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Celebrity colorist, Jenny Perry, has always known she wanted to be a hairdresser.
As a kid, Perry would accompany her nana and aunt to their local salons and fell in love with the community that was built there.
Now, Perry owns her own salon, Jenna Perry Hair, where she developed her signature approach to color.
Perry’s client list is stacked. From Emily Ratajkowski to Bella Hadid, Perry has made a name for herself with her effortless techniques to achieve the ultimate “Hot Girl Hair” look.
For the latest episode of Who What Wear With Hillary Kerr, Perry shares how she went from Rhode Island to mastering the art of balayage.
For some excerpts of their interview, scroll below.
You grew up in Newport, Rhode Island. Can you tell me a little bit about your earliest memories of hair?
I was a gymnast and a dancer—a ballerina. My mom would do my hair in a gymnastics ponytail or ballet bun. I was incredibly close to my dad’s mother—my nana—and my aunt. They were beauty girls, like Italian, spent lots of time in the salon.
I would always go to the hair salon with my aunt, who had such a great relationship with her stylist. I just fell in love with the community and just being a part of that world. It was so inspiring to me at such a young age.
You end up going to hair school right after high school. Can you tell me a little bit about what that education piece of it was like?
I really knew in my gut that I wanted to be a hairdresser. Luckily, my parents were like, “Okay, you can always go to college down the road.”
Right after high school, I took a month off and I went to Paul Mitchell. I grew up on an island in Rhode Island, so leaving and crossing the bridge to go to hair school was such a big deal for like a small town girl.
I met so many different people. Some people were older and every walk of life was going to cosmetology school. I just remember loving every second of the education. The hardest part for me was being a lefty, because there aren’t many lefties in the world. I had to learn everything backwards or in a different way.
How is editorial different than being in the salon with clients?
I was doing that for maybe four or five years in my career. It was really incredible to see a final image. For me, it wasn’t fast paced enough. I loved talking to people and making them feel great about themselves. In that world, you’re doing that, but it wasn’t enough for me.
I really loved being in the salon behind the chair.
At what point did you start to really realize that color was your specialty?
Now that I think back at it, I was always more excited about color than I was cutting.
When I moved to ION Studio, I built the confidence to actually get to the big girls salon. I walked in and the three guys that owned it were so lovely and inviting. I kind of was like, “I know what I’m doing, but I’m not as good as these people but let’s give it a try.”
Once I was there, I was working with some of the best colorists ever. I learned a lot from taking the classes that they were giving the assistants and I learned from watching and just practicing. From there was when I developed my love for balayage—the hair coloring that I do now. That was it for me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next up, check out our previous episode featuring our editor, Anna LaPlaca.
