You Won't Believe How Far Top Stylists Will Fly To Do Hair

There’s a trend bubbling in L.A., and it involves one really long flight, a few royals, and lots of hair (no, it’s not the World Beard and Moustache Championships). Some of the West Coast’s top celebrity stylists are cultivating a massive and dedicated client base in Dubai. Hair pros including stylist Jen Atkin and coloring legend Tracey Cunningham travel to the U.A.E. every three or four months for a marathon of appointments, private suites, and tony restaurants. I talked to them, as well as a few other frequent fliers, about this recent phenomenon.

“Five or so years ago, people would get invited to Dubai because of word of mouth. Arab families would come to L.A. for the summer months and find hairstylists and colorists they loved, and then they would fly them out for maintenance,” says George Papanikolas, a Matrix celebrity stylist whose most frequent Middle East color request is Khloé Kardashian’s shade. “That changed around two years ago with Instagram becoming so popular. Now the ladies follow us and feel like they already know us a bit from our photos when they come to see us at the salon in Dubai.”

Here’s how the logistics of these trips usually work: Salons in Dubai, such as Jet Set Salon and Belle Femme Salon, bring in talent from L.A. They cover all the stylists' expenses (flights, accommodations, meals at the best restaurants) in exchange for three to five days of intense work—think 30 appointments over the course of an 11-hour day. “Going to Dubai is not for everyone,” says Papanikolas. Some stylists also get booked by a private client (usually royalty), and it all can happen at personal, in-home salons.

And while Dubai may be a long trip from California, the two places aren't all that different. “It’s like a mirror of L.A., only with humidity. My ladies come straight after Flywheel or dropping their kids off at school, and they’ll work on their iPads,” says Cunningham. “The people are much more progressive than one would think. You’re surrounded by international culture, glamorous clothes, women with a strong business ethic,” adds Atkin.

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