As one of the hair industry’s brightest stars, Kim Kimble needs no introduction. With a career spanning more than two decades, the uber-talented hairstylist boasts an impressive resume packed with numerous television shows and movies, iconic music videos, coveted magazine covers, and too many memorable red carpet hair moments to count. As the creative force behind countless hair looks for major stars like Beyoncé, Zendaya, Nicki Minaj, and Mary J. Blige, Kimble has inspired us with her innovative hairstyling that continuously impacts pop culture, wowed us with her celebrity hair transformations, and, at times, even managed to give us serious hair envy with her work (#Beychella).
And while Kimble is renowned for her unmatched talent and creativity, her expertise goes far beyond her hairstyling. She is also a highly successful businesswoman at the helm of a growing hair empire that includes an eponymous hair care line, styling tools, a wig collection with HAIRUWEAR, and her very own salon.
The Tease had the pleasure of chatting with Kimble about her illustrious career as a celebrity hairstylist and her favorite styling memories over the past few years. Here, she discusses where she finds inspiration for her hairstyling, her partnership with wig company HAIRUWEAR, why she welcomes the pressure that comes with creating iconic looks for her celebrity clients, and so much more.
The Tease: You started your career off as a hairstylist, and have now built your brand into a massive hair empire that includes a wig collection with HAIRUWEAR, a hair care line, a salon, and even a television show. Were you always conscious of wanting to expand your brand beyond your hairstyling work?
Kim Kimble: Although I do love the salon and I love doing hair, I knew that I didn’t just want to stand behind the chair. Early on in my career, when I went to my first hair show, I discovered that you can do more than just be a hairstylist. I saw platform artists flipping scissors and they were doing competitions and all these things. And I said, ‘Wow, this is really cool! I can do more than just be behind the chair.’ Then, of course, my mother told me about the entertainment business, as far as doing hair for movies and television. So I kind of knew that I wanted to do more than just hairstyling early on.
In 2023, you launched a wig collection for people with textured hair with longtime wig manufacturer HAIRUWEAR. What has made them such a great partner for your first wig line?
Kimble: To me, they were the biggest hair extension and wig company out there. They have been around for a long time and have been doing a lot of successful collaboration for years. I knew the quality of their wigs and what they did. To me, I thought it would be a great fit because they are trailblazers and leaders in their field. And I wanted to be in good company with someone like that. So I couldn’t ask for a better partner.
You have so many beautiful wigs that are a part of your wig collection with HAIRUWEAR. Do you have a favorite wig?
Kimble: There’s a couple of them that I love, but I really love the Raven because it was my go-to hairstyle for a while. And for some of my clients, we used to do this same beautiful, wavy hair texture.
In the industry, you’re highly regarded for your incredible wig work. At what point in your career, did you start to realize that wigs are your speciality? And where does your passion and love for wigs really come from?
Kimble: I just love hair. I love the idea of hair and getting my hair done. And early in my career, I started using wigs a lot for hair shows and because I knew that I could create whatever I wanted out of a wig. With wigs, there are no limits to what you can do. You can make the hair long or big—whatever you want! When I got into television and film, wigs were a big part of that industry when it comes to styling. In the beginning of my career, yes, I did a lot of cuts, colors, and styles, but wigs became a huge part of what I loved and what I would do.
Of the wig work that you’ve done in your career thus far, which ones stand out to you the most?
Kimble: Oh gosh. There’s so many. It’s hard to say. I love some of the work that we did with Mary J. Blige for her “The Breakthrough” album. I loved those styles on that album’s packaging. We had the halo braid and it was beautiful. There’s also a ton of hairstyles that I’ve worked on with Beyoncé that we’ve liked. We’ve done some really cool things with Zendaya and a lot of times people don’t even know that they’ve been wigs. My team and I have created some really iconic wigs for a lot of clients.
One thing that I should mention as well is that we’ve done a lot of cool wig work for movies like A Wrinkle in Time. There’s the wig that Oprah wore on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine plus in the movie. And then Beyoncé with Dreamgirls was one of my favorites because we did so many different looks for that movie. We really get to do a lot of cool wig work because a lot of the films that we do, do a lot with wigs. I liked working on A Wrinkle in Time because we were supposed to design these looks for the universe. We did a cool wig for Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon and all those wings in that movie were created and designed by me. And that was really fun for me because it was something that I had to kind of reimagine.
What do you think has changed about the way in which wigs are embraced in Hollywood now from when you first started working in the industry?
Kimble: I would say that it’s sort of a resurgence because wigs were really big in the ‘60s. Though, lace front wings have been around for years for televisions and film. Now, wigs have become more mainstream because the stigma of wearing a wig is no longer an issue. Wigs are part of your styling. They are part of your look, and your persona. And I think people love the idea of being able to change their hair in an instant. They can be who they want to be and look how they want to look at any given moment. It’s instant gratification. And some people have even used wigs as a form of protective styling, so they can protect their own hair. For me, that’s why I started doing a lot of wigs—to help protect a lot of my clients because they were working on television and films and were getting their hair done every day. We wanted to save and preserve their natural hair. So we use a lot of wigs for that purpose.
What do you think more people should know about wig wearing and wig care to help minimize hair damage or hair loss related to wigs?
Kimble: That’s one of the beautiful things about the collection that we did with HAIRUWEAR because a lot of times people don’t understand how to work with glue and how to attach wigs properly without damaging your hair. That’s part of the issue— education. So the wig that we designed, they have lace fronts on them, but they don’t have to be glued. You don’t have to worry about trying to glue your hair properly. That’s one of the things that was super important in the development of the wigs.
And in that sense, education is super important because some people are allergic to glue. They have lost their entire hairlines as well as their hair by not using the proper glue. Also, some people don’t know how to remove it properly or they put it on and they let it build up. And so, they have glue all in their edges and the edges of our hair are very fragile, so it’s just a lot. I’ve seen an extreme amount of hair loss with people for this very reason. That’s why it was important that we developed wigs that are very easy to put on and take off. The whole purpose of wearing wigs is to help protect what you have, and I always believe that taking care of the hair underneath the wig is super important.
Your hairstyling work spans red carpets, editorials, music videos, television and film, and even Coachella. Is there one medium that you get more excited about or inspired to create hair looks for than others?
Kimble: I love films, but I think that with music videos and editorials we sometimes get to be a little more creative, depending on the magazine or editorial shoot or album. Very few films do I get to be creative in. But, B.A.P.S is one of my first films and it probably has some of the most avant garde hair that we’ve done. And I love doing avant garde hair!
How does your creative process for styling hair looks differ from some mediums versus others?
Kimble: Whether I’m creating a look for an artist for a movie, the processes are going to be very similar. I first start with consulting with whoever the team. And it may be that I’m meeting with a stylist or wardrobe or a creative director for some shoots or that I’m just talking to the artist themself. So we start with a little bit of collaboration and then I’ll go and create my own boards. For me, visuals are important because sometimes it’s hard to explain what I want. I have to have a visual and I like creating boards and coming up with ideas. Whether it’s a show or a shoot, I’ll create a board of looks and ideas for inspiration.
From there, I have a blueprint. I can start figuring out how I am going to create the looks. Some things are re-imagined, so it’s hard. You might not see it or be able to find a photo, but I’ll find something that will help to explain the inspiration. And then for television and film, a lot of times, we’ll have camera tests. So we’ll actually get to test the looks before we do them. That’s the difference with television and film—there’s usually a camera test. Camera tests are usually a must for those things, but for photo shoots, we don’t always have that option. But what we will do is at least come up with the ideas and boards and then I’ll start. I usually like to have time to prepare things because every situation is a little bit different, but that’s sort of the process.
You’ve created so many memorable looks over the years for your celebrity clients. Could you share any standout memories or styling moments in your hair career so far?
Kimble: Well, B.A.P.S. was my first movie. And it’s so funny, but for some reason, a lot of people in the younger generation—Gen Zers—really like B.A.P.S. When they hear that I worked on B.A.P.S., they’re like, ‘Oh my God!” They really like that cool, interesting, and crazy sort of hair. But I think that because that was my first movie, it really stands out. And then of course, a lot of the iconic things that I’ve done with Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige and Zendaya. They do get a lot of media attention so those things kind of stand out to me.
I think that one of my favorite looks that you did was for Beyoncé’s “Black is King” visual album. You did these really super long braids for the “Water” music video and they were over 20-feet long.
Kimble: Yeah, we created it for something else. I think they ended up using it for that, but she wanted to do 30-foot braids, and I love a challenge. I have an amazing team of braiders that braid a lot of the things that we do. And I was like, ‘Well, 30-foot braids—how are we going to figure this out?’ So that was a lot of fun.
Do you ever feel pressured to top some of these iconic looks that you’ve created for your celebrity clients in the past?
Kimble: You know what? I don’t feel pressure. I just welcome it. I love to be challenged. I love for somebody to say, ‘Oh, do this!’ I love trying to figure it out. It excites me more than I feel pressure. I feel like God has blessed me with such a creative mind when it comes to stuff and that’s why I can create all day and all night. And I always find inspiration in different places and want to try things. And luckily, I have not run out of ideas yet. I’ve always got something going on in my mind and it’s an interesting thing. But, I get excited about it. I don’t feel pressure. I just want to do it. And I actually want to do more. I wish that I had more opportunities to be doing something more creative because it’s not every day. So the minute that someone like Beyoncé says, ‘Oh, I want 30-foot braids.’ I’m like, ‘Yes!’ My only anxiety is that I just want the time to do it. Just give me the time and the resources and I’m there.
You spoke about finding inspiration in different places. Where do you typically look for inspiration? And what sorts of things help spark your creativity?
Kimble: I look for inspiration everywhere. It could be a multitude of things, for example, iconic people. I remember when I worked with Beyoncé when she did her “I Am…Sasha Fierce” album, we did this pompadour hairstyle for her “Single Ladies” music video and she wore that look for a minute. I actually got the inspiration from the 1950s pompadours that men used to wear. I wanted to recreate a modern version of that look—with that same James Dean, pompadour effect, but on longer hair. So that was the idea when it started for me.
So my inspiration could be somebody iconic, but it could also be a culture. We used to do tips on the hair. Some people call it ombré now. But I used to love how people in Brazil, who hang at the beach, would have the tips of their hair colored really light from the sun. So creating that beautiful blonde-tipped hair became something that we did for Beyoncé’s “B-Day” album. We did a lot of lighter tips on her hair, bleaching them a bit more so that it would look sun-kissed.
So it’s just different things. When we did Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” visual album, it was based in New Orleans and referenced the antebellum times. We were imagining what black women’s hair was out of New Orleans. So that’s when we started doing more texture in her hair and also a little bit of African-inspired looks. We also worked with a lot of the models because we helped design looks for the dancers and everything. We would take African-inspired things for their hair because I was thinking that our hair was more textured back in those days. So when it comes to inspiration, it really comes from a lot of different places.
In a perfect world, if I can have a project that they want me to create looks for, I would love to do something futuristic. That’s where I would love to go now. I don’t have a project for that, but if someone came to me and was like, ‘What do you want to do?” I would tell them futuristic hair.
Throughout your career, have there ever been any instances where you needed to convince a client to take a risk?
Kimble: Absolutely! But I do try to purposely work on projects and with people who are a little bit more of risk-takers. I gear towards them more. Not that I won’t work with people who aren’t, but that’s what I like and I think that’s who I attract. When you get known for something or people see you constantly doing something, you get more of those types of people.
Lastly, you’ve already done so much in your career thus far. What career goals do you still hope to accomplish?
Kimble: I still have a couple of things. Right now, I’m actually getting ready to open up a new salon. I want to create a chain of salons and we’re working on the prototype of the chain. We will be reopening a salon in L.A because we closed down during the pandemic. But we’re reopening because I wanted a new, re-imagined salon for the future. Before we closed the salon, we had done some consulting about what some of our top services would be and things that people would be able to request in our business. It’s a little bit more niche, but the salon that we’re opening will be geared towards extensions and wigs, and then also, caring for the hair underneath it. So I’m excited, and we will be getting that launched soon. Of course, there are other things that I’ve been working on, but I’m just waiting to announce them until they are actually locked in.
For a closer look into the world of Kim Kimble, be sure to follow @kimkimblehaircare on Instagram.
