Hair Stylist Chaz Dean Industry Leader in Beautiful Hair
Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Alyssa Milano & Julianna Margulies
“The energy, the culture, the history, the people…” celebrity hairstylist and successful entrepreneur Chaz Dean talks with great passion about why he just opened a luxury salon in NYC. Despite living in LA and owning a thriving salon in Hollywood, he dreamt of adding a Manhattan location. Why now? He finally found the ideal venue, a landmark building from 1845 in the West Village which he has painstakingly restored to its original beauty, style, and old-world charm.
Chaz has a growing A-list clientele. His meteoric rise can be traced back to an early career as a photographer who dearly wanted his glamorous models to have equally glamorous hair. Determined in his quest, he attended cosmetology school, quickly became a rising hairstylist, and began working on a new approach to haircare — focusing on nourishing hair’s natural oils instead of stripping them with harsh detergents and chemicals found in traditional shampoos.
WEN Brand: Holistic Approach to Beauty
By understanding hair chemistry and using natural ingredients, Chaz created a conditioner that both cleaned and protected the scalp and follicles, resulting in lush, hydrated hair. From there the groundbreaking WEN brand was born. Between his new haircare line and his magic touch as a stylist, Chaz quickly gained a celebrity following. His noted clientele has included Gwyneth Paltrow, Alyssa Milano, Julianna Margulies and Nicolette Sheridan. In 2015, Brooke Shields, whose hair had suffered immensely due to decades of over processing for her modeling and acting jobs, became a product ambassador. She is quoted as saying that by using the brand’s Cleansing Conditioner and Nourishing Mousse she was able “to turn back the clock on my hair and it feels healthy again.”
Since Chaz emphasizes a holistic approach to beauty, focusing on overall well-being and self-care, he chose the name WEN because it is close to the word Zen. His unique, scientifically sensible approach has worked so well, the brand now touts over 700 hair, skin, and beauty products. It has received numerous awards and continues to be one of the top selling beauty product lines on QVC.
Bravo’s “Flipping Out” & QVC Staple
When asked about his philosophy of success: “One thing I always remember from my grandmother is, ‘You can do or be anything you want in life as long as you’re willing to work hard for it.’” Family is deeply important, and Chaz talks with great love and affection about both his birth mother Millie and his adoptive mother, Joan Dean. When Joan passed away after battling cancer, Chaz created a special deep cleaning protective product line 613 to honor her June 13th birthday.
While discussing his own celebrity as a star on the show “Flipping Out” and as a QVC fixture, he notes he surprises people with his grounded and down-to-earth demeanor. Along with his stunning hair (that is an advertisement for his products alone), he is a mixture of incredible knowledge, charm, and gentleness. His kind heart is evidenced by his extensive philanthropic endeavors. He’s worked for decades with the Los Angeles Mission, HollyRod Foundation, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, and Project Angel Food, and is involved with countless other charities including Best Friends Animal Society and The Vanderpump Dog Foundation.
Classic Hollywood Glamour & WEN Pets
Chaz has a deep love of animals…all animals…but especially labs. His current loves are Bella and Riley. He talks fondly about two previous pets, a black lab and a white lab, “I named them Grace and Montgomery after Grace Kelly and Montgomery Clift, because I was in Hollywood and I wanted to bring back old Hollywood. They grew up with me, they came to the salon. Every time I would go live on QVC, I would put up new pictures of them and they grew up with our QVC customers.”
It’s not surprising, then, that WEN Pets came into being. People kept asking him for a product for their furry friends. Chaz used his traditional product as the base and then “by doing my research, I realized that a dog’s pH level is higher than ours. So, I adjusted the WEN Pets to a higher alkaline level. And added more appropriate essential oils for the fur.” People often bring these WEN products to their dog groomers to use.
Chaz Dean’s Studio NYC
What’s next for this pioneer? In addition to a new, delightful sounding Pina Colada scent, plans are in the works to extend the brand with an exciting line of color products that are vegan, ammonia free, and cruelty-free. And, living up to his grandmother’s words about working hard, Chaz is also launching a new lightweight, low heat blow drying tool. This idea is based on an older client who sadly thought she was losing her hair. Chaz came to her rescue and diagnosed her real issue as burnt hair from her unnecessarily hot straightener.
With Chaz being in NYC for only part of each month, one senses that starting in June with his first arrival, the next hot, hard-to-get reservation in the city will be an appointment with the man himself at Chaz’s New York Salon.
