be use to add length, volume and fullness and color, either a little bit or a lot.

Hair extensions can be utilized an a great way to achieve highlights and lowlights without the chemical damage and risks that color bring.

Victoria Beckham Hair Journeys

Victoria Beckham Blonde Pob

While Paula Abdul was Jessica's first celebrity client, one of her most high profile celebrity clients is Victoria Beckham.

Jessica first started working with Victoria in early 2007 even before the famous Beckhams (David and Victoria) had moved to the United States from England. She was referred to Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) by the make-up artists who she worked with on American Idol.

The celebrity hairdresser received a call asking if she could work with Victoria for her reality TV show and for an episode that involved Marc Jacobs. Jessica "really wanted to meet Marc Jacobs" so she agreed to "do Victoria's hair".

Victoria got along famously with Jessica and from "that point on, every time Victoria came to town," she would ask Jessica "to do her hair".

Jessica also did Victoria's hair during her reality TV show but unfortunately she "never got any camera time" due to "the presence of Victoria's former hairdresser", which "sort of sucked" for Jessica, but she understood.

In the end, it all worked out since the major media eventually figured out Jessica was the master celebrity hairdresser behind all of Victoria's most recent hair transformations. Even Perez Hilton mentioned Jessica in a reference to Victoria's hair color change.

Creation Of The Platinum Pob

Victoria Beckham

When Jessica met Victoria for the very first time, the star's tresses were a soft brown. Since that auspicious beginning, Victoria has opted to change her hair color from brown to platinum blonde and then back to brown for her Spice Girls tour in late 2007.

Jessica explained "Victoria is very adventurous when it comes to her hair". She likes to "change up her hairstyles from the length and cut to the color". She loves "to go brighter".

Between Victoria's love of new hair adventures and Jessica's ability to develop a hair vision for her clients, the platinum Pob was conceived and ultimately created.

Jessica was the color maestro behind Victoria's much heralded transformation in February of 2007 from light brown tresses to stunning platinum blonde.

The brilliant celebrity hairdresser also created Victoria's inverted edgy bob which instantly became known in the media as "The Pob", christened as such by taking Victoria's nickname - Posh - and mixing it with Bob to create Pob.

Victoria's edgy short Bob set off a wave of hair envy not seen since Jennifer Aniston's "Rachel". Women everywhere rushed to the salons and requested the newly named Pob. Which will live on in the hair history books forever with Jessica as the official hair master behind the latest hair phenomenon.

Victoria's Hair Secrets

Victoria Beckham

Jessica reported that Victoria "loves when her hair is sleek and shiny". She also likes "to have a lot of volume and lift at the roots".

Victoria has "a little bit of natural wave in her hair. but it is very easy to manage." Jessica explained "you can blow her hair dry with a round brush and immediately get it sleek and straight".

To make sure her tresses are "really straight", Jessica goes over Victoria's tresses "with an Ionic flat iron".

When she is finished flat ironing Victoria's hair, she "sprays a bit of hairspray on her fingertips and then swipes them down through the strands to give them hold without stickiness".

Jessica never uses pomades but prefers "to use hairspray because it provides great shine and helps to manage any fly-a-ways that might pop up". She works "hard to make sure there are no flyaway strands sticking out because that can instantly ruin any great hairstyle".

Although she grew up in the Toni & Guy family, she no longer uses their products and prefers Redken because it gives the hair so much shine. Jessica tends to use Redken products on her clients like Victoria.

Transitioning From Platinum Back To Brunette

Victoria Beckham Blonde Pob

After creating such a spectacular hair splash with the platinum "Pob", why did Victoria go back to a longer brunette hairstyle?

Jessica explained "Victoria gets bored with her hairstyles and color after awhile." After having the beautiful platinum blonde for awhile, she decided in October of 2007 she wanted to go back to brown for one of her son's birthdays and in preparation for the Spice Girls Tour.

Victoria was looking for "something different" but not any old shade of brunette would do. It had to be special and it had to work completely with Victoria's face shape and skin tones.

The celebrated master hair colorist took the famous Spice Girl back to brunette in a complicated color reversal that took approximately eight hours.

To make sure that Victoria had a natural brunette shade that had dimension, shimmer and shine, Jessica painstakingly wove in three different shades of brown to give the beautiful Victoria a stunning multi-dimensional finish.

The media was on hand to document Victoria's latest color transformation as she left Jessica's salon. Even though Victoria tried to hide the new color with a hat, her new color was captured and became a major news event. Even her husband, David Beckham got into the act when he was asked if he liked Victoria's new brunette do. Yes, he did, of course.

Latest Victoria Beckham Hair News

Victoria Beckham Blonde Pob

After Victoria returned from the Spice Girls Tour, she had Jessica do her hair for the 2008 Golden Globe Awards, which was abbreviated due to the then-writers strike. Victoria also had Jessica add a few subtle honey highlights to add additional dimension and movement to her brunette strands.

For Spring of 2008 Jessica took Victoria slightly lighter while mostly maintaining the brunette shades.

Although Victoria told Jessica "she never wants long hair again" Jessica laughed and said "we'll just have to wait and see". I got the sense that Jessica really didn't believe her.

Healthy Hair Is So Important

Jessica always tries to accommodate the needs of her hair clients - celebrity or not - but she believes that hair needs to be first and foremost, healthy.

When a client goes with a drastic new hair color, such as light blonde, from brunette, she encourages them to keep the new color for "at least one year".

Emmanuelle Chriqui

Regardless of her expert advice and opinion, some of her clients change their hair color all the time and go from red to blonde to brown and then back to red. She understands their desire to constantly change their hair color and style, but she tries to encourage them to go as slow as possible so their hair has time to adjust.

Jessica admitted "she likes hair changes as much as many of her clients" but she believes "change should be done within reason".

When her clients want to change their hair color too often, she laughed and said she "wants to put a wig on them so that their natural hair can rest and get healthy".

She wants all of her clients to have hair that is soft, shiny, healthy, rich and full of shimmer and shine.

Not A Fan Of Swimming Pools

Utilizing the latest professional hair coloring techniques and Redken products, Jessica and her team of professionals deliver long-lasting color effects without damaging your hair.

As a talented colorist, Jessica is not a big fan of swimming pools because of they the chlorine can do the gorgeous colors she spent hours creating. She noted that pool chemicals can almost instantly turn rich brunette shades into less attractive brassy and coppery hues.

She suggests completely skipping the pools to hold onto that high gloss finish she creates.

Jessica loves how slick brown hair can look so rich and multidimensional. For a high gloss finish, she always tells her celebrity clients to a "grab your iron". she also recommends they use Redken Color Extend Shampoo to protect the color and prevent brassiness.

Emmanuelle Chriqui

Emmanuelle Chriqui

I confessed to Jessica, during our 45 minute chat, how much I love the various soft, seductive hairstyles worn by Entourage co-star Emmanuelle Chriqui.

She agreed, the talented actress "has amazing hair" which is "naturally curly". I was surprised to hear Emmanuelle's hair was naturally curly since she often wore it straight and sleek on Entourage.

Yes, Jessica confirmed, "Emmanuelle's hair has a very well formed curl pattern but it is very easy to work with". In addition to the lovely natural curl, Jessica explained "it has fabulous natural rich raven color and shine without a gray hair anywhere to be found".

When Jessica color's Emmanuelle's hair to give it more dimension, she always finishes with a clear gloss application to prevent the newly added color from fading and to create a high overall shine.

Although Jessica "never styled Emmanuelle's hair" on the set of Entourage, she did cut, color and add extensions to get the actress ready for her roles.

Jessica also did the same thing before she left for her latest movie role.

To provide "lush fullness and length", Jessica "adds human hair extensions". Jessica explained "the hair extensions are great for Emmanuelle and saves her natural curls from the wear and tear of constant styling for her acting roles".

The last time she applied extensions on Emmanuelle, Jessica applied 100 individual strands of fusion hair extensions. She used the "Great Lengths System of hot fusion", which worked so great. Emmanuelle loved the end results. Jessica used a combination of extension hair colors to give the actress natural highlights and lowlights.

Especially right now since Emmanuelle is working hard to develop her big screen acting career. and to break out from TV roles. Currently Emmanuelle is traveling between New York and LA for a variety of movie roles she is working on. When she is in town Jessica still works with Emmanuelle.

Emmanuelle Chriqui

She takes personal responsibility for her clients and wants to be absolutely sure they always look great for the media because it is so important to their careers. Plus it reflects on how well she has helped them with their hair.

Emmanuelle, like many of her current celebrity clients was referred by another client. She has really enjoyed working with the actress who "she is such a dear, so nice and so cute" Jessica has coiffed her tresses during her time on Entourage and for her current roles in movies.

When Emmanuelle was working on Entourage, Jessica would create hairstyles that would be recreated for the actress on the Entourage site. In keeping with her ultimate philosophy, Jessica would always make sure that Emmanuelle had a great cut, color and style.

Now that Emmanuelle is no longer part of the Entourage team, she is traveling between New York and Los Angeles for her various acting commitments.

Jessica is very excited about one of Emmanuelle's latest movie roles on an Adam Sandler film. Emmanuelle plays the love interest which is a perfect role for her in the film.

Jessica has also designed styles for Emmanuelle for photos shoots and on the Red Carpet.

Ali Landry

Ali Landry

After chatting about Paula, Victoria and Emmanuelle, Jessica mentioned she had also worked for some time with actress Ali Landry, former Miss USA (1996) and named by People Magazines as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.

Ali Landry

Jessica told me that Ali is from Louisiana and is or French (Cajun) and Spanish descent.

She commented "Ali is so stunning, even with no make-up."

She also has "very pretty hair" which is a gorgeous shade of dark blonde hair that is about a Level 7 with some hints of red in it.

Ali's hair currently has three basic shades of color which Jessica created for her.

Her base color is a gorgeous warm shade of brown and she has highlights which are a honey blonde and lowlights which are a darker brown.

The goal was to create rich dimensional color with high shimmer and shine.

She explained that Ali, who is lovely to work with, has a new baby and lately she has been creating great hairstyles for her that are easy to take care of while being a new mom.

Jessica also was excited she had the great fortune to create Ali's bridal hairstyle when she got married. Of course "Ali looked amazing". How could she not with the talented Jessica creating her hairstyle?

Dream Clients

Jennifer Aniston

I asked Jessica if she could work with any celebrities that she is not currently working with, who would it be. She thought for a few moments and then replied she would love to work with Jennifer Aniston who has "gorgeous hair", Reese Witherspoon who is "so cute" and "Paris Hilton" would be great to have as a hair cleint.

Why? Paris does such a great job of taking care of her hair and always looking great. Jessica wants clients that will work on keeping their hair up after they leave her chair, whether they are working or not.

She believes it is important because celebrities need to maintain a certain image.

When their hair looks bad out in public, it's a reflection on their hairdresser. Fans and the media notice how celebrities wear their hair, both when they are working and when they're not.

Who wouldn't she want to work with? Any celebrities that obviously don't care about their hair at all and are tagged by the media for their consistent bad hair days.

She noted "Victoria Beckham is a dream client" because she always "keeps her hair up" and wants it to be "flawless". Victoria spends the time to make it look great when she is out in public.

Life Changes

Jessica is the proud new mother or a gorgeous young baby girl.

Because she has been so blessed with her celebrity hair career, she has been given the option to stay closer to home. She explained that it is important to have "balance" in her life and make time for herself and her family.

This actually also is good for her many clients because when she is relaxed, she can do an even better job for them.

Because Jessica has become so incredibly busy with her in-town celebrity clientele, she no longer is able to pick up and travel with her celebrities like before.

However, she has a team of stylists she has personally trained she sends out as her hair ambassadors. She still makes trips for very special events, but not nearly as much as she used to in the past.

List Of Celebrities Who Have Worked With Jessica Galavan

Josie Maran

I asked Jessica if she attracted Latin hair clients because of her own Hispanic background. She said "sometimes that's the case, but she has worked with many celebrities from a variety of heritages, not just Hispanic or Latin".

She noted "Ali is French and Spanish, while Paula Abdul is Caucasian with a mixture of Jewish and Persian heritage (from her father's side). Also, "Emmanuelle is descended from Jewish French Moroccan immigrants of Sephardic Moroccan descent".

Over the last eight years Jessica has worked with the following celebrities: Alejandro Sanz, Alicia Villarreal, American Idol in Las Vegas, New York and Washington. Don Diamont, Fey, Gloria Trevi, Josie Maran, Martha Igareda, Paola Nuñez, Galilea Montijo, Rachel Stevens, Yuri, Alicia - Cruz, Amanda Bynes, Bobby Trendy, Eduardo Verastegui, Felipe Escandalo, T.V., Galilea Montijo, Henry Rollings, Lucia Mendez, Noelia, The Oscars and Pilar Montenegro.

Summary

Jessica Galavan is an amazingly talented celebrity hairdresser who is a self-made, rags-to-riches, success story.

Even better, Jessica is a genuine person. She is charming, thoughtful and extremely helpful who repeatedly told me to "call her any time" for additional information, to ask any questions or follow-up.

Jessica is living a charmed life, which she feels very blessed to have, with a fabulous husband, a very successful business and clients she adores. She also has a brand new baby that is the new love of her life. Both Jessica and her many celebrity clients are truly blessed.

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