Three times a day — before breakfast, after gym and before dinner — that’s how often women in Madison Avenue get their hair blow-dried. Henry De La Paz fills me in with other such fascinating nuggets as he artfully washes and blow-dries my hair creating classic waves. Did I mention, his client list includes Shakira, Kristen Stewart, James Franco, Blake Lively and now me?
The New York-based hair stylist was in the city to train coiffeurs at the Warren Tricomi salon at The Leela Palace.
“I was in Mumbai before this and it was my birthday. They had organised cake and a party but all I did till 9.30 p.m. was chop people’s hair while the others enjoyed my birthday cake,” he laughs. But the 34-year-old is used to that. “This (hair styling) is something that never ends. Even when I finish work and go home there’s my sister and friends who want me to work on theirs,” he smiles.
What’s the toughest part about his job? “Standing for hours. Also, sometimes I worry if the clients are going to hate the cut.” Has he ever messed up one? After a pause, he grins, “Yes, no one’s perfect.”
Henry was 15 when he started styling. He recalls his grandmother saying that he cut everything that had fringes — pillow cases, curtains and then moved on to his mom, grandmom and sister’s tresses. “I wanted to do hairdressing so I could save for fashion school. Back then it was the grunge period and I was more into fashion,” he says. A few years later he realised his fascination was with hair and pursued that. Today, he’s worked with other high profile stylists and styled celebrities for The Oscars, The Golden Globes, The Met Ball…
Of all the Hollywood stars he’s worked on, Sienna Miller, he says, has been the most experimental. She popularised the braided Bohemian look, something he’s a fan of. Speaking of actors, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone are two actors he would like to style while he’s in the country. “I am so clued into Bollywood. I watch movies on Netflix. I draw so much inspiration from Indian culture. It’s so ornate.”
The hair stylist is off to Delhi next, though every July he likes to be in Mykonos (Greece) chilling by the beach. Something he can still do while in Chennai. “Yes, I want to go walking on the beach, then I plan to hire a cab and visit St. Thomas Mount and the museum,” he excitedly lists out.
Half an hour later Henry is done styling my hair. “There, who wouldn’t be happy with that,” he says admiring his handiwork and adds, “You better have plans for tonight!”
