Danielle Irene is like the Doogie Howser of hair, having styled her first magazine cover for Sassy at age 13. Since then, she has gone on to work with countless other fashion rags including Allure, Nylon, Elle, and Self, and tamed the tresses for celebs like Selita Ebanks, Mariah Carey, and Adriana Lima. Danielle is all about the art of hair, which is evident when you look at her styles — always on-trend, always beautiful. Here, I ask Danielle my three favorite beauty-related questions.
INDUSTRY BREAK: I broke into the industry at a young age; I always had a fascination with the hair and beauty industry. I starting cutting my dolls’ hair when I was young and was in love with the idea of fashion. I also come from a long line of family members in the beauty industry so I was familiar with the ins and outs of the industry; it was in my blood. It was never difficult for me to learn hair artistry; when I was thirteen I had the opportunity to style the hair for a teen issue of Sassy Magazine; from there, I followed my dreams and went to cosmetology school in Manhattan. And haven’t stopped challenging myself since!
5 MUST-HAVE PRODUCTS:
1. L’oreal Ellnett Hair Spray. The reason why I love this product is because after styling hair all day on a shoot, it gives me the ability to redo the hair without it becoming sticky or unmanageable. It doesn’t leave any residue or hairspray build up which is key when on set.
2. Big and Sexy Hair Volumizing Dry Shampoo. This product is a must in your kit to add extra volume to the hair without it feeling heavy. The summer is time to let your hair have that natural wave; this product is a must!
4. B Artistic Creative Foam. I use this to prep all of my models’ hair before blow drying.
5. And a must-have for curly hair is Rene Furterer Perfect Curls, it’s a leave in fluid that enhanced your curls.
FAVORITE LOOK YOU’VE CREATED: I love this image (right) because it truly allowed me to be creative! Her hair is down to the middle of her back, I curled it, followed by teasing it, then modeled it into this fake bob shape; very creative!
