Every year, I attend the U.S. Open tennis tounament over Labor Day weekend with my mom. This year was no different, but the temperatures hovered around 100 degrees, and it was the most crowded U.S. Open in history. Needless to day, I was certainly disheveled looking by the end of the day, and I wasn’t even playing tennis. I can’t imagine how the players felt at the end of an intense match. Lucky for them, they have the US Open Style Suite by Julien Farel, who with his team is marking his sixth year as the official hairstylist of the U.S. Open.
The Style Suite, which is open through Sept. 9, is located inside the Player’s Lounge in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Services offered include haircuts; styles; Julien’s signature RESTORE treatments from his haircare line, Julien Farel Hair Care; scalp massages; nailcare services, including medical pedicures from Bastien Gonzalez (BG); and other hand and foot treatments. Makeup application by Yves Saint Laurent is also available. The signature look of this year’s Open is a braided headband Farel has created inspired by US Olympian Sonya Richards-Ross. The braid is made from the player’s own hair, taking a portion of hair from just below the ear and braiding. Then the braid is wrapped around the front of the head, like a headband, and pinned underneath the other ear.
“Athletes require so much of their bodies. When they are strongest, they are at peak performance level,” says Farel. “I think hair deserves the same care and attention as the rest of our bodies.” Thanks to Farel, this year's athletes are certainly taking to the court in style.