Friends, meet Giulia Heiman. Curly red bombshell, bi-coastal woman of talent, drive, mystery, and a will to make her life how she wants it. She is a hairdresser in NYC a couple weeks out of each month, and a relaxed LA woman the rest of the time, with jaunts around the globe here and there for work and pleasure.
We went to high school together, turns out. I remember her first and foremost because I couldn’t not stare at her beautiful hair when she passed me in the halls, and I really wanted to touch it and play with it and ask her a million questions about it but I was shy and she seemed way out of my league. Highschool!
Giulia has thick bouncy spiral curls that are the deepest dark red and they absolutely beckon. Once her curls talked to me, and I don’t even know if she knew it. They said “Come on. Go ahead and give us a little pull and tousle. She won’t mind.” It took everything I had not to oblige them.
I think that when red and curly genes get together in the great gene pool of a human, they bust through generational walls, in the front of the line of all the other genes, shaking their butts and making themselves known as if to say ‘you snooze you lose, other gene bitches!’ Curly red hair is magical and mighty and should be worshipped. Tom Robbins agrees. Remember this post from years ago?
“What is your mission among us, you daughters of ancient Henna, you agents of the harvest moon? Are those star maps that your freckles replicate? How do you explain the fact that you live longer than the average human? Where did you get such sensitive skin? And why are your curls the same shade as heartbreak?” -Tom Robbins
I have been wanting to talk shop and life with Giulia for years now. Someday I hope to actually get some real time talk and hair collaboration with her, but for now I am happy to get answers from her on questions that I have been dying to ask about her hair, her life, her work, and a very exciting project she has been working on……Ladies and gents, I present you questions answered, by the great woman herself.
Q. Where do you live, where are you from, what do you do for fun and for work?
I’m currently based out of LA, but I go to NY once a month to see clients (lived there for 8 years). I’m in the beginning stages of starting a hair supplement company, I write for about.com as their Beauty Supply guide, and I do on set styling for MTV here in LA……all of this doesn’t leave a lot of free time, but I’m happy when I’m busy, so that’s all good!
Q. What hair and beauty beliefs were you raised with? Any family tricks, recipes, hair wisdom from grandma etc? I’m guessing you come from a line of people with incredible hair.
Unfortunately no family tricks were passed down. My father wore a full afro in the 70’s, and my mother spent her nights with her head on an ironing board. My mother is super low-key about her beauty routine, so we were never given tutorials about anything related to hair or makeup. My mom used to hand my sister and I a brush (and we’d wear our very curly hair brushed out and big as hell.
I definitely wasn’t down with it when I was younger, though this was mostly due to tragic 80’s haircuts, but my life changed when I was 11 and my mother’s hair stylist told me to start leaving conditioner in my hair. This simple trick changed everything, and it was awesome to finally like having curly hair, especially at that awkward age. This may sound absolutely ridiculous to most people, but I honestly feel my life and career path may have been different had I never learned to properly tame this beast.
Being both a vibrant red-head and massively curly, you obviously have been turning heads with your hair since you shot out your mom. I’m guessing that you have heard enough questions and comments on your hair than most of us ever do in several life times.
Q: What do you hear the most from other people in regards to your own hair?
Hahaha. Well, back in the day I would always get asked if it was a perm, and now people just ask me if it’s real (as in do I have a weave).
Q. If you could publicly address everyone who has ever touched your hair uninvited in the past and future, what would you tell em?
Step off! The compliment is very much appreciated but my hair gets frizzy as fuck when you touch it……and it’s creepy to touch a stranger’s hair uninvited….creeps.
Q. What are your hair care M. O.’s ? Routine, products, hairstyles, etc.
I’ve been doing the same thing for over 20 years. I only shampoo once a week, and every other day I get it wet, leave a generous amount of Finesse conditioner in my hair, scrunch in gel and I let it air dry.
Q. Who are your hair inspirations?
Cher, in Moonstruck, when she comes out all dolled up for her big date, and her hair is dark and huge……gets me every time. I’m also a major fan of the creativity an innovation that Odile Gilbert puts into her work.
Q. You are a hairdresser, and have been for quite a while now. What are your hair specialties? What is your ideal hair client?
Curly hair is obviously a specialty as clients feel comfortable when they walk in and see that I can understand what they’re dealing with. I also love doing hair styling for editorial and creative jobs. As far as an ideal client goes, I basically just hope for people who are open.
Q. Industry highlights? Career shining moments when you realized ‘I’m a G when it comes to hair’ or ‘Goddamn I love my job.’
I pooped myself when I got to work with Annie Liebovitz for a Vanity Fair cover, and I had a mini heart attack when I got the email asking me if I was available to do the bridal party for Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. As cheesy as it sounds, the best thing about doing hair for me is that I have very few days when I don’t like my work. I think humans are rad and fascinating, and this job lets you get up close and personal with so many types of people.
Q. Tom Robbins believes that redheads are supernatural. He writes “Redheaded women! Those blood oranges! Those cherry bombs! Those celestial shrews and queens of copper! May they never cease to stain our white-bread lives with super-natural catsup.”
Do you have a response to this? You can get creative and weird if you want.
I’ll have to leave this one for the other Heiman to answer and she is the true redhead of the family. I inherited my mother’s dark hair (dad was a flaming redhead) but ever since high school I’ve been adding some sort of warmth to my color.
Jessica Heiman, dear scarlet haired younger sister of Giulia and co-owner of Hawaii based pasta company Onda Pasta, if you are reading this, we would love to know your thoughts on being a curly read haired mega babe, too:) (BTW, guys. If you are ever at work and hungry and you want to torture yourself, check out her Instagram. )
Q. Giulia, I hear through the grapevine that you have developed a natural supplement for healthy hair growth. We would LOVE to know more about it. What is it called, how does it work, and how can we get some?
The product is called BE Biotin and it supports and beautifies hair, skin and nails.
Over the years I was often referring supplements to my clients to treat various issues with their hair and skin and I felt there was a disconnect between the fancy products they were buying in the salon and the poorly packaged vitamins they were getting at the drugstore. If they are taking something for beauty, shouldn’t the product itself be beautiful? And why should they have to go somewhere else to buy it? With that, BE Biotin was born.
I worked with a top rated nutraceautical lab in New York to create a formula that blocks the production of DHT naturally (propecia for example is a chemical DHT blocker), and the formula also contains 5000 mcgs of biotin to further support the hair and skin. My male and female clients have been reporting thicker hair and clearer skin after one month of taking the product.
Q. If you were going to be shot in a rocket by yourself into the upper atmosphere and could only bring along 5 things total, any genre, any size but items and not people or pets, what would you bring.
Grilled Cheese from Spitzers (LES, NYC)
Seltzer water
Weed
Thanks, Giulia! We are stoked to know more about you, and look forward to seeing and hearing more about your badass self.
Friends, meet Giulia Heiman. Curly red bombshell, bi-coastal woman of talent, drive, mystery, and a will to make her life how she wants it. She is a hairdresser in NYC a couple weeks out of each month, and a relaxed LA woman the rest of the time, with jaunts around the globe here and there for work and pleasure.
I think that when red and curly genes get together in the great gene pool of a human, they bust through generational walls, in the front of the line of all the other genes, shaking their butts and making themselves known as if to say ‘you snooze you lose, other gene bitches!’ Curly red hair is magical and mighty and should be worshipped. Tom Robbins agrees. Remember this post from years ago?
