Chrissie Gilberti’s Barbie dolls probably knew she’d be a hairdresser before she did. By 15, she knew her affinity for doing everyone’s hair, all the time, was a calling, and she started working part-time as a shampoo girl in her local salon. “I was in high school, shampooing clients for eight hairdressers, working for tips. I loved being in the salon, and once I started going home with a wad of cash in my pocket every day, I was like—this is fun—and how much money are THEY making?! I am definitely doing this! And ever since then it’s just been one opportunity after another.” She went to cosmetology school and worked in a salon for a few years when we met her, bringing her on board as a colorist. Little did we know the impact she’d have on our entire color program in the years to come.
Chrissie Gilberti, Aveda Hair Color Purefessional and Paris Parker Color Education Director | Source: Chrissie Gilberti
While working at two Paris Parker locations in Baton Rouge, Chrissie eventually worked her way up at Aveda to become an Aveda Color Purefessional. A national certification through Aveda’s advanced education program, only the best-of-the-best qualify through an arduous auditioning process. Those chosen travel across the country to learn new techniques and collections, directly from Aveda’s master stylists. Once trained, the Purefessional educates Aveda salons in their region, holding trainings regionally. We’re so proud of Chrissie, who is the only Color Purefessional in the state of Louisiana.
“I went through the process alongside people who are now huge names like Lupe Voss and Ian Michael Black, peers whom I respect and admire. It’s pretty cool to be able to call them for advice and have them answer the phone,” she admits.
Chrissie, right, backstage at a hair show in Lake Charles, LA in 2002, with Paris Parker teammates Sasha Ahart and Craig Boutte. | Source: Craig Boutte
During that process, she identified something we were missing at Paris Parker, which we’re so grateful for. We have nine locations—which means a ton of stylists and colorists who need ongoing education. For a long time, we were signing up for the existing education put on locally by Aveda (via Neill Corporation). “But the thing is, remembers Chrissie, “We were so big, we needed someone to manage that whole curriculum, to keep our entire team ahead of the trends and techniques in all our locations.” So she talked to Debra, one of the owners of Paris Parker.
“The great thing about Debra is, she’s always asking, ‘How can we do better?’ So I told her, ‘I’m teaching this all over country, but it’s not a standard for our people.’”
Wow. That was a big ah-ha for us.
With that conversation, a new part of Chrissie’s career began. She now runs our entire Color Education curriculum for nine locations. It’s constantly changing based on what’s new in hair color, and she works in tandem with Chris Guidry, who heads up the design side. Together, they run our education program.
“They listened to me,” she says. “They’re still listening, and are always so supportive. They know that we know best, because we are hairdressers at heart. They TRUST US and let us do our thing. I think that’s why it works so well, and it’s nice to work somewhere like that—focused on always getting better.”
Her biggest focus now is developing more certified educators, and she’s currently grooming team members to become Purefessionals, just like she did in her 20s. “This program is going to run without me one day,” she says. “When it comes to getting more people certified, we’re never told no—they get that it just makes our team stronger.”
Chrissie’s work on client and writer Missy Wilkinson, during a transition phase to gradually take her from blonde to red. | Source: Missy Wilkinson
Speaking of getting better—during this interview, we figured out how Chrissie got to be so good as a colorist. Yes, there were years and years of training and hard work, and of course that’s never ending. But there was… an incident. A color incident.
She remembers back in the day, when she was new to the business, when Aveda’s new “deposit only” color treatment came out. The tubes were all the same color, and the only difference between jet black and clear gloss was a number on a tube. (If you’ve ever stepped foot in a salon, you can probably see where this is going.) Her longtime color client sits happily in her chair, as Chrissie applies the mixed color then runs to rinse the color bowl. “I was away from her chair for 2-3 minutes max,” she recalls, cringing. “When I came back, hair that was supposed to be blonde was…black. BLACK!”
How’d she handle it? She apologized, she cried, explained her mistake, and of course the client cried too. It took three days and some home visits to get her hair from black, to less black, to almost the pretty blonde it used to be. “I look back, and it was so awful. But I’ll tell you, it’s the moment I turned the corner as a colorist. I now pay such attention to detail, I’ve become so incredibly… particular, from that experience. And— I’ve never walked away from a toner again, not even for a second.”
What about the more glamorous side of the industry she’s seen since then? What’s it’s like? “You kind of have to keep your cool, to respect the client and stay composed.” Like what, we asked? “Like when Jennifer Coolidge sat in my chair for a blowout. It took everything in my being not to Bend and Snap right there, but I held it together,” she laughs.
Her advice for aspiring Purefessionals—the newbies at fashion week for the first time perhaps?
“Just keep cool, and smile,” she says. “Smile from the inside… and keep on spraying the Air Control.”
