Nelson Chan Hair Colorist to the Stars

A highly sought-after colorist by those who work in front of the camera as well as behind the scenes in film and television, Nelson Chan is a rising star in the salon industry. For a young colorist still in his 20s, he has already artfully “painted” the tresses of many Hollywood producers, actresses, newscasters, makeup artists, hairdressers and stylists. Chan was born and raised in Hong Kong, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager in the early 90s. He chose to study cosmetology, graduating from Citrus College in Los Angeles. Shortly afterwards, he made haircoloring his specialty, and in 1995 began a rewarding two-year apprenticeship with renowned colorist Stuart Gavert. Chan subsequently became a colorist at Gavert Atelier salon until moving to Estetica salon in Beverly Hills in early 2003.

Since coming into his own as a professional colorist and building up a solid clientele, Chan has pursued innovative techniques in his field, including the new “dimensional haircoloring,” which involves layering multiple sections of colors to create greater depth in hair, sometimes placing darker colors on top of lighter ones. He also employs the newest glosses, ionic conditioners and hair retexturizers from Asia to make hair silky soft, straight and manageable. In terms of palette, he creates unusual, cutting-edge hues for blondes and brunettes, such as vanilla blonde and ruby brown.

Chan employs these innovative and unusual techniques on his edgy clientele, and even takes his work out of the salon straight to the sets of young Hollywood’s hottest TV shows, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “American Dreams,” “That 70’s show” and “The King of Queens.” Chan attributes much of his success to his knowledge of photography, which helps him category_ide his clients’ haircolor choices when they show him pictures of how they desire to appear. Having photographed extensively, he is able to formulate colors so that they can appear to be the same as the color in print, or else he helps the client understand how both the camera and the process of reproduction may dramatically alter haircolor, and thus present a color that may look totally different from how it appears when reproduced. Being a master at mixing palettes, Chan also manipulates colors so that hair appears stronger and bolder when clients appear on camera.

Despite having already accomplished so much in the salon and enjoying every minute of his craft, Chan hopes his future may eventually let him divide his time between the salon and outside, where he can spend more time on the set and pursue more session work. ASIANCE asks Nelson some interesting hair questions.

ASIANCE: I have thick, long black Asian hair. I want to change my hair style. What do you suggest?

Nelson: Long thick hair is a good thing. One way you can change it up a bit is before blow drying wet hair spray your roots with styling spray then, flip hair over and blow dry with petal brush or round brush. This will give your hair a different texture and great body.

ASIANCE: I've got naturally straight Asian hair and want to give it a little curl without going to a salon. What do you suggest is a quick and easy idea?

Nelson: Curling iron, styling spray, 1″ , hair dry, spray hair. Curl all the way up.

ASIANCE: I'm half Asian. I have thick hair with a little wave to it. Right now it's long and I throw it back in a ponytail. I'd like a more modern hairstyle and maybe a little shorter. What do you suggest?

Nelson: I would suggest cutting your hair right below the shoulder, slightly layering with long layers and a lot of short pieces around the face. Your hair won't be too straight with a more structured wave and you can still put in pony tail when it's not styled. If you have any questions for Nelson, please feel free to leave them at the bottom of this article. Nelson looks forward to answering your questions.

Products I recommend, – ISH Rescue Lab, Rice based styling spray – FHI Heat 1″ curling iron

For more information on Nelson check his site http://www.haircolorandextension.com/