Becca Mader, celebrity hairstylist from Wakefield
By GABRIELLA CELONA
Becca Mader, a young celebrity hair stylist moved from Wakefield, Mass. to one of the most competitive cities in the country, Los Angeles, California, to chase her dreams in the hair industry.
When she first moved to LA she was fresh out of high school, only 18 years old, with no familiar face around to guide her. She chose Los Angeles because she knew if she went to cosmetology school, it had to be the best so she would get farther than just working at the local hair salon. She wanted to go somewhere she perceived as having more opportunities for what she wanted to do in the hair industry and with her life. LA seemed to be more of her vibe compared to Boston or NYC. She attended Aveda Institute, a 13-month program to become a licensed cosmetologist and the rest as they say is “herstory”.
After speaking with Mader about how she had moved out there all alone, I followed up with a question about how she made connections and contacts to get to where she is in her career today. Her response was, “I was constantly DMing all the celebrity stylists that I was looking up to. I would find who their assistants were, I’d find who their publicists were, who their agents were and I would email them and just say ‘Hey I’m new…I’m out of cosmetology school, I just got my license and I would love to assist you in any way. I will run your errands, I’ll clean your kit, whatever you need I will do.” She admits that it’s not easy out there, she is not working in a hair salon with a set schedule and her career path makes it hard to turn down any job that comes her way. There are weeks when she is working 24-7, she must be flexible and she must adapt to the client’s schedule rather than the other way around. She worries about travel and not having a consistent day-to-day plan, but that is the downside of blazing a trail.
She went on to say that she got a million no’s before she got that one yes. Chris Appleton, was the one ‘yes’ who took a chance on Becca Mader; and hired her on the spot. Working as his assistant for two years, she was given so many incredible opportunities to style the highest of A1 celebrities. They did it all: traveling to Mexico to style celebrities for campaigns, styling for music videos, big events such as the Met Gala and more. When she felt she learned as much as she could from Appleton, she decided to make a name for herself in the industry and give other artists a chance to be head assistants and learn everything that she did in the way Appleton taught her. At just twenty-one years old Mader started to build her clientele by making connections with publicists and public relations teams. She also reached out to influencers and clothing brands. She started styling the important ‘behind the scenes’ people in the industry as well, working a crazy amount of hours for over six months to build a name for herself.
Some of her most notable clientele include Charly Jordan, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Thumann, Katie Austin, Christen Harper and Ally Brooke just to name a few.
When asked what her favorite styling job was she answered, without hesitation, any of the “do-go” jobs that come her way. For those of us who have no clue what that turn of phrase means, a ‘do-go’ event is when you go to a celebrity’s house, get the person ready and leave. Some examples are getting an A-lister ready for the VMA’s, Kids Choice Awards, Birthday parties or a Vanity Fair interview. She says she likes this type of styling the best because “it’s exciting to be a part of the process. They feel beautiful and are excited to go to their event”, one can only assume that the energy must be infectious and the stylist feels just as important as the star at that point because they hold that person’s image literally in their talented hands. Mader believes other types of jobs are also fun, but for her, the do-go is the most enjoyable. She went on to explain that the energy is different somehow, the days feel shorter and for the most part, each job has an element of surprise, she’s not just going through the motions rather she becomes a key influence in that person’s image. She explained that she genuinely enjoys the process and excitement of getting a person ready for an event and it showed in her eyes as I watched her speak from her heart, her face lit up with excitement.
Over the short amount of time she has been out in the industry, she has already worked with so many important people. We are talking, the Kardashians, Dua Lipa, Hannah Brown and Alexis Ren and more. As the interview was coming close to the end I felt like I would regret not asking her if she could style any celebrity, who would it be? Her response was Tate McRae. She feels as if a good relationship could be built given they are similar in age, not to mention she loves her style. If you are living under a rock these days and you don’t know who Tate McRae is or what she is all about let me explain, she is a young Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer. She gives off a fearless type vibe just like Mader herself, which in turn could create a good connection and a great working relationship. So Tate McRae, if you are somehow reading this through some six degrees of separation experience, HIRE HER!!
Mader is always looking forward to what’s next. In the future, her dream is to create a luggage company for image artists like herself. This brilliant idea came to her while working in the industry, she recognized that everyone in her field was working out of a suitcase. She figured it would make her life and others’ lives better if the suitcase itself was tailored to those in the business. She explained, “Packing your kit is every hair stylist’s pride and joy, knowing what products you need to bring and trying to find the best way to pack” is certainly the most important part of your business. By creating a luggage company specifically for her industry, hairstylists and makeup artists won’t have to use a random suitcase for their products, mixing business and creativity into one company shows her commitment to her craft and her excitement was infectious. I’m not even a stylist, but as someone who grew up around and working with hair stylists, I found myself getting excited for a product like this to come onto the market. Pretty soon Mader will have a very specific luggage kit for stylists to take on jobs, so be on the lookout because this hometown girl will soon be a household name just like the clients she services. Becca Mader, you make Massachusetts proud!
Many people don’t realize that a stylist’s job is more than just “doing someone’s hair.” They deal with managers, agents and publicists. They must make time for themselves to be creative. They must plan out their original ideas and those of the client, they have to be open enough to collaborate with clients, they must be comfortable with brand outreach and much, much more. There is much more to do on the backend than what meets the public’s eye, so if you are looking to break into this industry and make a name for yourself start working on these skills as well as your styling craft because after speaking to Mader of Massachusetts, it isn’t easy people; you have to work wicked hard to get where you want to be!
