Jenna Perry Believes in the Resilience of the East Village
The celebrity colorist talks haircut advice, her background, and Covid-19.
Last September, I had the honor of speaking with celebrity hair colorist Jenna Perry. Our conversation is below.
Jenna Perry is sweeping the first leaves of autumn off the front steps of her eponymous salon, Jenna Perry Hair, which just reopened from its temporary pandemic closure. The hair colorist works with the locks of Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, Emily Ratajkowski, and Ashley Olsen, among others. As she gives me a tour of the quaint boutique salon, she gets excited about the fine details, like the Parisian-inspired bathroom that she jokingly calls “her office” and the ceramic catchall bowls that she crafted over quarantine. Perry has a strong eye for detail in her work as well. Her forte is “thoughtful hair color,” which takes into account a client’s undertones, eye color, and how light shines through each strand of hair. These services can rack up to $500. Because of Covid-19, Perry needs to consider each client’s lifestyle and situation more; lockdown means that customers cannot have their hair touched up as often, and the possibility of a second quarantine incessantly looms overhead.
How did you know you wanted to be a hair colorist?
It's really your typical story. I was coloring my doll's hair, and I would go to the hairdresser with my mom and my aunt and just be mesmerized by what they were doing. I didn't even go to college. I went straight from high school to hair school that summer and then moved here.
I always worked in a salon as an assistant, but I dabbled in other things. I dabbled in fashion hair and assisted all of the big guys on magazine shoots. Then I developed my own thing with their makeup assistance, and I started to do my own little jobs for Nylon Mag. Then I thought I wanted to be a wedding hairstylist and hated that. I wanted to be a barber and I thought, “This is already a man's world.”
I did everything. I cut hair. I faded men’s hair. I braided hair. I did rainbow hair. I did literally everything until I found that natural color was my thing.
What is the best part about owning a small business?
The best part of owning a small business is that I can do whatever the hell I want. I don't ever want to be a corporate salon.
And the worst part?
You kind of can't sleep, you have to keep going. Everybody that walks in there needs to have a good experience because, at the end of the day, small business is about word of mouth. One person says one bad thing and it could just spread like wildfire.
How did you decide to leave your previous salon and open your own boutique?
I realized that I have a loyal clientele and that I have a brand that I want to represent. I’m very motivated, creative, and inspired by what I’m doing and my clients, especially. They've followed me for 15 years all over the city.
You were forced to close just six months after opening because of the pandemic. How did that feel?
At first, I was really scared because a lot was very unknown. But it is nice to know that I have a business that is recession-proof. People want to still feel good.
We closed on our six-month anniversary. I realized I needed the three and a half months of putting everything on pause because I was constantly spreading myself too thin. I opened this business in about a month. When the pandemic first hit, I thought, “This is great. It's a vacation.” And then I started to worry, like, “Oh my gosh, I have to do these loans and everything. I don't know how to do that! I just opened this!”
Since your salon attracts celebrities, people might not think you struggled with the pandemic. Is that a misconception?
The bigger names – they're normal people, too. They just want to get their hair done. It's not like I'm making millions of dollars because I'm doing their hair. They pay what everybody else pays. Maybe because I do those bigger names, I attract new people, but I was still struggling.
Walk me through reopening the salon.
We were preparing the entire quarantine for reopening. I just knew that as soon as it hit, it was going to be the floodgates. When Cuomo said hair salons could reopen, we immediately got 200 emails and it didn’t stop. Everyone wanted their hair done and salons are playing catch up financially.
I was so nervous leading up to opening day. I had all of these regulations to follow. We were really strict and really prepared. The contractors built an acrylic divider in between the shampoo bowls and it wasn’t delivered until eight o'clock on the morning of opening. I didn't sleep that night because I thought nobody would want to sit next to each other.
We have a consent form and a temperature check and we leave the door open at all times. No symptoms allowed – all of the usual stuff. My girls and team are so on top of it, so I just feel really safe here.
We met on Labor Day at an event in Tompkins Square Park where all proceeds went to Black Lives Matter causes and at-risk businesses in the East Village. Tell me about why your team took the day off to cut hair to raise money.
We're all about supporting the community. I think that the pandemic in New York has resulted in a lot of people just being real with each other and supporting each other. I'm not a greedy person, and I built this business off of knowing that. When you share the wealth – wealth being kindness, money, whatever – it comes back to you.
The other reason why I did the event is because I pretty much grew up in this neighborhood. I moved here when I was 19. I was making $200 a week as an assistant being supported by all of these restaurants that are now at risk. For me, it was like, “Oh, my God, I used to get my eggs at B&H Dairy every morning,” and then they closed temporarily. And now I own a business in the East Village. I need to give back, too.
How has the pandemic changed the hair industry?
I think that owners are more open to their stylists doing house calls. We’re all just trying to get by. I came from a chain salon and I think that people want a more special experience now. They want something that feels real and more personal.
Do you appreciate when clients come prepared with reference photos to an appointment?
I love pictures because a lot of time there's a really blurred communication line. Your reference photos are an end goal, and sometimes you can't always get there in one shot. You have to stay realistic to your hair and what their hair [in your reference photo] is. Everybody's hair color and texture are very different. Hair color also has to do with the light. The perfect color is so many things besides your eye color or skin color.
How do you feel about being known as “Bella's colorist” in the press?
I like to be known for the hair, and I like to stay a little under the radar. But, yes, I love being Bella's colorist because I think that she's so cool. She’s smart, she’s an advocate. She’s more than just a model.
Do you feel like you've “made it?”
No. I don't know if I'll ever feel that way. I’m just doing hair. A lot of people ask me, “Why don't you consider yourself a celebrity colorist?” That's not my title. But I feel like I’ve made it in a sense because I moved here in 2005 with $90 and a dream, and I lived that dream.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.