TNB Exclusive Interview: Kim Kimble on Her Career, Achieving The Perfect Hair Routine, and New Collection of Wigs with HairUWear
With a career spanning more than two decades, Kim Kimble is one of the beauty industry’s most celebrated hair stylists and beauty experts. She first learned the trade from her mother and grandmother before opening up her own salon. Kimble later designed hairstyles for movies and television shows, including B.A.P.S., The Jamie Foxx Show, and Moesha. In a world where Black women on screen were often given scraps to work with in terms of beauty and hair, Kimble became a blessing.
As her portfolio in the entertainment industry developed, so did her clientele. Kimble has created wigs for clients including Beyoncé, Zendaya, Rihanna, Taraji P. Henson, Oprah, and Garcelle Beauvais. Furthermore, she’s created her own line of haircare products, hair pieces, and salon tools.
Her newest addition to her range of products is an expansion of her collaboration with the hair company HairUWear. The collection has now added six new styles that capture the essence of ‘Hollywood hair.’ The heat-friendly wig styles feature a realistic lace front hairline, dimensional shades, and ultra-soft Tru2Life synthetic hair. Ranging from short to long and spanning an array of colors and textures, the collection offers high-quality, ready-to-wear wigs that are perfect for various occasions.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Kim Kimble for Women’s History Month about her new collection, hair tips, and best entrepreneurial advice.
The New Blaque: Could you share a bit about the process of creating this collection with HairUWear?
Kim Kimble: They were a great partner. They have a lot of cool technology when it comes to their wigs and a great track record of making great-quality wigs, and I was already familiar with their brand. When choosing colors and styles, they wanted to cater more to women of color in terms of wigs that suit us, and that’s one of the things that I was excited about because I wanted to make sure the textures were right because that makes a difference. We used a special texture blend that is designed to look like African American hair texture, so whether straight or curly, it looks like our texture. We first started with pictures of hairstyles inspired by people that I’ve worked with and styles that I’ve done in the past. We had countless meetings, but to me, that’s the part that I love most designing, and then, of course, when you get the final product, it’s also rewarding.
The New Blaque: These wigs can honestly be used in everyday hair care. What would you say the process is for caring for these wigs while installed and after installation is taken down?
Kim Kimble: The process is very easy. For years I’ve always customized my wigs for my clients, but these come already styled and cut, so they’re ready-made. It was very important to have something that could be put on easily, so you don’t worry about gluing it. It just kind of blends in with the skin. You also don’t need a lot of products; maybe like a little shine or gloss from time to time, because these are Tru2Life fibers, so they could be considered like a synthetic type of wig. You can wash them after a couple of uses and let it air dry, and it goes right back into the style. It will take up to about 300 degrees in heat if you want to put some heat on it, but you don’t have to because it comes already styled and that was another thing that I liked because it’s just easy maintenance.
The New Blaque: How can these wigs be used to incorporate protective measures into everyday hair care?
Kim Kimble: They are personally considered protective styles. They’re easy to put on every day and take off. You braid your hair underneath, but if you’re going to wear them every day, I would just braid it up because it makes it much easier and the wig more secure. They have adjustable straps in the back to make it tighter or looser if needed, and that’s pretty much it. I’m so happy that the stigma of wearing wigs has gone away. It’s more like a fashion statement. I change my wig much like I change my clothes; I just pick one I want to wear based on my outfit.
The New Blaque: For someone trying to create a balanced hair routine, what are some key products in your personal ‘Kim Kimble’ collection that you recommend?
Kim Kimble: Hair is a process, and the key is definitely using the right products. I always recommend consultations when it comes to trying anything, or you can do a little bit of research on different products. I try to make products that mainly solve problems or hair issues but also take style into consideration. You generally need the right products to keep your hair moisturized and healthy, to help you achieve the look you want, and to even help improve the texture of your hair.
I like to make a lot of great conditioning products because I feel like conditioners will also help improve hair, whether you have straight or curly hair. I do believe in specific products for specific things. If you have curly hair, there’s a specific formula for that. If you have straight hair, there’s a process for that. It all starts with shampoo, conditioner, and then other products to enhance what you’re trying to do, whether it’s a curl cream or a straightening product. And then for extensions and wigs, I believe there are specific products for specific hair types and textures. I keep that in mind when it comes to making hair care products, or if you’re choosing hair care products because you want to understand what your hair type and texture are because that’s the first and key step.
The New Blaque: Kinky and coily hair is oftentimes seen as the most difficult hair type to understand. What would you recommend for those with that hair type who are trying to understand their hair better?
Kim Kimble: For kinky and coily hair, I love sulfate-free shampoo or very mild shampoo. I feel like if it’s too strong or too stripping or a harsh cleansing shampoo, it will dry it out and leave it frizzy. I like conditioners that have shea butter or mango butters as they are really good especially if you have 4C or low porosity hair, which means products don’t penetrate well. It’s hard for the hair to just use any conditioner on it. You need something that’s gonna really hydrate the hair, and it always requires heat like a steamer or a thermal cap because that helps the conditioner really get into the hair. You need that especially when you’re wearing your natural hair, which has a tendency to get dry, frizzy, and break easily. So, that’s why we preached hydration, hydration, hydration because that is the key in maintaining our kinky/coily hair.
We also make silk bonnets and caps. It’s super important when you have extensions or wear your natural hair to maintain your hair at night. I think that’s an important thing to add into a regimen for all kinds of hair types ut especially kinky/coily hair because it has a tendency to get dried up. And the reason is because oil doesn’t travel further down curly hair so there’s that tendency for it to get dry quickly. I also recommend using curl creams that don’t have alcohol and using butters and custard. Some people like to use gel, but I don’t like gels that get really hard and dry because they may hold the curl, but eventually, you know, it does make it drier and drier.
The New Blaque: You’ve worked with a multitude of celebrity clients and consulted for different movies and television projects. How do you adapt your styling to fit different personalities and projects?
Kim Kimble: Consultations are super important. When it’s a musician, I like to listen to her music to see what kind of style she does or look at the clothes that they’ve chosen for her or the makeup. Collaboration is key because it needs to be authentic to that person; it needs to have its own sort of persona.
Image is super important when it comes to artists because a lot of people are inspired when they look at them, and people decide how they want to look at the styles and the trends. You’ve got to have the right hair with the right dress. It’s all thought-out and planned out, and to me, that’s probably the most exciting part of my business the journey of getting to the final result.
The New Blaque: We saw that you did the hair designs for Hallmark’s Sense and Sensibility, which I thought was so interesting because you incorporated Black hairstyles into a period drama. Could you tell us a bit about that project?
Kim Kimble: I was very excited about this project because I wanted to work on something from the Regency era. These shows have become very popular, and it’s very difficult for women of color because you don’t see a lot of inspiration from that time. Bridgerton may be the only show that you’ve seen women of color with that hair. I did a lot of research on that for months before I knew I got the job, and it was really hard to find women of color from that era in real research. What I did was look at the style and, of course, imagine how it needed to fit our texture and aesthetic.
We used wigs, of course, because if you understand what time is like on a set, you don’t have a whole lot of time to sit there and sculpt and create hairstyles. So, we pre-built a lot of the hairstyles using some of the wigs from my collection to create some of the styles that you see in the movie. It was really hard to find women of color with that type of hair when I did that research, but the fun part was developing and imagining that. I was also blessed to have a woman named Vanessa who was a specialist in that Regency era, so we did have someone on set that I could run styles by and say, “Hey, would this be authentic to time?”
We also did a day of testing, where I spoke with each actor and figured out how everything was going to come together. I got to see most of it on Zoom because I’m in LA and we shot it in Bulgaria and Ireland, so I didn’t get to see them in person until the day of the test. I had a chance to see the wigs on and how they fit and what the styles were, and then we could tweak it from there, and move it right into filing. There wasn’t a lot of time to prepare, but we did prepare and craft it as a full team with the directors, producers, actors in costume, and makeup.
The New Blaque: Honestly, I’ve seen the looks, and it really all comes together when you consider things like costuming, set design, and then makeup as well. It was truly fascinating. Moving on, I want to talk a bit about entrepreneurship. You’ve had such a full-circle journey from going from a hair stylist to launching your products. What advice do you have for inspiring female entrepreneurs in the hair and beauty space?
Kim Kimble: It’s not an easy thing it’s trial and error. The one thing I will say is to be very firm and stick to what it is that you want out of your product. Don’t accept anything less than what you want, and take your time to develop it. You may have to do a couple of different trials of it, and I think that’s okay.
I definitely think you have to take time to really develop the product that you want so that when it comes out, you’ve got your stamp on it. Don’t compromise because you will face all these challenges because you’ll have a team, and then there’s buyers, and there’s all these people that are involved in it. Many people will have opinions about it, and that’s not to say that you don’t take advice from other people because buyers know what their consumers want and what sells well in their stores. It also depends on understanding who your market is, where you’re selling, and where you want to sell your products. This is where research is involved, and also doing research to find a great mentor, or working with a team of people that are experienced. That’s why I said I love collaborating with HairUWear because they’ve been doing this for a long time, and they have a successful track record. When it comes to these kinds of things, it’s always great to have partners, or a mentor who can help guide you in the direction you want to go. Also, just stay authentic to yourself; be as authentic as possible.
The New Blaque: Final question you’ve been in the industry for so many years and have developed such an extensive portfolio, how do you continue to stay inspired and innovate in your work?
I think it has a lot to do with creativity. I love creating, and that’s why I chose this industry because it is ever-evolving and ever-changing, so you have to stay on top of it. I like inventing style products; it’s honestly a form of creativity. As for me, I like to continue to set goals and go to the next level. Change is not always easy, but I think it’s important for your growth and development in your life.
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