In 1994, hairstylist Chris McMillan was working at an LA salon when he was launched to a little-known actress named Jennifer Aniston, who’d just lately been solid in a present referred to as “Mates” and wanted a brand new look. McMillan chopped her locks right into a layered, highlighted, shoulder-length minimize — which might come to be often known as “The Rachel” — and the remaining, as they are saying, is hair historical past.
“I used to be obsessive about Amber Valletta in Tom Ford’s Gucci campaigns,” McMillan tells Web page Six Model of the inspiration behind the now-iconic ‘do. “She had this actually cool shag haircut, and I simply beloved it.”
And whereas he “had no concept” the type would turn into an in a single day sensation, he’s not stunned ladies rushed to repeat Aniston’s minimize.
“The wonder about Jennifer is that she’s so relatable. She’s simply so cute and attractive, and folks relate to that,” McMillan says.
Three many years later, McMillan’s nonetheless Aniston’s mane man, and describes their relationship as “like brother and sister.” Over time, he’s styled her hair in every part from braids and waves to, most just lately, one thing he’s dubbed “The All the things Reduce.”
“As a result of it does every part!” he explains. “You’ll be able to slick it again, you’ll be able to half it within the center or on the facet, it has face-framing layers … you’re not caught with one look. It’s versatile.”
And flexibility and ease are on the coronary heart of McMillan’s new haircare line, which launched at Sephora Tuesday. The preliminary drop’s comprised of seven multitasking stylers, because the professional calls styling his “superpower.”
“I really like a great attractive, messy coiffure — I’m not a giant ‘glamour hair’ doer,” he explains. “The purple carpet? That’s solely 10% of the evening. You gotta reside in that hair. I need to be sure you can pee within the gown you’re in, and that your hair’s all attractive and messy for all of the afterparties you’re going to go to.”
And provided that Aniston’s removed from McMillan’s solely well-known consumer — actually, her “Mates” castmate-turned-BFF Courteney Cox really labored with him first — he’s prepped his fair proportion of stars for events over time.
The hair professional broke into Hollywood within the early ’90s working with Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette on their “True Romance” press tour, and has since styled the strands of Michelle Williams, Miley Cyrus — “I removed Hannah Montana,” he quips of her stunning 2012 pixie minimize — and Leslie Bibb, whose so-called “c—ty little bob” from Season 3 of “The White Lotus” went viral earlier this yr.
“Her very exact character aligned with that very exact minimize; they only went hand in hand,” McMillan says of Bibb’s super-blunt ‘do, which he left barely longer within the entrance.
Now, 4 many years (and lots of headline-making celeb cuts) into his profession, McMillan’s able to “deliver in-the-chair hair to the folks” along with his debut merchandise, all a part of his “go-to equipment” at his Beverly Hills salon.
Under, the mane maestro walks us via every staple, from a contemporary mousse to the styling wand that may tame each flyaways and eyebrows.
“This cuts your blow dry [time] in half, and it’s bought warmth safety as much as 450 levels, after all — as a result of we don’t need to fry our hair! Evenly distributing the product all through the hair is necessary; a wide-tooth comb is your greatest good friend.”
“It’s lighter than a paste, it’s not greasy like an oil, and it’s nice as a leave-in remedy [as well as for styling].”
“Should you simply need to depart your hair pure — you don’t need to blow out it — and you’ve got curls, you need to use this as an air-drying product reasonably than a cream. It’s mild, it’s actually fluffy and actually conditioning and it cuts down on frizz. Your curls could have a bit of little bit of crunch when it dries — simply barely. I need to assist folks lean into their pure texture.”
“It’s like a dry shampoo and a texture spray in a single. I don’t just like the powder [feeling] of a dry shampoo, however I like that it absorbs the oil and helps give a blowout a few additional days. And I like texture; I prefer it when hair seems to be not so good and a bit of messy. All of us need clear hair, however we all the time like the way in which our hair seems to be the subsequent day. ‘Day-old hair, similar day,’ is what I name it.”
“Hairspray is so necessary, and [this one’s] a multitasker. I exploit hairspray as a warmth protectant earlier than scorching instruments — I’ll spray it earlier than a go of a flat iron or curling iron — and I exploit it within the root once I’m doing blow dries.”
“Gel and mousse had been huge, necessary merchandise that we used again within the day, and I actually performed with innovation when it got here to [creating my modern versions]. I needed to reinvent the classics. Previous-school gel dried actually exhausting and if you brushed it out, it was all flaky. I didn’t know there was another choice, till I went into the labs and began enjoying.”
“This tames down the flyaways with out taking out the amount. It’s additionally nice for element work on slicked-back kinds. The little particulars actually make a giant distinction. I realized find out how to apply it to my eyebrows, by the way in which — and it’s nice for brows, too!”
“We made all of the merchandise in minis, too, so folks can strive them with out committing to the full-size ones. They’re journey sizes, however I just like the phrase ‘mini’ as a result of they’re so cute!”
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This text was written by Elana Fishman, founding editor of Web page Six Model. Elana applies her celeb vogue and sweetness experience to shoppable content material for fellow followers because the host of video collection together with Model Trial, Coronary heart to Cart and Magnificence Scoop — and by monitoring down each Taylor Swift-worn type so you’ll be able to store it, too. Elana consults celeb stylists on the most recent road type and purple carpet traits, researches which celebrity-backed manufacturers and merchandise are value it, and chats with the celebs themselves for magnificence and vogue suggestions. Previous to Web page Six Model’s inception in 2018, Elana lined celeb vogue at Vox Media, Fortunate, Marie Claire and Teen Vogue.
