Rossano Ferretti and the Secret to “Happy Hair”

Rossano Ferretti

Updated Mon, April 2, 2018 at 9:30 AM UTC

He may be known as “the most luxurious hairdresser in the world,” but Rossano Ferretti has no use for such titles. The 40-year veteran—whose Il Metodo technique follows the natural folds and texture of hair—cares only about “happy hair,” as he calls it. Here, the maestro of manes tells us why trends are a waste of time—and why trying to change your hair will always be a losing battle. —Jackie Caradonio

I never liked the way a woman looked when she left a hair salon.

“Forty years ago, when I was a teenager, I hated how the girls leaving the beauty salon looked. In the hair industry in the ’80s—and really, in the ’90s, the ’00s, and every decade—you’d have a new beauty icon every three years, and a new haircut to go with it. You would see 50 women walking out of the salon with the same haircut. The industry was trying to massify beauty, but that is impossible. You cannot codify such a thing.”

I refuse to talk about hair trends.

“The real trend is to not talk about trends. Thirty-five years ago, nobody was talking about the personalization and uniqueness of beauty. Everybody was saying, “This is the haircut of the season.” But getting a haircut is not like buying a T-shirt. Every single one must be different because everybody’s hair is different.”

The most important moment in the beauty salon is the consultation.

“It’s not the haircut, not the color, not the shampoo, not when the client can buy some products. The key moment is when your stylist understands you, listens to you, knows your desires, and sees your beauty. If your stylist doesn’t understand who you are and what you like and who you want to be, you should step out—full stop. If you go to a restaurant and you don’t like the food, you order something else—but if you go to a salon and they cut your hair in a way that you don’t like, it’s too late to change it. The consultation is everything.”

The biggest mistake you can make is to try to change your hair.

“You cannot change your hair. You can enhance your hair beauty, you can work on your hair—but if you fight your hair, your hair will always win. In the end, people destroy their hair because they want to change it. They end up with dry and damaged hair trying to make it something it will never be.”

I can give you the best haircut in the world, but if you don’t follow a haircare regime, it doesn’t matter.

“Everybody talks about skincare and makeup, but nobody talks about haircare. You have 15 skincare products in your cabinet and only one shampoo in your shower? No, that’s not right. I invented the “skinification” of hair to educate people that they must have a hair regime, too. You have to have shampoo and conditioner, but you also have to have a hair mask, serum, protection from heat and UV rays—and you have to care about the ingredients you are putting on your hair, just like you would your face. Because your hair will never be beautiful if it’s not healthy.”

Your hair ages, too.

“You cannot treat your hair when you are 60 the way you did when you were 15. As you get older, your hair gets fine and lifeless—you have to work with that. Just like skincare has anti-aging products, I created an anti-aging line for the hair. My Vita collection is about getting that thickness and volume you had when you were young.”

Your hair should look good when you wake up in the morning.

“I invented the “invisible haircut,” which means I cut hair the way it wants to be cut. You cannot cut the hair horizontally—you don’t chop the hair. I cut the hair vertically. I go into the hair body—into its folds—and I follow its natural shape. So, when you wake up in the morning, your hair looks good. And whether you style it or not, it looks good. Because your hair is happy. It’s the way it wants to be.”

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