A brief overview
- 1 Roots in Utah and the move to LA
- 2 From Front Desk to Red-Carpet Stylist – Jen Atkin
- 3 Leveraging the Power of Social Media
- 4 Building OUAI: A Brand that is a Lifestyle
- 5 Emotional Growth and the Hoffman Process
- 6 Author, Mentor, and Advocate
- 7 Transitional Hairstyles
- 8 The Influences of Jen Atkin
- 9 Why People Google Jen Atkin
- 10 More Than Hair
When people think of Jen Atkin, they likely think of beachy waves, bouncy glossy ponies, or those iced red-carpet buns that are effortless but impossible to replicate. But Jen’s is a story that is so much bigger than hair its grit and reinvention and big dreams that created a leading lady from a small town in Utah into one of the most influential beauty brands in the world.
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Roots in Utah and the move to LA
Jen Atkin was born in Utah on March 10th, 1980 into a traditional Mormon family. In many ways, Jen’s upbringing was structured and conservative; however, her aspirations were not. At nineteen, she packed her bags and brought just over $300 she had, and bought a one-way ticket to LA. And, the rest, as they say, is history.
Her early days in Los Angeles were not fancy. Jen worked at the front desk at a salon where she witnessed first-hand clients like Stevie Nicks and Bette Midler. Rather than be intimidated by the celebrity clientele, it was an education; she studied every detail from her seat in the lobby, and absorbed the experiences like a sponge to develop her understanding of the beauty world she was now a part of. One encounter with musician Dave Matthews would put her on a path of action when he told her to treat what she did seriously. Jen put away the idea of hairstyling as a side passion and started to treat it as a viable career.
From Front Desk to Red-Carpet Stylist – Jen Atkin
Jen’s career trajectory was steady, but never boring. She assisted, hustled, and said yes to almost every opportunity until she scored her first significant break: styling Gwen Stefani for a Vogue cover shot by Annie Leibovitz. This was the moment that really changed everything. Jen told me how surreal that experience felt; running to set, heart racing, and then realizing, “I just changed the trajectory of my career forever.”
From that point on, the client list expanded to include everyone you could imagine in the global celebrity space; the Kardashians, Chrissy Teigen, Hailey Bieber, Bella and Gigi Hadid, Jennifer Lopez and more. What tied Jen’s work together wasn’t just the technique; it was Jen’s interpretation of the effortless chic aesthetic of her work.
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Leveraging the Power of Social Media
What truly set Jen Atkin apart from many others in our industry was her freedom to embrace social media and her expansion within in; she started posting snippets, behind-the-scenes, social media documentation of her journey as a hairstylist long before Instagram with her first post in 2010. Jen’s social media feed isn’t just carefully curated and promoted ads; it’s fun, relatable and human. Fans like to seek out visual clues of change in real-time and hairstylists around the world felt a kinship with Jen’s authenticity.
That instinct, would transition into something bigger, when she began to develop Mane Addicts, a digital platform and community for hairstylists. It wasn’t just a site for tutorials or trending reports; it established the hair artist as its own unique entity, visibility and community of creatives. By approaching social platforms as community engagement rather than marketing blitzes, Jen established trust on a global level.
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Building OUAI: A Brand that is a Lifestyle
In 2016, Jen launched her hair care brand, OUAI (pronounced “way”) to make hair routines easier with hair products that could seamlessly fit into real life: multitasking sprays, dry shampoo and conditioning treatments that felt aspirational and achievable. Jen positioned OUAI to move past hair care and positioned the brand as a lifestyle, and has since added a full body line and fragrance.
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But Jen wasn’t done being an entrepreneur. She also worked on tools and accessories, namely Dyson’s noted blow dryer, extension lines, and hair accessories she curated. Every decision demonstrated her capacity to identify what contemporary beauty consumers desired.
Emotional Growth and the Hoffman Process
Even with all her success, Jen expressed vulnerability. In 2019, she attended the Hoffman Process, a week long retreat dedicated to emotional healing and transforming patterns of behavior that no longer served them. Jen has spoken publicly about the experience, helping her to confront childhood issues and prepare for the transition of becoming a mom.
Her openness about mental health, authenticity, and balance made her stand out in an industry often built upon perfection. This personal touch is a big part of the reason Jen’s followers relate to her.
Author, Mentor, and Advocate
In 2020, Jen launched her book, Blowing My Way to the Top. Part memoir and part guidebook, it shares her story from receptionist roles to running a multi-million dollar brand. Jen also wrote about the lessons she learned about business, how to plan on failure, and offered advice for anyone on their own creative journey.
Jen has committed her time to mentorship, as well. In 2025, she started working with TJ Maxx’s “You Sponsored” program, dedicated to women entrepreneurs, and providing funding, visibility, and coaching. Having faced both success and personal loss, which included losing her home to the California wildfires, she stresses the importance of resiliency and community.
Transitional Hairstyles
When we look back on the 2010s and 2020s, so many of the iconic celebrity beauty looks have come from Jen Atkin. Kendall Jenner’s sculpted ponytail at the Met Gala, Chrissy Teigen’s romantic waves, and Hailey Bieber’s uncomplicated wedding all have the Atkin signature: polished yet relatable, glamorous but sensible.
Atkin has created a point of view that is glamorous but not ridiculous and it has entirely re-shaped the beauty conversation in this generation. It is no surprise the New York Times called Atkin at one point “the most influential hair stylist in the world.”
The Influences of Jen Atkin
Jen has blazed her own trail, yet there is no shortage of support she always mentions from:
- Musicians and artists who inspired her to follow her dreams (a shout out to Dave Matthews in this pivotal moment).
- Hairstylists and mentors whom she worked under in Los Angeles salons, along with their craft and how they created.
- Her clients, who gave her the safe space to explore her creativity on global stages.
- With discipline, creativity and persistence to connect with people, Jen Atkin created a career beyond hair.
Why People Google Jen Atkin
For the average person typing “Jen Atkin” into Google, they usually want the answer to three things:
- Who is she? A brief profile on her route from Utah to celebrity hairstylist.
- What did she make? Mane Addicts, OUAI and her vast social media audience,
- And why should I care? A cultural figure, mentor, and voice for what it means to be true to yourself while creating beauty.
This article could answer all three with context; it includes her bio and a description of the things she values.
More Than Hair
Jen Atkin exemplifies that beauty is never merely surface. Her story is a complex of artistry, business mind, vulnerability, power, authenticity and global reach. She is a new kind of icon— open enough to share her own struggles while also setting the tone for what modern beauty could look like.
