Shear Genius: Dean Sadler Brings His Talents to Plymouth

Are you dissatisfied with your hair stylist? Have you ever thought that maybe -- just maybe -- it was time for a change? Have you gone so far as to desire said change, but didn’t know where to go next?

Hey, I know breaking up with your hairdresser is hard to do -- “It’s not you…it’s me!” -- but let’s face it, change is inevitable, and sometimes it is downright called for. Now. And it’s not everyday that a little birdie tells you about a former Hollywood hair and makeup artist who has landed within Plymouth city limits.

Dean Sadler knows hair. In fact, he knows much more than hair. He knows the intricate art of making his clients not only look beautiful, but feel beautiful. (His resume includes having worked on several A-list Hollywood sets, like Beverly Hills Cop Three.)

“We don’t have hairdressers here,” said Dean Sadler. “I like to say that we have designers. We don’t copy style. We create it.”

I spoke with Sadler after his recent Botox appointment -- his candor is so very refreshing! -- about how he does what he does.

Plymouth Patch: Where are you from originally? What led you to Plymouth?

Dean Sadler: Los Angeles…my whole career has been in Hollywood. When I retired from filming, the husband of one of my best friends got transferred here for work, and when I came to visit, I fell in love with this town. It’s Norman Rockwell meets the millennium…it’s a hip but sleepy town.

Sadler: I was a model when I was 17, and I was very fascinated by the hair and make-up people on sets. I was just fascinated by it. And I knew then…yeah.

Plymouth Patch: Where -- and how -- did you hone your skills?

Sadler: I honed my skills under Haim -- he’s an international designer who, at the time, had salons all over the world -- and I apprenticed under him.

Plymouth Patch: Tell me about your days in Hollywood…have you worked with any celebrities?

Sadler: Oh my God! I was so fortunate to have the career that I’ve had. I’ve worked with everyone from Heather Locklear to Cher. I started in hair in the film industry and ended up becoming a makeup artist. I worked with Universal [Studios] primarily. Nicolas Cage and [American actor] Judge Reinhold gave me my first film.

Plymouth Patch: Let’s talk about Dean Sadler Hair and Makeup Studio. I find that salons, for the most part, have a theme. They can be simple, elegant, energetic, etc. What would you say is the vibe of yours?

Sadler: It’s designed to give all the opulence and wealth without any of the pretentiousness. I believe the devil is in the details. And so when I was building this studio, I spared no expense -- or in the details of it. Every studio room is a different theme. But what I really wanted to do was bring Beverly Hills to Plymouth -- without the attitude. That’s pretty much what I set out to do.

Plymouth Patch: I know you do it all -- hair, makeup, waxing….what is your specialty?

Sadler: Myself, personally, doing makeup and hair…as long as I can alternate between the two, I’m fine. If I do one, consistently, all day, without the other, I catch myself kind of getting into a tunnel. So, I like to be able to use both sides of my brain.

Plymouth Patch: Do you accept walk-ins?

Sadler: We do accept walk-ins, but this is a clientele-driven business. I have over 670 clients; I have a total of three assistants that work under me. With that said, I don’t do walk-ins, I only do a referral, myself. But people seem to do better with making the appointment because I think that it gives you time to get excited about your appointment. I think that if you walked into my studio, you’d enjoy it -- it’s beautiful and opulent; it’s very fashion-forward -- but, you would be depriving yourself of something. The excitement of coming here.

Plymouth Patch: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Sadler: Well, they’re making a reality show about me… it’s kind of tongue-and-cheek, a fish out of water story: A Hollywood designer comes to the Midwest and opens a studio*. It’s living what I’m living. (But it’s not bio-reality; it’s reality.) So, where I see myself in ten years is, I would like to think that I’ll have three studios by then, hopefully, but I won’t be involved with them. I’ll be writing a book called The Pursuit of Beauty. That’s been my whole life’s goal, pursuing beauty all over the world. I would like to in 10 years wrap all that up, put it all in print, and go, “Okay, here is the tell-all everyone’s been waiting for.”

Dean Sadler Hair and Makeup Studio
807 Penniman Avenue
Plymouth, MI 48170
(734) 416-9800
http://www.deansadlerstudio.com

*Sadler is currently working on the second pilot of his reality show, which was originally shopped to A&E. Plymouth Patch will keep you posted on the show’s development.