KOCHI: As he ran his fingers through the hair, he fretted over the split ends and rough hair. He called his assistant to do a quick hair wash and art took over as he magically transformed the poorly maintained hair. Meet Vineesh Rajan, celebrity hairstylist and owner of his eponymous Vineesh Rajan Hair and Make up in Vytilla.
He has been in this trade for over a decade and is favourite among the big shots of the Malayalam film industry. According to him, back in 2005, only the elites would go to a beauty salon, but now it has become a norm. “Everybody wants to look good now with a different style or something new every time they come here,” Vineesh said.
He got into the business after his high school and has enjoyed every day of his work. “I did not plan on becoming a hairstylist. It happened, mostly because both my older brothers are in the beauty business,” he said. His brother Prajeesh manages ‘Zookie style lounge’ at Thrikkakara and second brother Ratheesh manages ‘Bounze’ at Palarivattom.
“My parents never looked down on any of us when we got into this profession. As a matter of fact, I always thought of it as a respectable job since it involves transforming the appearance of a person which has a direct impact on the inward transformation,” he said. According to him, nowadays, a lot of people are getting into the beauty business and there are a lot of courses related to this field, but what matters most is the passion to create beauty from what is given to you. “When I look at someone, I immediately get an idea of what would look good on them. I ask my customer’s suggestions and then sprinkle a few my ideas. But at the end, I make sure I give them the best,” Vineesh said.
Vineesh has styled many stars, including Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan, Dileep and Neeraj Madhavan. “The directors explain the character to me and I work accordingly. When I was styling Nivin Pauly’s hair for “Mili”, I was given the clear picture of the character of a teacher. I did not make a major change in his style, but the hair was set to make him appear as an academician,” he said. He has also styled Dileep’s hair in the movie “Ringmaster”.
“I don’t want to leave my shop, so I don’t take up a lot of movie assignments. There is no difference between a celebrity’s hair or a normal person’s hair; it’s all the same for me. I love being a part of the transformation journey of an individual,” he said.
Vineesh has clients from across the state and he plans on opening a new shop in Thrissur. “There is a notion that people in the south don’t pamper themselves with a nice hair spa or facial treatment. But I think people here are more on par with the latest trends than anywhere else in the country,” he said. “Small children tell me the hairstyles they want which are fitting for a casual day as well as for school.
Schoolgirls come to get their hair coloured in a way that they can hide the highlights in their plaits when they go to school,” he added. Vineesh spoke about how people here are not aware of the dos and don’ts of hair care. “The weather now is not great for the hair and most people have suffered hair loss in the past two months, mostly because of the polluted atmosphere.
Nearly 90 per cent of people here wash their hair every day and when it comes to women, they tie up wet hair. This can lead to hair problems,” he said. He emphasised oiling once a week and also the use of good quality shampoo and conditioners. “Small things like regularly changing pillow covers and bedspreads can have a great impact on the texture of one’s skin and hair,” he said.