Dirty is back (did it ever leave?). Hulu’s The Bear is all the rage, and women everywhere are saying “Yes, Chef!” with dreams of running their fingers through thick, greasy, dirty locks of hair. Good news is you can now nail the look with styling tips from the woman behind Chef Carmy’s mane—stylist Ally Vickers, head of the hair department on The Bear with over 20 years experience making dudes (and ladies) look this cool.
THE BEAR
“Chef Carmy was already created by the time I arrived. I just helped the fine tuning. Jeremy Allen White is an incredibly collaborative actor and was a joy to work with. He had grown his hair out and had referred to Marco Pierre White’s White Heat and The Devil in the Kitchen book covers, which is the coolest look. I took some of my personal references when styling his hair daily from ’90s music. The grunge era was when I peaked, so it’s my go-to. Gavin Rosdale, Kurt Cobain, but also ’80s Talking Heads and The Replacements. David Byrne’s hair in concert has the best texture and movement. I can go on and on. I really think chefs have such connection to the rock world and music, the crossover is seamless.
Carmy doesn’t have a lot of time for self care, so we really wanted to stay away from a typical TV look and keep him based in the reality of what is happening in the kitchen. Scruffy and stressed was the vibe and that translates into the bad boy look that everyone loves. You can really tell a story by how somebody looks, and it’s so fun to translate that through different hairstyles. Personally, I am over seeing super manicured hair on everyone. Sometimes that perfection takes you out of the moment. and I think it’s way more fun to be real. Real hair is messy and real hair moves.”
DAMPEN HAIR
“Dampen hair and comb with an extra wide tooth comb.”
POMADE
“Pea size amount. Pacinos pomade. Warm it up between your hands and work into your hair.”
SURF SPRAY
“Scrunch a little Bumble & Bumble surf spray and you’re good to go.”
LESS WASHING IS BETTER
“Less washing is better. We wash our hair too much as it is. Rinse it out at night, and you’re good. Keep it a little funky! Shampoo every three or four days. If your hair is too clean, try R&Co Badlands dry shampoo paste. It has a gritty texture that will give you that great separated look we love!”
