From Kendall Jenner's Glitter Space Buns to Eco-Luxury Travel
From Kendall Jenner's glitter space buns and Kelly Rowland's hair chair to building a home in Bali: how a ranch kid who dreamed of the ocean found her purpose.
Recently, I was watching Dancing with the Stars and saw a Ciara Miller wearing the glitter space buns in the likeness that I created for Kendall Jenner for Coachella 2016. I laughed out loud to my sister. Those buns went further than I ever imagined: Coveteur, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, and every magazine outlet wouldn't stop talking about them. They also taught me something I didn't understand yet. You can create something the whole world sees and still feel a quiet pull toward somewhere else.
I'm a celebrity hairdresser turned travel photographer, videographer and creative director. This is the story of how I got from fashion week backstages to a life built around sustainable travel, and why I'd make the same trade again.
I grew up on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, and from the time I was small, I dreamed of moving far away to the ocean. My plan was simple: I wanted to surf and do hair. I had no idea how those two things would ever fit together, but I knew they were mine. As a teenager, I did mission work, and one trip to Honduras changed me. It planted something deep that I would put on the back burner for years, but it never went away.
Then came the first day of hair school, where they told us hairdressing is a career where you can make as little or as much money as you want. In that split second, I remember thinking: I'm gonna make all the money… and so I did. I worked hard, learned fast and spent ten years building my name in the hair industry.
Then came Jen Atkin and the chance of a lifetime
After those ten years, I landed a position as the first assistant for Jen Atkin. I was hired to launch her idea for an online magazine, Mane Addicts, but a few weeks in, I got an email asking whether I could go to the Hamptons the following weekend for a shoot with Christie Brinkley. From that moment, the cosmos opened up, and every small-town hope and dream I'd ever had came flooding in.
The next few years were a whirlwind of constant travel: Paris Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Australia, back to back. Between trips, I worked on Kendall Jenner's app and styled her hair for events and Coachella, and it was during this time that I created the glitter space buns. Kendall's reach sent them everywhere, and [LINK: the Coveteur piece, if you can find it] and nearly every magazine kept talking about them. Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian were regulars at red-carpet events, and I styled Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber for New Year's.
Kelly Rowland takes me under her wing
When my time at Mane Addicts ended, Kelly Rowland took me under her wing. I had always cut her hair, and during one session I told her I wanted to become a master at every type of hair texture. She looked at me with that look and said, "I prayed about this. I'll teach you everything I know." That was the moment I went from celebrity hairdresser to celebrity hairdresser trained by Ms. Rowland herself.
She hired me as her personal hairdresser, and I traveled across the U.S. with her for the Whoa, Baby! book tour. Later, I styled her for her first season on The Voice Australia, a show whose lineup also included Delta Goodrem, Boy George and Seal. My connection with Kelly, her family, and team was my favorite in all my career.
It was during The Voice in Australia that I had five days off. On a whim, I booked a flight to Bali, and it was the first time in my life I had traveled for fun, not for work and not for a cause. And yet something connected the two. The joy of the Indonesian people reminded me of Honduras. I because obsessed and anytime we had days off I was on another flight. At one point Kelly said to me ‘I’m going to lose you to Bali aren’t I?’ The shift happening in me was so strong that others around me could feel it. As much as I loved my clients, something in me said I needed to shift. I had spent my whole career building that specific life, and I was ready to trade it for freedom. I took my passion and set it down for my purpose, because my soul couldn't resist.
That purpose now has a name. I run a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EXC International, and through it we've built a home for a family in Bali and a shop for kids and their family in Lombok, Indonesia. We've also donated surfboards and skateboards to kids at orphanages. Every time a kid catches a wave, I think about the ranch kid who dreamed of the ocean.
Where it all lands: eco-luxury travel photography and film
Today my work brings everything together. I'm a travel photographer, videographer and creative director for eco-conscious, barefoot-luxury and give-back hotels. Twenty-one years in hair taught me how to make people feel at ease and how to see the details others miss, and travel taught me what's worth protecting.
I’m so glad your here. There’s a lot to unpack.
xo, Desirae
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