The irony of Emaly Baum’s career is not lost on her: She makes her living giving people great hair while figuring out how to stop hers from falling out. The sought-after celebrity colorist—Jennifer Lawrence, Maggie Rogers, and Chloë Grace Moretz are among her regular clients—and founder of Soho hair salon Beauty Supply has lived with androgenetic alopecia since she was a teenager. More than a decade later, her approach is equal parts science and experimentation, pumpkin seeds and PRP included. Ahead, Baum gives ITG a peek behind the curtain of a week in the life of a celebrity hairstylist in pursuit of thicker hair, with celebrity appointments in between.
Late Spring, Monday
7AM: Otto, my cat, is standing on my chest demanding to be fed. After feeding my little dictator, I immediately drink a glass of water and eat a handful of pumpkin seeds and a yogurt. I’ve been trying to incorporate raw pumpkin seeds into my diet as another way to help combat my ongoing battle with androgenetic alopecia, a type of genetic hair loss triggered by high levels of the hormone DHT. Along with a slew of other health benefits, pumpkin seeds can help balance hormones, and when it comes to hair loss, my motto is throw the kitchen sink at it.
8:15AM: It’s hot in New York. After putting on a sweltering-weather-appropriate slip dress, I take my supplements. I’ve dealt with hormonal hair loss since I was 17 years old. It felt like it happened over night, and for the next decade after that, I went to countless doctors and hair experts to figure out how I could reverse it. I take vitamin D and C, magnesium, zinc, iron, fish oil, lactoferrin, and probiotics. Then on the medication end, I take oral minoxidil and spironolactone. Everything in this cocktail has been shown to have some sort of positive effect on hair loss. It’s still an ongoing battle, but a holistic approach along with Western medicine is what’s worked best for me.
10AM: I arrive at Beauty Supply. I love Soho in the morning. It’s eerily quiet, but you can feel the energy building. Mondays are the new Saturdays at the salon. I have 10 clients today so before our first clients arrive, I pull out my formula cards, where I write down what I do with each client each time. They’re essential in keeping my clients’ color consistent.
First up is Molly Young, an effortlessly cool New Yorker and amazing writer with insanely beautiful hair. I lighten Molly’s natural dark brown hair and cover her greys to create the perfect mushroom-brown tone.
11AM: My next client is a celebrity who will remain nameless. She’s heading to the Cannes Film Festival for the debut of a short film that features her music. We’ve been slowly growing out a bad double process to strike the balance between embracing her natural color while still adding lightness. We decided on a face frame highlight—adding intentionally-placed subtle highlights around the hairline can brighten the face or help reshape an old highlight you’d like to grow out. They’re the perfect in between for anyone who’s not quite sure what direction they want to take their color.
8:30PM: Where did that day go?! I get home and immediately wash my face with my favorite Sofie Pavitt Clean Clean face wash, followed by her Omega Rich moisturizer. Sofie is a long-time client, and I love her products. I pop on my Currentbody LED helmet and then follow that up with a scalp massage using The Ordinary’s Multi-Peptide hair density serum. Before I go to bed, I like to do somatic exercises—as someone who needs to chill out but has a hard time meditating, somatic exercises have been a game changer. Somatic exercise is basically active meditation where you use small gentle movements to calm your nervous system and let go of tension in your body. I use an online course from The Workout Witch that my facialist Gill Millberg told me about.
Tuesday
7AM: Woke up to the same small dictator cat once again acting like he’s never been fed a day in his life. My routine is more or less the same. I love Tuesdays at the salon because they are generally more chill. I love busy days because they feel like you’re at the most fun party, but it’s nice to have a quiet day to slow down and reflect and connect to my clients and coworkers. I have a bunch of single process and partial highlight appointments today. One being Nicole Saldaña, another insanely cool New Yorker who has the most amazing shoe brand named after herself. I cover her greys and slightly warm up her tone.
Yesterday, Beauty Supply turned five years old. It feels like it’s only been two weeks but also 20 years at the same time. I’m so thankful for the crew of insanely talented, kind, funny, weirdo hairdressers. I never imagined that Beauty Supply would have turned into what it is today. It’s been such a safe space for me—and I hope, for so many others.
Wednesday
10AM: Today is a fun day with a mix of in-salon and out-of-salon work. First up: Heading to the Bustle offices to film an interview for their Icons series. I’m nervous.
12PM: The interview was quick and painless, so I head back to the salon to refresh actress Anna Van Patten’s famous strawberry blonde. Anna is so sweet and has the most gorgeous hair. We’ve been working together since 2019 and doing red for the last three years. The secret to Anna’s color is that the undertones are pink, which creates this creamy, cool-toned red color that looks so one-of-a-kind you’d think it’s growing right out of her head.
Thursday
8AM: Thursdays are my errand days. I work out first thing in the morning with my trainer over Facetime—I haven’t stepped in a gym since COVID; I love working out at home, it’s such a time saver.
10AM: Therapy, followed by a sad girl walk, which is just me taking a super quick and easy walk from my therapist's office on the Upper West Side down to Soho. My favorite route is walking through Midtown. That’s psycho—I know—but after living in NYC for the last 13 years, I know I won't bump into anyone I know.
1PM: Once I get to Soho, I pop into the salon quickly for a social media meeting with my publicist before running out the door to head to my PRP appointment at Great Many. I started doing PRP about six years ago. PRP is where they take your blood and spin it to extract all the healing platelet rich plasma and then inject it back into your scalp to help stimulate hair growth. It hurts like a bitch, but I do think it’s great for hair loss maintenance—emphasis on maintenance. I don't think that it would do all that much on its own, but I like incorporating it into my routine. Luckily, once you’re done with your initial visits, you only need to go twice a year, which is great because it's not the most affordable hair loss prevention method.
5PM: Back home to Queens. Later tonight, I have a friend’s birthday party in the neighborhood.
Friday
7:30AM: The not-so-glamorous side of owning a business has popped up. I have to go into the salon to cover for our receptionist. I don’t mind though—I love answering the phones and talking to clients. It gives me a chance to see what the space needs in a zoomed out capacity. Luckily, I get to slip out early at 3PM and head to my favorite place on Earth for a massage: Remedy Wellness on the Upper West Side. It’s a bit of a trek home to Queens, but this is hands down the best massage in NYC. As someone who works on their feet and has herniated low back discs, getting massages is a must. If I’m in an active flare up, I try to go once every other week, but once a month is usually perfect maintenance.
6:00PM: I try to spend most weekends recharging for the week ahead, so once I’m home, I settle in with my LED helmet, tea, and turn on my latest obsession: Love is Blind Poland. I’m not usually a reality TV girl, but this one has me hooked.
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photographs courtesy of Emaly Baum