If you don’t know Ted Gibson by his celebrity clients (Lupita Nyong’o is one), his runway looks, or the salons and product line bearing his name, then you might recognize him from his stint on the long-running makeover show What Not to Wear. Did we mention his $1200 haircuts are also among the most expensive services in the world? Despite the impressive résumé, Gibson remains one of the friendliest people in the beauty business — so we were lucky to catch up with him at the Pamella Roland Spring 2015 hair test to find out exactly what he stashes in his kit. Here, we peek inside, plus take a look back at some of his most memorable work.

 

 

Gibson keeps everything he needs in one large suitcase that weighs a whopping 67 pounds. “A lot of my friends are hairdressers and they can show up with a little backpack; I’m not that kind of hairdresser. For me, I get inspired by the moment, and if I don’t have the things I know that can change in an instant, then I feel kind of incomplete. So that’s the reason why I carry such a big case. Even if I know who I’m doing and [I know] I’m not going to use extensions, I bring the entire case anyway. Because you just never know. I learned a lesson; I’ve been in this business for about 13 years, and during that time there have been times when I’ve done an editorial and showed up at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the London Hotel or somebody’s mansion, and I didn’t have everything that I needed.”

“I have my clips, shears and combs. I have two different types of blow drying agents, and mousse and grease. Everything you can imagine: Five, six cans of hairspray, two blow dryers, all these flat irons and curling irons so that I can create whatever it is that I want.” 

Gibson shops for extensions at Helen’s on 34th Street in NYC. “It’s really expensive. It depends on what I’m doing. If I’m doing an editorial, I don’t need high quality hair.” The red carpet is another story. “It’s $450 for 16 inches of hair.”

 

As Gibson sorts through his extensions, he picks out a few familiar strands. “I’ve got some Gabrielle Union, some Taylor Schilling… Ariana Grande.” 

Gibson’s kit features a roll of almost a dozen shears, all different sizes for different hair lengths. 

 

“If it’s short hair and I’m cleaning up the hair around the hairline, I use a smaller shear. If I’m cutting a lot of hair off, I’ll use something a little bit larger. I also have a toothbrush for flyways and a tail comb. I always have a tail comb in my back pocket. A tail comb helps create waves, make a straight part. Straight parts are important for me.” 

“I have a triple shear that was given to me by my mentor, Horst Rechelbacher, who used to own Aveda. He just passed away this year. He gave me these years and years ago. They are probably about 40 years old.”

“It was in the back of a limousine… right before an awards show. We were really late, so we had to finish up the hair in the back of the limousine. It happens. The great thing about that is that having enough experience can help guide me the right way. I’m kind of like a calming force when everything is going crazy. Even if I am crazy inside, you would never know.”

“When I go to Europe, I love to buy L’Oreal Elnett. The American one is not the same because they have to change the formula for the U.S. So anytime I’m in Europe, I always buy Elnett. When I’m in Paris, I like to go to a place called Delorme, where I buy my brushes for when I’m doing an updo and it needs to be smooth. It’s different than using a Mason Pearson because it’s completely 100 percent boar — the French make really amazing brushes. If I’m in Italy and Japan, I like to buy hairpins.”

 

 

At Pamella Roland’s Spring 2015 show at New York Fashion Week this month, Gibson put his toolkit to good use. He took the designer’s Japanese influence and created a sleek low ponytail (the season’s most popular hairstyle) accessorized with a knotted pink rope. He came up with the look the night before the show! 

 

Lupita N'yongo ruled every red carpet she walked this year, including the 2014 Met Gala. Gibson had some fun with the actress by dying her hair purple to match her eyeshadow. 

Alongside his senior stylist Devin Toth, Gibson used hot pink hair chalk to create dip dyed ends at Carmen Marc Valvo’s Fall 2013 show. The final look fit in perfectly with the designers “baroque punk” collection.