For Hair Artist Nikki Nelms, Creativity Is About Living In The Moment
"I kind of let the moment tell me what to do. No two moments are the same and that allows me to create something original and exciting every time"
Achieving unforgettable red carpet glamour is hard work indeed. This month, we speak to celebrity makeup, hair and nail artists — Sir John, Nikki Nelms and Park EunKyung — about the industry.
If you follow entertainment keenly, you’ve probably seen one of Nikki Nelms’ works on stars like Janelle Monae, Yara Shahidi, Solange Knowles and Zoe Kravitz for red carpet events, music videos or movies. And considering the sculptural hair artist’s illustrious career, it’s no wonder Hollywood’s biggest names continue to scramble for a chance to work with her.
Earning her stripes through hard work, Nelms found herself pursuing her passion in her earlier years. “I didn’t always know I wanted to pursue a career in hair,” she says. “I didn’t think of being a hairstylist as something to take seriously because it came so easily to me; I thought it would be more of a hobby. But along the way, I discovered people that were doing different things on a higher level; I made the connection and realised that I could pursue this full-time.”
What motivates you to take on a new project? Is there anything you look for before accepting a request?
I’m always looking to do something different. I am motivated by opportunities that allow me to express my creativity. I work best when I am pushed to create something unique and innovative.
I like fresh energy, an openness and willingness to try something different or, you know, a go-with-the-flow type of project. I’m always looking for projects that inspire and drive me to be excited enough to get out of bed and get creative.
Tell us about your creative process. How do you go about crafting a look or structural hairpiece?
It sounds crazy, but my process is to not have a process. To me, it’s the most effective way to get something original — to not necessarily have a formal approach. I kind of let the moment tell me what to do. No two moments are the same and that allows me to create something original and exciting every time. I just live in the moment and feel the vibe.
With all of that, I try to stay prepared. I do bring all the things that will support any crazy ideas I might have on set, but I tend to try not to think too much about what I’m going to do because, for the most part, it always changes once we’re there. I find that people tend to over-plan. You can have a bunch of Zoom calls and mood boards going into a project, but when we get on set, everything can change. That’s the beauty of collaboration between creatives.
The moment always tells you what’s best anyway, so I just try and live there.
You’ve built quite a loyal celebrity clientele, crafting some of pop culture’s most iconic looks for music videos and entertainment’s biggest events. What’s the best thing about having your work showcased in such a capacity?
I feel so blessed whenever I see my work showcased on a billboard or a cover, but my favourite is when my grandma would be in the grocery store and I would catch her telling the cashiers how her granddaughter did all of the hair on all of those magazines on the stand in the front. And I would correct her and say, “I didn’t do all of the hair”. She would then say, “If you did one, you did them all to me”. Moments like that mean the most to me.
What are your favourite looks that you’ve done on celebrity clients?
For me, it’s not about the look. It’s about the backstory and what it took to get to that place that makes me love specific looks.
For example, seeing Zoe Kravitz on the big billboards when she was Catwoman. Seeing my work or my haircut on her, I loved it so much. Even though she’s worn a pixie before, it was so special because of how big that moment was. It makes me think about how we first met, how long we’ve known each other, all of the moments we’ve shared and just us moving up the ladder to get to that moment.
Or it could be something like how I really, really wanted to work with someone, but I didn’t want to reach out to them. I wanted to work harder and position myself to where they ended up reaching out to me. So the look that I gave them the first time might mean a lot to me because of the route that I took to get to it, you know?
For a more concrete look that I loved, I would say Janelle Monae’s “googly-eye” look. It was something so different for us and there was something so gratifying seeing so many people across the globe enjoying it!
Is there anyone you’d like to work with but haven’t gotten the chance to yet?
There is... and they are coming.
What do you do for self-care when you’re not on the job? Do you have a beauty routine?
When I’m not working, I love to sleep! I love to vintage shop and really do things to take my mind off work and wind down. For a hair routine, I like to trim my ends when the moon is growing. That’s what my grandmother told me to do.
