Behind the scenes: hairstylist Bianca van Zwieten

Meet Bianca van Zwieten: professional hairstylist and total boss babe. She has over 20 years of experience in hairdressing, and 10 years of experience as an International Session Stylist in fashion. During these years she has won the most prestigious hairdressing award in the Netherlands, The Hairdresser of the Year Award, at the Coiffure Awards gala. She also won the third prize internationally in the Global AIPP awards held in London. Bianca’s work can be seen in magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire and Grazia, and… on the runway of my FW20 fashion show!

Marlies: At work you’re a WELLA Professionals Creative Artist, what a beautiful title. How would you describe yourself, as a person, in one sentence?

Bianca: What I do is more than a profession, it’s a lifestyle. I’m always creating in my head, and I’m always looking around to get inspired. Currently I’m working on building a business, and besides my creative job I now have a second salon in Rotterdam: Sjenkels. So I’m also an ambitious entrepreneur. But still, I like to call myself a dreamer that aims as high as possible.

Marlies: What do you think is the best part of life as a hairstylist?

Bianca: The sky is the limit! There are no boundaries to life as a creative hairstylist. Hair is a beautiful material to work with, with limitless possibilities. And I love that my work for shows and shoots means I get to travel a lot, and meet interesting, fun and inspiring people.

Marlies: You and your team styled the hair of my dancers at my show in January. There were quite some preparations that had to be done, can you tell us about these preparations?

Bianca: First, we had to develop each look and hair color. Then we had to assemble a strong team to run the show. With that team, we spent a few days dyeing twenty wigs. It was super fun to do, but a lot of work!

Marlies: What was I like for you to work on the show? Did you face any surprises or challenges (during the preparations)?

Bianca: There weren’t any surprises, other than the preparations taking longer than we planned. But it was an honor to be working on the show- what a performance!

Marlies: During the show the dancers have to change incredibly fast, and sometimes even switch hairstyles. This might be a professional secret, but can you tell us a little bit of how you pulled it off?

Bianca: Every time the dancers walked off the stage, we were waiting backstage with a big team of hairstylists, at least one hairstylist per model. Each model also has their own dresser, so you can imagine how crowded it was in the small backstage area! It also really helped that we had each model try on her wig beforehand, so we knew how they would fit.

Marlies: What tools or products are your absolute must-haves to style a show or shoot?

Bianca: My Classic Curl Tong from GHD is a real must! Next to that, I really need my Natural Volume Mousse by Eimi. This mousse gives the hair amazing volume and it gives the curl a nice hold, while keeping the hair soft.

Marlies: What’s the most extraordinary (or bizarre!) job you ever had as a hairstylist?

Bianca: I’ve had many amazing styling jobs. Recently I got to work for a beauty production of Vogue Arabia, that was really special. There, you’re working right at the beginning of fashion and trends.

Marlies: And of course we all want to know… How much time does it take you to do your own hair?

Bianca: I only wash my hair once a week, because it’s curly. So on ‘washing day’ it takes me a bit longer, but the days after that I spend maybe a few minutes on my hair!

Marlies: That sounds amazing. Thank you, Bianca!

Follow Bianca on Instagram to get a taste of her life as a hair stylist, and click https://bit.ly/WellaProfessionalsNL to learn more about her favorite products from WELLA Professionals.