Milk + Blush Meets... Hairstylist Jill Buck

Hairstylist Jill Buck works at the renowned Nine Zero One salon in Los Angeles, frequented by the likes of Hilary Duff, Lea Michele and Emma Roberts. We first came across her feed thanks to their Instagram account and have been obsessed with her work ever since. You only have to take a quick scroll to see how insanely talented she is. From blunt bobs to complete colour transformations and red carpet looks, she can create any hairstyle imaginable for her clients. As huge Queer Eye fans, we were also very in awe of the fact that she did Bobby Berk’s hairstyle for the Emmys this year, killing it! Today she’s chatting with M+B about hair mistakes, pro tools and the biggest trends for next season... M+B: How did you get your start in the industry? Did you always want to be a hairstylist? JB: I started doing hair in 2002 in Las Vegas, NV. Originally from a small town in Oregon, as an 18 year old kid I was just looking for something completely opposite of what I knew, something out of the box, something flexible that could take me around the world. Hairstyling was where I landed :) In 2012, I moved to LA to work with my best friend Riawna Capri at Nine Zero One Salon. M+B: Are there any pro tools in your kit that we could incorporate into our daily hair routines? JB: Pro tools are very important to use at home and here’s why. They are made at the highest quality possible in order to maintain healthy hair. Think about it, we use the same tool on 10 clients a day and it still remains at the same heat setting when we started at 9 am as it does by 9 pm. T3 Pro and Dyson are my go-to brands. In addition to tools, clients think they can skip out on professional shampoo and conditioners. These tools for stylists are even more important than a hot tool, shampoo and conditioners are the foundation of healthy hair and a must at home not just once every 3 months when you visit your stylist. Try Incommon’s new treatment line or Joico’s Deft Damage series. M+B: Working at Nine Zero One Salon you must see so many celebrities, who was the first famous person you worked with and how did you style their hair? JB: The first celebrity...hmm, I don’t know that I remember! Haha! We have a great clientele list at Nine Zero One and many that have become my friends. Early in my career I worked with Julianne Hough, Nina Dobrev, Selena Gomez and Jessica Simpson very frequently. But I can’t remember who I did first! M+B: What are your favourite hair products at the moment? JB: I’m really into R&Co products at the moment and IGK. The brands are similar in what they offer so I tend to have a set of each for my housecall kits as well as my salon kit. M+B: If you don’t have a lot of time to style a client’s hair what’s your go-to look? JB: I always make time to style clients hair! This is so important to me to never rush a look, especially after a new haircut or colour. The styling is just as much a part of our job as the new colour or cut is. My advice is to do what it takes to make that client feel amazing walking out the door, that is your work and your next potential referral. Use an assistant if needed or book the time needed and then slightly raise your prices to compensate for the extra time. Trust me, it’s worth it - I haven’t accepted new clients in over 4 years because I don’t lose them. M+B: What do you think is the biggest mistake people make with their hair? JB: The mistake is usually in wanting something that is so far from their natural hair when they’re not patient enough to trust the process to get there. Or, once they are there, they don’t take care of it. Clients with broken sides and split ends make for a long and difficult road to recovery. It’s so much better to encourage clients that want a change to adopt a new routine and budget for their hair. M+B: Do you have any tips for making your hair look amazing in photographs? JB: Get movement! Put your camera on the LIVE feature and then tell them to move around. To me, a perfectly posed colour or cut is not real life, we don’t walk around stiff with hair in our face, so let the hair have life for that perfect shot! M+B: What do you think the biggest hair trends will be for the winter? JB: Toners will shift a lot for fall and winter looks. They get warmer and slightly darker as clients spend less time in the sun. When your skin color is shifting, your hair colour needs to shift as well. In addition to that, natural texture is making more of a push and clients are more willing to let their curls flow. I love seeing this trend!