Jen Atkin’s career is a lesson in ambition and openness—so it comes as no surprise that her new book, Blowing My Way to the Top, strikes a note of innately charming candor. The story of her own journey from ex-Mormon-in-L.A. to sought-after hairstylist serves as a foundation for in-depth, straightforward advice—the sort of tips one would expect to glean from a chat with a BFF who is also a master in their field. Whether making her bones in a pre-Internet era, bonding with an unending celebrity clientele, launching product line Ouai and hair-share platform Mane Addicts, or amassing a social media empire best represented by her more than 3 million Instagram followers, Atkin has cracked the industry code. We caught up with the stylist and entrepreneur to chat about her first book, hair trends, and what she expects of a post-COVID beauty world.
Do you have a “pinch me” moment—a point in your career where you realized you had made it, or were on your way?
It sounds so cliche, but I call it my Devil Wears Prada day. I got a phone call from Gwen Stefani’s manager that was like, “Can you come down to the studio, we’re with Annie Leibowitz and we’re shooting the cover of Vogue with Gwen, and she wants to see if there’s any chance you can come and do her hair.” That was my first Vogue cover ever. My husband and I were dating at the time, and he remembers me screaming, throwing my phone down, quickly putting clothes on, and just bum-rushing it to Sony Studios. It was such a moment of, “Holy shit, how is this my life.” I had her posters on my wall in high school. So, that was really cool.
How do you think social media has changed the beauty industry?
I feel like social has democratized beauty in many ways; it’s made it feel more accessible. Even outside of Instagram—Mane Addicts’s Pinterest, we get like three million hits a month. It’s so incredible to see how everyone is just so hungry for inspiration—with Youtube tutorials and now Reels. It’s so fun to share little quick tricks, like the proper way to place a ponytail, or the best way to get a really sleek, snatched facelift pony, the things that I learned working backstage with Guido and Danilo and all these incredible hairstylists, I now get to show in fifteen-second clips on Reels, and it’s really, really fun for me.