Jen Atkin on Motherhood, Beauty Fails, and Why Balance Is ‘B.S.’

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Most hairstylists prefer to stay behind the chair and out of the spotlight, maintaining the cut or style (and sometimes acting as unofficial therapist and confidant) for whoever is in the hot seat—pun intended. Jen Atkin isn’t one of them. While I’m sure she’s racked up plenty of stories over the years while working with celeb clients like the Kardashians, the Hadids, Chrissy Teigen, Jessica Alba, and more, Atkin has made a name for herself in her own right.

The multi-brand founder and author has worked with the best of the best for over a decade and her latest venture is no different. Atkin is teaming up with Bellami Hair on a mission to normalize hair extensions as part of an everyday routine through the new Be Full of Yourself campaign. She’s also enlisting her entire Highlight Artists hairstylist roster to help spread the confidence that comes with a full head of hair.

As women, we usually feel like we need to look a certain way but are shamed for the methods we use to fulfill those beauty standards. The prime example? Wearing hair extensions. But as more women start to embrace extensions, Bellami is hoping to add to the normalcy. “There’s no shame to hair extensions, at all,” Atkin says. “It’s 2025, people know about extensions. It’s not an insider secret. We’re going to see people talk about it more and more. We’re here to flip the script by making extensions feel fun, aspirational, and something both consumers and pros get excited about,” she says.

For Atkin, her work has always been beyond just hair—an idea Bellami has made central to its campaign. “Obviously, it’s alluding to the fullness of hair, but also encouraging women to not feel embarrassed to put themselves out there and feel really good or show that confidence,” Atkin adds. “Even giving themselves permission to have that confidence and to put themselves in a place where somebody’s going to notice you. So many times, we need encouragement from one another to take up that space and have self-expression.”

Ahead, Atkin opens up about confidence, motherhood, and the myth of “finding balance.” Plus, why you should never ask ChatGPT for hair advice.

Glamour: What’s your favorite thing about working with Bellami?

Jen Atkin: One of the things that’s exciting for me is I’m in a position in my career where I don’t have to work with anybody. And with Bellami, I’m such a fan. I have a whole closet of Bellami at my office that a lot of our artists will use on set. I’m so excited to be able to share not only high-quality products, but also the whole campaign about just really celebrating self-expression. Something that’s really exciting for me as a hairstylist is being able to give somebody confidence. And Bellami is really the crème de la crème of hair. It was really fun for me to come in with the Highlight Artists and show how easy extensions are to use, and how it isn’t just for special events. You can make it a part of your everyday and use it in your life. Just make yourself feel good.

What’s one beauty trend you’re obsessed with right now?

I have been so obsessed with Mary Phillips’s brand, M.ph, [and her] Overliner lip pencil. Everybody’s talking about the underpainting, but being able to use her colors that she has that are so natural-looking to overline your lip look—I feel like you don’t look crazy. You just look really great.

What’s one beauty rule you swear by?

I swear by washing your face no matter what. And washing your hair, too, honestly. Washing your hair and washing your face is an instant pick-me-up. And you’ll thank yourself the next day, no matter how tired you are.

What’s one beauty rule you think is BS?

Feeling like you only have one look, to me, is so dated. I’ve been posting a lot of ’90s throwback haircuts to really encourage people to play with different lengths. Go short. If you have thin hair, you can put in some extensions, do a really cute lob. I just love the idea of transformation, and Bellami has such amazing color, too, so you can do balayage without having to touch your hair. There’s so much you can do.

Fill in the blank: I love my hair when ______.

When it looks good on camera. When it’s full. When it looks good in pictures. I always tell brides, too, to do extensions for their wedding because hair photographs smaller, so you always want to have a little extra oomph. Hairstylists have had this secret for so long, and now the secret is out.

Fill in the blank: I feel most beautiful when ______.

When I get a compliment from my four-year-old son. He means it.

Speaking of which, how has your perception of beauty changed since becoming a mom?

I have two toddlers. My kids are 13 months apart. And I feel like I did not look in the mirror for three years. And that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I’m finally coming back, like oh my God, I need to take care of myself. And part of that is showing up the way that I want to show up. I feel like I’m also coming out of the whole COVID sweats-and-ponytail life. Now, I feel so much better when I actually get dressed and do my makeup and do my hair. It makes me feel really good.

As the founder of multiple successful brands, how do you find balance with your personal life?

My answer is just a big LOL. There’s no way. I wrote my book about how I think balance is bullshit. There’s no way. If you’re trying to be perfect, if you’re trying to be balanced, you’re always going to fail in one area. It’s funny, I just heard a podcast where somebody was saying with their husband, they’ll grade each other at the end of the week about which area of their life they’ve been doing well and what they haven’t been doing well. I’m kind of into that. I want some feedback about how I’m showing up. I’m really, really crazy about habits, and my poor kids, I have a schedule, and they know Tuesday is pizza night.

Do you remember the first beauty product you ever used?

My mom’s Oil of Olay cream. I can smell it, just talking about it. It seemed so luxe. And everything about it was so perfect.

What has been your biggest beauty fail?

Oh my God, I just posted a picture on Instagram of over-plucking my brows in high school. It was so bad. So bad. It was like commas. I actually had to have surgery to have eyebrows put back in because it was so over-plucked.

You travel constantly. What city or country gives you the greatest beauty inspiration?

I didn’t travel for a really long time, and I recently went with my family to London and to Paris. And some of our team members, whenever they go to Korea or Japan, they’ll bring a bunch of stuff back, and right now I’m super inspired by the fun packaging and creativity in Korean beauty products. But I love going to Paris and Le Bon Marché and smelling every single scent. I also found—my friend Katherine Power took me to this amazing vintage perfumery in Beverly Hills that had all of the perfumes that my mom wore, and I was there for an hour and a half and had a headache for three days. But it was totally worth it. Travel is the biggest inspiration for me, and seeing the trends and what’s happening in different countries.

You have over 200 perfumes from the early 2000s. Do you still wear them? Or is it just an archive?

It’s an archive, but sometimes I’ll whiff some of them. I know which ones some of them are so old that I won’t spray. But then, I have Clinique Happy and Tommy Girl and Ralph Lauren Lauren and CK One, and they smell amazing, so on special occasions, I’ll wear them. I like to wear them when I’m out with my girlfriends who are around the same age and see if they recognize the scent.

Do you have a power perfume?

Right now, our Mane Sea Sweet Spray and Body Mist. It’s got kind of a nostalgic—I can’t say which perfumes really inspired me—but there are three or four that I wore in like ninth grade that I loved the freshness of, and we tweaked it a little bit, and that’s my favorite right now. I do hair, but I really do love fragrance. I’ve always loved it.

What’s the last Instagram or rabbit hole you went down?

That’s so embarrassing of a question, I love it. I’m going to look for you right now. Oh my God, you’re going to laugh. I really was into the account Sylvanian Drama, like the Calico Critters, that was soap-opera-y, and because my daughter is so obsessed with Calico Critters, they’re so cute. And I saw that they got sued by the company that makes them. So, I was researching that for way too long.

What’s your favorite emoji?

It’s the hair one. I’ve used it a lot, I realize. And the shaka—the “hang loose.”

How much time do you spend getting ready?

More than usual. I started waking up really early to get my kids to school. I get up really early now. I spend an hour and 15, or an hour and 20, between my routine of working out and getting ready. When I’m in LA by myself for work, it’s a good hour and a half, or an hour and 45. I give myself a little extra time.

What is your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?

Honestly, I have to say, I was actually in a meeting getting ready for this trip, and I put in my Bellami tape-ins, and the girls all stopped talking, and their jaws were on the ground. They’re like, “You’re giving us Cher hair, that looks so easy,” and I’m like, “You guys, you can do this yourself.” For me, it’s the quickest pick-me-up. That and dry shampoo. It makes me instantly feel like you got your shit together.

Who are the women who inspire you the most right now?

I would say Melinda French Gates, Kris Jenner, and Kamala Harris.

If you could change one thing about beauty perceptions on social media, what would that be?

It’s such a hard question because I feel like there’s good and bad. It can make us feel bad about ourselves, but it can also help us get inspired and feel really good. I would just say being careful about negativity and comparison. And like, don’t ask ChatGPT what you should do with your hair. ChatGPT doesn’t know about hair trends.

You can only use three products for the rest of your life. What are they and why?

The Mane Hot Round Brush because it will get my hair done in like five minutes. My Bellami tape-in extensions with the balayage ends for instant glam. Ouai St. Barts Hair and Body Mist—it’s still my fave after all these years.

Mane It’s Giving Body Medium Hot Thermal Round Brush

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