Terry Hunt is not only the CEO of Hairhunt.com, a leading source on hair education, but he’s also a cast member on television’s most fascinating peek into the hair care industry, “L.A. Hair.”
Hunt, a celebrity stylist with two decades of hair industry experience under his belt, works beside renowned stylist Kim Kimble and the rest of her staff at Kimble Hair Studio. If there wasn’t already enough drama within the clique of professional beauticians, adding A-list Hollywood stylist Johnathan Antin into the mix this season has caused even more mayhem on the show, and Hunt has had a front row seat through it all.
We spoke to Hunt about what to expect from the rest of “L.A. Hair” season four, why Kimble and Antin aren’t the best of friends, who’s his favorite celeb to style, and more.
So, “L.A. Hair” is wrapping up season four.
Yes, we finished [shooting] in July, but the network had called us before we aired and ordered four more shows. They saw the numbers were going to be great. Our opening show reached 1.5 million viewers. We’re still over a million viewers, and so we’ll definitely be coming back for a fifth season.
What can we expect from the rest of this season?
[There are] a lot of surprises going on. I can’t tell you everything right now, but you don’t want to miss the finale. It’s going to pretty much make your jaw drop to the floor.
Will there be any cast changes?
I don’t think there [will] be cast changes. I just think there’s going to be some shifting.
Do you get along with everybody on the cast?
No, I can honestly say I don’t get along with everybody on the cast. I get along with the majority of people on the cast. I would say I get along with 90 percent of the cast. There’s that 10 percent.
Who do you have issues with?
I don’t have any issues with anybody. Some people have issues with me, but that’s their personal story. I can’t control everybody’s insecurities.
Who do you get along with best?
The best person, believe it or not, who I get along with is China. Me and China are really good friends. I know everybody thinks she’s crazy. I mean, she’s crazy for a reason, though. Some people will push you to that point. I try to talk to her about her calm and to center herself and not to be so overly emotional. At the end of the day, she’s a really good girl. She’s cool people. I like real people. If you are a little bit crazy, I need to know that you are a little bit crazy, and I need to know why you are crazy, and I can kind of deal with that. I have a problem when you’re fake. When you’re fake about stuff, I don’t like that. If you don’t like me, let me know. Then, I know what box to put you in.
You’ve styled a lot of celebrities. Who is your favorite?
There’s two people that come to mind, that’s Keisha Sharp — William’s wife from “Girlfriends” — and also Kyla Pratt. I’ve been doing Kyla since she was 13 years old. I was on “One on One” with her. Those are two people that really pop in my mind that are just genuinely sweet. The coolest person I’ve every done was Denzel Washington. He was the coolest. Just down to earth. You wouldn’t even think he’s a celebrity at all. He’s just Denzel. Like a buddy next door. He was a nice guy.
What’s the hottest style for fall?
If it’s long, wearing long layers and rocking it back and having beachy wave type looks. If it’s short, they’re pretty much all over the place right now. Pixies are very hot right now in L.A., pixie cuts with long bangs. I like that women of color are not being afraid to wear color. It’s all these colors Nicki Minaj used to wear a few years ago. Now, it’s really trending. What I foresee is women getting back into classic, more approachable hair. This fall into winter, I see women being more sexy. They had the fun, fun, fun, now it’s getting back into their sexuality.
What are the trends for Black women’s natural hair?
There are different variations to natural hair. The main thing with hair, whether it’s natural or not, is to make sure that the hair has enough moisture in it so it has enough elasticity in it, so it can stretch and not snap and break. You don’t have to wash you hair every day. You don’t want to do that because you have natural oils, and you don’t want to strip them. People use coconut oil [and] all these different oils. They say coconut oil adds moisture to your hair — really? What moisture means to me is water. People get a lot of things confused. There are certain oils that can nourish the scalp, which will help stimulate growth, but not the hair.
There is such a science to it.
I am a hair fanatic. I’m about to get back on the road and start doing a tour to bring more education to stylists. Many stylists are lacking education. They’re getting all their education from YouTube. It’s like go to class. That’s the problem, they don’t want to invest in themselves. But you’ll look at YouTube and try to learn it, and then you’ll do it wrong, and you don’t have the full understanding of how things work.
What can you tell us about the season finale”
We were at the Bronner Bros. show, and there were a lot of things that happened were very rocky.
What was rocky?
It’s a lot of heat involving … I just can’t say anything. I’m contractually bound. I will say that a lot of friendships will be broken.
Does it have anything to do with Kim?
It has to do with all of us. A lot of friendships will be broken. There will be a lot of surprises.
What about the new cast member, Jonathan Antin? Are you getting along with him?
I have no problem with Jonathan. Kim, however, has a problem with Jonathan, because she does personal business with him. He tried to give her this money to start her wig line for $1.5 million. He wanted to give her 35 percent and he takes 65 percent, and she was a bit perturbed by that. My thing is this: 35 percent is a little low. You could have given her 40 percent. I know Kim has a lot to offer as far as all the wigs and all the money she’s put in, but the bottom line is, this is a business. If you don’t have money to put back into your business, then you have to seek out other places to get money for your business. I’m a business person. I’m not giving you $1.5 million and not at least get 60 percent of it. I just thought she could have made better decisions with that, especially before celebrating it — at least read the contract. I put business first. I celebrate after I know the bottom line. Pop bottles later!
What’s next for you?
Right now, it’s all about “L.A. Hair” for me. I have a couple products online that I’m working on. I started my product line a couple years ago. I have a serum called Glow, and I have a pomade called Sculpture, [which] is for short styles. It’s to assist with your curling, and also, it’s a pomade to assist braiding. Those products [are] going to nourish and keep the hair growing and keep the hair flowing.
Watch “L.A. Hair” every Thursday at 10 p.m. EST, and check out the shocking season finale on Oct. 30.
