Whether the cut is good or bad, high maintenance or low, in Dallas, we spend a whole lot of time and money on our hair. Some of us, much more than others. Especially if you’re going blond.
“You could say $2,000,” says Kameron Westcott, a living Barbie long before the movie came out and truly the best caricature of classic Dallas high society of all the cast members on The Real Housewives of Dallas. The Dallas socialite told me this after doing some quick mental math of what it takes to keep her blonde hair photo ready. That’s $2,000 per month, by the way. “I’m very loyal to my hair teams, and I also have a glam team that I’m very loyal to as well,” she says. Yes, you read that right—hair teams. Plural. It takes a total of four people.
She admits that she can leave the house with perfect hair and no makeup, or makeup and bad hair. But never both.
Noted: “I had bangs in the ’80s, and I also had a perm in the ’80s. My mother had a perm, so I wanted a perm.”
“I definitely would say I love long, loose curls. That is my signature look, and I love the hair teased in the back with a little volume, which I feel like really comes from the old Texas hairstyles. Back in the day, the grande dames used to always have this amazing volume, and they always had big hair. I, of course, have tamed the volume down a bit because I don’t want to have it too teased, but I do like a little tease in the back with just lots of beautiful curls.”
Westcott has been blond since she was a kid. But she admits that she’s been dyeing it to match the color it was when she was young for so long that “I really don’t know what my natural hair color is.” She loves being blonde, but there was a time she thought about doing something different.
“I one time went to Michael and I said, ‘Hey, I had strawberry red hair when I was born. Can we try strawberry red?’ ” “Michael” is Michael Stelding at Blow Salon, whom she goes to for cut and color. “And he looked at me and said, ‘Absolutely not. I will not allow that for your skin tone,’ ” she says, laughing. “He will literally put his foot down and say, ‘I don’t want my name on that.’ ” That’s a good friend right there.
“Then I have my styling team, which consists of actually six ladies, and they’re all with the Luxe Group.” Westcott receives these at-home styling services at least twice a week. “I think most women in Texas do at least one blowout a week, though.” (FYI, since I’m a serious journalist, I ran the numbers, and that turns out not to be true. Most women in Texas do not, in fact, get an in-home blowout once a week by a team of professionals whom they know on a first-name basis. Unless we’re talking about our dreams. In that case, yes. Yes, we all do that. Always.)
“And I also have hair extensions to give me more volume. That actually is a separate lady. And her name is Liz Contreras-Hernandez. She is the best in the area for extensions. She comes to your home. She moves them up every six weeks for me. She makes sure my hair stays healthy. She makes sure that it doesn’t damage my hair in any way. And she works around my highlight schedule. So, when I go get highlights, we remove them, and then we put the highlights in. Then, after the highlights, when I come home, she inserts them back in. It’s a whole two-day process.”
If two whole days per month, in addition to the at least biweekly blowouts, isn’t relatable, fret not. While Westcott might be able to spend $2,000 a month on her hair, she is not immune to a bad hair moment. “Oh God, I did bangs, yes. I had bangs in the ’80s, and I also had a perm in the ’80s. My mother had a perm, so I wanted a perm.” And in fourth grade, she got her wish. “The very first time I got a perm, my mom dropped me off at school, and I ran out on the playground to show all my friends—and a bird pooped on my head.” If you were alive in the ’80s, you already know the terrible truth that follows. “You cannot wash your hair for 48 hours after your perm. I literally remember having yellow bird poop in my hair for 48 hours.” Who knew a bad hair day was the great equalizer?
This story originally appeared in the March issue of D Magazine. Write to [email protected].
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