Fab Interview: Ursula Stephens, A Cut Above the Rest!

I am in love with Rihanna’s haircut, so much that every time I go to my hairstylist, Tamika, I bring in photos of Rihanna on someone’s red carpet.  I got the chance to chop it up with the crafter of “Most Coveted Haircut of 2008″ by People Magazine; Miss Ursula Stephens and we touched on everything from how she got started in the business to her future client wish list.

Get ‘Em Girls: Who is Ursula Stephens?
Ursula: Wow, Ursula Stephens is a Black girl from Brooklyn. A hairstylist from Brooklyn, who worked in a hair salon forever, loves to do hair and I got an opportunity for the world to see my work and I am just living life right now, having fun doing hair.   I’m doing what I love.

GEG: Was being a hairstylist your first career choice?
Ursula: I feel like it was what I wanted to do, but I think at the time I was too young to anticipate it as a career. Thinking back then, I would have never thought I would be doing this right now. At that time I didn’t know the limits to where I could take it. I was just doing hair for the love of it and having fun and just living in the moment. I never really anticipated me having a big career or working with celebrities. I guess you always think about it real quick and think how fun and exciting it would be, but you never really think it is going to come true. It is sort of like a dream you never had, but it comes true.

GEG: How old were you when you first started styling hair?
Ursula: My high school was a beauty school. I always did hair in my basement and played in my friend’s hair, but once I really started going to school, it was on! I would do hair on the weekends, in my basement. My mother set me up a little area because she didn’t want hair all over her house. Then I worked as an assistant shampoo girl. Eventually, I moved up to having my own chair. So it was always an ongoing process, like a ladder for me making different decisions, growing.

GEG: A lot of stylist can do hair, but lack cutting skills. Where did you learn to cut and what gives you the courage to cut hair in the styles that you do?
Ursula: Even in school cutting was a talent I always had. I was the person who knew how to do it, before the instructors taught it. Then when they taught it, they would tell me “you’re doing it right, but your not holding the comb properly.” I would say, “So.” I was always great at cutting hair; people would trust me to cut their hair. I was “the” hair cutter in cosmetology class; be it mannequin, real hair, white hair, black hair, my own hair. It was something that started so early that you could see my confidence, so people always trusted me.

GEG: How did you get into styling celebrities?
Ursula: That opportunity came so many times. I worked in a salon and I built a diverse clientele of people who worked in the industry or people who just partied their lives away. Also, people who worked in the salon had clients who worked in the industry. I was always in the environment where there were celebrities or connection to celebrities. People began to pass my name around.

GEG: Who was the first celebrity you ever styled?
Ursula: Khadijah Bass.  She sang the hook on Jay Z’s “Ain’t No…” We are still good friends. She was friends with a stylist whose hair I had done and the stylist recommended me to do her hair. She had a deal even though it never materialized. I did her video and a couple of other things for her. From that experience it was just like, I saw what it was and it was exciting. I thought, “Hey I wouldn’t mind doing this more often.” However, I always worked in the salon. At that time it was a small percent of celebrities and majority of the time I was in the salon. Then I transitioned.

GEG: Do you still work in a salon when you are not styling celebrities?
Ursula: I wish. I have no time. When I first started styling celebrities, I could at least keep two days in the salon. I would travel and book my clients accordingly, but then I started getting so busy, I got tired of calling my clients canceling appointments. It started being excessive so I had to let it go.

GEG: Is Rihanna now your only client?
Ursula: I mainly just work with her because she is just so busy. She is always doing something so she is definitely my main and top client, but I have an agent who is always finding me work like Michelle Williams and Keyshia Cole and sometimes Paula Patton. I get a chance to style them when my schedule permits.

GEG: One thing I notice about all of the clients you named is that their hair looks very healthy. Is it the products you use?
Ursula: It’s the love girl, it’s the love. I put the love into it. You have to do it with love. I’ve had hairstylist friends who could not do hair that well because they didn’t have love for what they were doing. When you have love for something then you do it even better. Just knowing how you would want to look, you would want to make someone look as good. I use a lot of good products with moisturizing agents that have shine. I stay away from products with alcohol. I keep it really clean and healthy.

GEG: Is there a particular product you like to use?
Ursula: Right now I’m like a chemist when I get products, I’m always mixing different pomades, and I like the Bed Head pomade. I like to mix the Bead Head Pomade with a high gloss serum, just to take away some of the tackiness and still give a little hold.  So I use the Bed Head Manipulator and then I will add some Diamond Drops. This really makes your hair look so shiny and pretty, and it seals the cuticles so you will not have any fly-a-ways or split ends.

GEG: What inspired the coveted Rhianna hairstyle?
Ursula: I think the entire world is ready for change in so many different ways. A need for change. Wanting to differentiate yourself from everybody else. Basically doing what looks good on you instead of following the trend. It’s all good to follow a trend, but if it doesn’t look good on you it doesn’t make any sense. There was just a need for change and finding what looks good on her. When you look at it, it really is not a new hair cut.  I am not the first person who cut hair, but that’s the thing when you find something that looks good on you, it makes the style look new and fresh.

GEG: Do people often ask you to give them the Rihanna look?
Ursula: Because I am not in the salon as much I do not get that, but people are always asking me to do something new. There ain’t nothing new. I don’t really think I get annoyed, I just laugh because what is new is old.

GEG: Can Rihanna maintain her hair when you are not around?
Ursula: Yes she has a great haircut and I always give her tips on how to keep it up. She can go a week to a week in a half without me. She even goes on tour without me and I will fly in and touch her up every two weeks to wash, condition and style it and I’m out. She is great with that. She is into the rock star thing.

GEG: Keyshia Cole’s new look is fresh and her hair looks healthy and great. What inspired this transformation?
Ursula: Keyshia is use to and known for wearing wild and crazy colors. She has changed as an artist and as a person, so she just wanted something simple and pretty. So I was like let’s do something that is not even a hairstyle. Let’s do something so clean and so chic that it’s a focus on your beauty. That was our main goal. She didn’t want anything loud and crazy she wanted something nice, neat, clean and healthy. Something simple, but pretty.

GEG: Yeah she is definitely going to look back at this time and see how great she looks. As a woman I can definitely say she looks beautiful and sexy.
Ursula: All the time less is more, keep it simple. Not making her hair the main focus in the picture. No bright orange with a big blonde streak…just really simple and sexy at the same time.

GEG: Are there any other celebrities you want to work with?
Ursula: Hmmm, I don’t know. Maybe Serena Williams, I would love to get up in her hair! I wouldn’t mind taking on that challenge. I also want to get into doing more actresses.

GEG: What about Mary?
Ursula: I kind of thought about Mary, it would be an experience. I would definitely do Mary. I would like to come in and do something different. Mary is always doing something different. She always changes it up.

GEG: Do you prefer to do short cuts or do you like to do weaves and other styles too?
Ursula: That’s just it; people think I am all about short cuts. I’m good at everything. I like to do weaves; I was doing Keyshia when she had a long weave. I was doing Rihanna when she was getting ready to stop wearing long hair. I did her for the Billboard Awards 3 years ago when her hair was parted down the middle and down to her butt. I do great long hair too, but short hair just got really popular. I do it all long, short and mid-length.

GEG: What would you suggest for someone who is in a “what do I do now” hair phase?
Ursula: I would always suggest having a stylist you can talk to. If you are in a growing out stage, some people just let their hair grow out and look crazy. When growing your hair out you should keep your trims up and try to keep a certain shape so that when your hair grows out you can love it. When your hair starts to grow and it looks crazy, you will just go back to cutting it. Even in the midst of growing your hair out, still go to a stylist and keep a cut on it.

GEG: Be honest when you were in the salon did you have a problem with time management?
Ursula: Honestly that’s going to be around forever, people sitting for eight hours. It is sad. I worked pretty fast, when I was in the salon. The problem is people are getting different styles so it is hard to gauge time. I think stylist need to get more control, sometimes stylist can get greedy. They don’t know when to say no. They want to book like 10 people, but the bottom line is they don’t have good time management, but they need to. They need to learn to arrange their schedule, because people don’t want to sit in a salon any more. It happens and there is no real answer for it, you just can’t do 25 clients a day sometimes. I want hairstylist to get out of hustle mode. Do hair like you are doing a 9 to 5. Be on schedule and be on time. If you can do 10 people and get them out in an hour…do it. You have to invest in a good assistant, because that’s what makes things move faster. Hairstylists need to re-evaluate their entire situation and figure out what they can really do. However, as a client you have to understand that you go to this stylist because she is the sh*t and everyone else goes to her because she is the sh*t. So instead of trying to go to her on the popular days like Friday, you should try to go on a Tuesday. It’s a double edge sword.

GEG: What is a typical day like for Ursula Stephens?
Ursula: There are no typical days for Ursula Stephens. For instance, today I am off, tomorrow I am off. As a matter of fact, I will give you a brief schedule so you can see what I mean. I am going to LA on Saturday. When I land at 6:00 pm, I go straight into doing Rihanna’s hair at her house. I wash her, wrap and style her; just because she wants her hair done not because she is going anywhere in particular. She is going out and trying to maintain her look. Then I have a big photo shoot with Seventeen Magazine. On Sunday, I have four girls, all makeovers, all short hair. So that is all day. I have to be done no later than 7:00 pm. Because guess what; I am on a red-eye flight back home…but wait a minute! I am giving you the rundown because this is how it happened yesterday, my agent just called me and said you should pack extra clothes just in case, because you might have to leave the Seventeen Magazine shoot and go style Keyshia for her music video in Atlanta. Then I have to get back on a flight to New York.  As soon as I land, I get back on a flight straight to Europe for four days with Rihanna.

GEG: Do you like traveling?
Ursula: I like it. I like the places I get to go but going through the airport is annoying. When I get to Europe it’s beautiful; I get to my hotel and get something to eat. All that is beautiful, but the travel girl-the airport is crazy.

GEG: What is next for Ursula in 2009?
Ursula: I’m looking into the crystal ball now girlfriend (laughs). A lot of things are on the table, there are definitely a lot of things in the works. You will definitely here a lot from me in ‘09, but there is nothing concrete that I can say just yet. I can say it will be something that will make a mark.

GEG: Fill in the blank. Styling hair is…
Ursula: Exhilarating for me. To see someone’s reaction when I make them look beautiful and I spin them around in their chair. It is definitely exhilarating.

GEG: What makes you a Get ‘Em Girl?
Ursula: Because I’m hot baby! So many reasons-not one. My personality, my ambition and my style. I’m fun; well I think I’m fun (laughs). I get what I want! I am very aggressive, persistent and confident.