Jen Atkin on Some of Her Biggest Celeb Hairstyles and the Key to Being Able to 'Work Hard, Play Hard' (Exclusive)

Long before Jen Atkin was a household name in the beauty world, she felt like she’d “made it.” 

“When I was working as a receptionist at a salon in L.A., feeding the meters of Bette Midler, Stevie Nicks, Winona Ryder and all those icons was enough for me,” she says. 

Atkin would go on to do extensions at Chris McMillan’s salon and earn herself a clientele ranging from Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan to Nicole Richie. It was the early aughts, and Atkin remembers: “I couldn’t believe my life.” 

The sentiment rings true 20 years later. Atkin, who has traveled the world with her endless list of celebrity clients, launched Ouai haircare and Mane hair tools and co-founded Highlight Artists, has partnered with American Express and Hilton to share the secrets of her success. 

But before Atkin sat down alongside Maurice Harris, artist and founder of Bloom & Plume, and Priscilla Tsai, founder of Cocokind, for the brands’ 5X Star Evening to discuss her small business journey, Atkin spoke to PEOPLE exclusively about her storied career and the key to her “work hard, play hard” mentality.

OUAI launched in 2016 to an incredible reception. Eight years in, Atkin’s proud to have had it touch other areas of beauty, too.

“We had an incredible collab with DedCool, a detergent that ended up being our number one skew on our website last year. And we just did a collab with Tower 28 that sold out in one day. Then, with our St. Bart’s scent, we’ve really been a player in the fragrance category,” Atkin explains. 

“We started off with shampoo, conditioner and a few sprays, and now we really have become a lifestyle brand that’s in different parts of your beauty routine and your house.”

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Atkin never “got jitters” ahead of creating a celeb hairstyle, but as a business owner, she feels the pressure of keeping her stellar team going strong.

“The biggest thing for me is [on] days I don’t feel like showing up, making sure that I do,” Atkin says, emphasizing that’s because, “there is a responsibility as a business owner to make sure that you’re making the right choices.”

What helps: her Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. “It’s such an embedded part of my business and financial decision-making,” Atkin says.

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The enhanced card, Atkin explains, “Has helped me to elevate the way that I’m able to travel for business” including using points to offset the cost of a team member’s hotel room so that she can continue to create opportunities for the people who work alongside her. 

The card also reminds Atkin to take occasional breaks. “When I get my statements, and I can see that I can actually use reward points for personal travel, that keeps me sane,” she says.

Being able to “grind” then “take time” is essential. On her bucket list, a trip to the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island [a Hilton property]. So it’s on my mood board for next year.” But first, Atkin looks back at some of her most special hair moments.

For many hairstylists, the Met Gala is their Super Bowl. Atkin has prepped her clients for it many times. Among her unforgettable looks, this Barbiecore (before there was such a thing) look for the Hailey Bieber at the 2019 event. 

“Mornings like this prepared me for motherhood,” Atkin says. “It’s just a lot of multitasking. In those days when I was doing Kendall [Jenner], Hailey, and Bella [Hadid] all in one day. [My team] would say a little prayer in the morning as a group, and just make sure all the bags are prepped. Then, we would just toggle throughout the day. But honestly, that was so fun.”

Playing off the camp theme was “such a fun moment,” Atkin adds. It didn’t take away from her laser focus, “I remember using Göt2b hairspray and a flat boar bristle beard brush to get that smoothness that would reflect light and just look good at all angles.”

Recalling the hairstyle she created for Bella Hadid for the same bubblegum pink carpet, Atkin says, “she was with Jeremy Scott for Moschino, and that was a moment where I’ve known him for so long, and he really trusted that we would do something playful.”

Her inspiration: “some Stephen Meisel shoots of Linda Evangelista, and the George Michael ‘Too Funky’ video. Everything was shellacked. So, I wanted it to be very doll, like a Lego character’s hair.” 

Atkin picked her wig up at a shop on the Upper East Side. “It was really fun for us to be able to do something that was short, because I’m always pushing short hair with everybody. Because I feel like once they see it, they see that they could actually carry it.” Though, Atkin admits, “Bella is so playful, she can pull off any look.”

Atkin has created her fair share of sculpted updos. One standout: this twisted bun she crafted for Katy Perry. “Catherine Deneuve always had amazing, sculpted, looks — I think it was we were channeling that sixties bombshell,” she says.

Atkin adds that one of her tricks “is to put the hair into a high ponytail, and then back comb it, then put a really thin hairnet over it and sculpt the shape that I want using very thin French hairpins to secure it in place. I learned that when I was doing editorial and runway shows with Guido Palau, and with Renato Campora.” 

Atkin’s had a number of pinch-me moments. She says it never gets old.

“It’s just a dream being able to work with the icons. When I talk about it, I’m like, “There’s no way that I actually got to do that.” 

But she did.