Lauren Conrad’s Hairstylist Has Strong Feelings About Mullets

February 01, 2020
Technology

Hairstylist Kristin Ess Has Strong Feelings About the Mullet — Kristin Ess. Yoni Goldberg

Celebrity hairstylist Kristin Ess is a gift to the beauty world. She styles the locks of stars like Lauren Conrad, Lucy Hale and Jenna Dewan and she’s not-so-quietly taking over the beauty aisle at Target with her ever-expanding namesake line of affordable haircare and styling staples.

Ess launched her product line in 2017, 21 years into working as a colorist and stylist. Today, she continues to do all of these things, as well as grow her product offerings, with the mission of catering to every single hair type — from thin, pin-straight locks to 4c textured natural curls.

The social media-famous hairdresser hopped on the phone with Us Weekly to chat about her new products for 2020 and a surprising ‘80s hairstyle that’s taking over our Instagram feed. Enter, the modern mullet, rocked by Miley Cyrus, Barbie Ferreira and Billie Eilish.

“I have a secret love for the mullet,” said Ess, before the two of us bonded from opposite sides of the country over Cyrus’ unexpected new year chop. The singer debuted the style on January 6 and managed to make it look as on-trend as ever.

“She comes from a long line of mullets, so she was born to do it,” said Ess.

“Long hair used to define feeling feminine which was so sad. We’re in a great place to feel like there’s new definitions of what makes you feel feminine or not feminine,” the hairdresser continued. “I love the mullet because it’s kind of an ‘F you’ to this idea of committing one way or the other.”

In Ess’ trusty opinion, there’s no better time than right now to give the bold style some try. “It’s edgy, but it still gives you some length to play with and I think that with the right texture and right actual fashion mullet haircut, I think it’s the coolest thing,” she said.

One of the key components to achieving a non-crazy looking mullet is the products. “You really have to know your texture and how to play it up right,” she warned. “All of the products on the shelf and the trends right now play to that ‘do less cool-girl vibe’ and the fashion choices right now lean into that, too.”

Conveniently, the hair expert launched 25 new products at Target on Monday, January 27, including additions to the curl line, ceramic tools, more gloss, core hair essentials and French pin sets.

A big inspiration for the newness comes straight from the requests of customers. “We’ve always had this plan to put out the essentials and expand on that as we found that people reacted well and wanted an expansion, versus polluting the shelves with a ton of product to product to begin with.”

To learn more about the new products and which ones are best for your hair type and needs, check out Ess’ Instagram page, which is full of how-to’s and demonstrations. And if you’re looking to take the plunge and get a mullet, Us recommends sliding straight into the expert’s DMs for encouragement — and styling advice!

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