By Toby Roberts By Toby Roberts | February 14, 2024 | People, Lifestyle, Style & Beauty, Feature, City Hair Colorists, Celebrity, Style & Beauty, Style, Style & Beauty Feature, style and beauty, Culture Feature, People Feature, Community, Creators, Apple News, City Life,
L.A. hair guru Chaz Dean has shot to success with his popular haircare lines, salons and now, a brand-new hair tool. Here, Dean shares his story and hints at what’s next.
Chaz Dean—an avid animal rights advocate—with his beloved pups; PHOTO BY JESSE FIORINO/ROWLY STUDIOS
If you live in Los Angeles, you have seen his face on multiple billboards all over the city. He is one of the most recognizable colorists and hairstylists in the world. He also regularly appears in your living room on QVC, offering solutions to your hair problems. His name is Chaz Dean, and he is the man behind WEN hair and body care. Yet few people know who he really is.
Dean’s journey started right out of high school. As an aspiring photographer, he realized that in order to portray his vision, he’d need to study the art of makeup and hairstyling. His next move was to enroll in beauty school to learn trade basics.
“As a photographer, I could explain to a stylist what I envisioned, what the model should look like, the scene, etc.,” Dean says. “But the hair and makeup never came out exactly how I envisioned it. That’s why I decided to become a stylist myself. I then could create the image that was inside my head.”
After receiving his license, Dean found a job as an assistant at Carlton Hair Salons, where he moved up the ranks quickly to manager. With newfound confidence, at 19, he approached the salon owners to create a deep conditioner for their product collection, which he developed with great success. This put him in a category all his own. Not only was Dean an accomplished photographer and stylist, he was also a creator, innovator and an accomplished businessman.
After the success of his natural product collection for Carlton, Dean purchased the salon’s Bel-Air location in May 1993. Four years later, he bought and designed 6444 Fountain Ave, which became Chaz Dean Studio.
Today, Dean’s studio has grown into six tranquil, zen-garden bungalows, which encompass all aspects of his business. Over time, Dean became known for never using lather, bleach or hot tools. In fact, the word shampoo has disappeared from his vocabulary entirely.
His first Cleansing Conditioner, a universal 9-in-1 product that acts as a shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler, leave-in conditioner and more—never damaging the hair—started a no-lather revolution.
Chaz Dean Studio’s outdoor salon area; PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAND
After the salon received praise from consumers—and celebrities like Angie Harmon, Holly Robinson Peete, Alyssa Milano and more—Dean set out to bring his product line to the masses, launching WEN Hair & Body Care by Chaz Dean in Nov. 2000. The line quickly gained popularity, growing steadily to capture the spot as the No. 1 beauty brand on QVC in 2015. Today, WEN spans over 700-plus products and has sold over 50 million Cleansing Conditioners, making it one of the largest beauty brands on QVC while also earning over fifty Customer Choice Beauty Awards. The line has expanded into a full range of styling products, skincare, body care, lip care, fragrance, home, men’s, kids and pet care.
As busy as he is—he opened a New York studio in the West Village in 2023—Dean still makes time for his friends and dogs. He also meditates on something that brings peace and serenity to his life. Dean contributes to many organizations, including APLA Health, the Fight Against Pediatric AIDS, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, Keep a Child Alive, GLAAD, American Heart Association, Los Angeles Mission, Project Angel Food, the HollyRod Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Best Friends Animal Society, to name a few.
Through it all, Dean has remained humble and down-to-earth. Here, the multihyphenate answers our questions.
You started your career as a photographer. Do you still practice photography?
Yes, I always fill up my iPhones with photos. I have over half a million pictures and over 100,000 videos on my phone currently. Many are surprised to find out that I personally shoot all the photos for each and every one of my labels.
What inspires you?
I am very passionate about beauty, nature and architecture. I thrive in zen, peaceful and harmonious elements.
What are some of your passions outside of being a hairstylist?
I like bringing out the beauty in all things, whether it be with buildings, hair or nature. I like to create beauty all around me, bringing color, texture and textiles into modern times while harnessing their original authenticity. If I hadn’t become a hair stylist, I may have gone into interior design or architecture.
You still work very closely with QVC. What does that entail?
Since the pandemic, it changed the paradigm of QVC, so now I can Skype from my at-home location in Los Angeles. Depending upon the airing needs, I also travel to Philadelphia to broadcast live in-studio.
You have created over 700 SKUs since WEN’s inception. How often do you come up with new products?
Each year, I create 10 to 15 new products, including haircare, skincare, body care, fragrances and home care. Every other year since 2011, when I first introduced my seasonal collection, I create an additional 35 to 40 new products on top of that.
We heard that you refused to sell WEN to China.
I launched my cruelty-free products in Nov. 2000 with no animal testing and no animal by-products. This is very important to me. When I found out that China requires animal testing, I knew that selling [there was not an option].
Dean recently launched the brand’s first tool The WEN by Chaz Dean Brush Dryer Styling Tool; PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAND
You just released your first tool. How did this come about?
I wanted to create my brush dryer styling tool for decades now. I finally found the right resources to help facilitate that in 2021. I worked very closely with my manufacturers, creating my molds and prototypes for two years until each component was exactly how I envisioned it. I hit a lot of roadblocks along the way; however, being someone who doesn’t accept no for an answer, I knew I had to persevere and bring my vision to life. This was not an easy challenge, but standing true to my intuition and integrity, it all paid off in the end.
What’s next for you?
In 1993, I created what I call a “Hybrid Color Glossing Treatment,” which consists of semi-permanent color, developer, WEN Cleansing Conditioner, Smoothing Glossing Serum and WEN Treatment Oils, all custom blended per each client. Over the decades, I have become known for this glossing treatment through my clients at the salon and QVC alike. I had been asked for an at-home version year after year until an Italian manufacturer contacted me via social media. They asked if I would like to work with them to create my custom color line. This has been in the works with them for nearly two years. Because of the complexity of this venture, it’s taken more time than I had anticipated, but I look forward to hopefully launching my Hybrid Color Glossing Treatment in Fall 2024.
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