Interview: Alain Divert

What brought you into the world of hairdressing?
Passion, perseverance and people. My first real connection was with Claude Maxime, who was a famous hairdresser and styled Brigitte Bardot’s hair—she invented the “Bardot bun”. I worked with her for five years. The second person was Norwegian fashion designer Per Spook. I styled the models for all of his collections and when he moved to Louis Féraud, I styled those collections as well.

What inspires your work?
I’m inspired by what goes on in the street and through my travels. My favorite regions are the Middle East and Asia.

What is your definition of beauty?
Beauty can be ugliness; beauty doesn’t really exist. What is beautiful to you might not be to me, and vice versa. I believe beauty comes from the guts and the heart. Real beauty is someone that expresses all the love that exists on this earth.

What makes a great hairstylist?
In my opinion there are three kinds of stylists: the first is a good sales person, he does what his clients ask him to do and closes up shop in the evening like clockwork; the second is a businessman who will open a chain of salons but doesn’t give a thought to the beauty or quality of the work that goes on there and the third kind of hairdresser is passionate about beautiful hair, making the woman beautiful and determining what cut and style will suit her best.

What is the golden rule for maintaining beautiful hair?
You must take good care of your hair on a regular basis. Using low-quality products really takes its toll—in addition to pollution, over time these items will make your hair dull and breakable. Another important rule is to have a balanced diet. And last but not least, find a good hairstylist!
At my salon I use natural treatments on my clients’ hair. I call them Les Smoothies by Alain Divert –a home-made combination of ingredients including fresh ginger, shea butter, essential oils, black olives, bananas, nasturtium seeds, corn and avocado. I then do an Ayurvedic scalp massage. I’d like to launch a line of treatments so that my clients could take home a jar of a Smoothie that suits her hair type.
I’m also going to sell a new line of French nutritional supplements, Grow Up, which are very efficient in boosting hair growth, and will be available at my salons.

What makes the perfect bun?
A bun doesn’t look great on everyone, as it can age the person who wears it. So the perfect bun depends on the client’s face—it can be the banana-style Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Brigitte Bardot’s messy-look or a more high-tech look.

You have a salon in Paris; are there other projects in the works?
I have a project that will see the light of day in three months—I’m opening a beauty space, Alain Divert Paris, on the avenue Franklin Roosevelt. It will be around 200m2, and will feature skincare and bodycare treatments, teeth whitening and of course hairdressing. On the ground floor there will be the hairstyling space, reception and boutique, and the treatment rooms will be in the cellar.

Can you tell us a few celebrities you’ve styled?
Celebrities are notoriously fickle, and have been styled by many different hairdressers, but I’ve styled Pierce Brosnan, Leonardo Di Caprio, Judith Godreche and Charlotte Gainsbourg to name a few.
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