Celebrity hair stylist Justin Cruz brings the high energy and artistic vibe of New York City home to Vermont. Born in West Palm Beach, Florida Justin was raised in Long Island. He moved to Vermont with his family in his early teens and graduated from Burlington High School in 1997. Justin’s passion for doing hair grew through the influence of family friends in the business. As with every aspect of Justin’s life he knew if this was going to be his path he was going to make it big and that is exactly what he did!
With $500 in his pocket he left for New York City at the age of 18. He attended Cosmetology School while waiting tables to pay the bills. While assisting at a salon in Long Island Justin got his big break that landed him as an assistant to famed celebrity stylists such as Oribe and Ken Paves in Manhattan. As an assistant to an A-list celebrity clientele Justin was on the fast track to success. After only two years he became one of the youngest hair stylists in New York with his own chair. The career to follow for Justin is one dreams are made of!
The following ten years took Justin from the East Coast to the West Coast and all over Europe building his resume with amazing accomplishments including fashion shows and celebrity home visits. He spent six months working on the Celine Dion show in Las Vegas assisting Ken with Celine’s hair and creating looks for her dancers, cutting and styling wigs. He also assisted Ken on the set of the Oprah show including a bridal show a makeover show and a Celine Dion appearance.
Justin continued to assist Ken with such celebrities as Jennifer Lopez, Minnie Driver and the Dixie Chicks as well as service a celebrity clientele of his own. Justin’s portfolio of celebrity clients included Naomi Watts, Carmen Electra, Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, Nick Lachey, Alicia Silverstone and Laura Flynn Boyle, among others. Working with these celebrities brought Justin all over the country as he prepared them for movie premieres and charity events. He also assisted Ken on photo shoots for the covers of Rolling Stone and Glamour magazine.
During this time Justin also assisted the world renowned hairstylist Guido Palau working with super star fashion photographers such as Steven Klein, David Sims, Bruce Weber and Juergen Teller and assisting with campaigns for Mark Jacobs and Alexander McQueen. He assisted Guido with a photo shoot for the cover of Bazaar and Vogue magazine.
A large part of Justin’s career has been doing photo shoots for many national and international magazine publications. He has worked on fashion and feature editorials for major magazines such as Vogue, People, People in Español, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Spanish Elle, Interview and Self. He also was a regular contributor for How to Get Star Hair advice in Star magazine.
Of his many career accomplishments over the past decade Justin remains incredibly passionate about is his work with high profile fashion shows around the world. Justin utilized his brilliant creativity as he prepared runway models to reveal the new collections of award winning fashion icons such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Nanette Lapore and Guess. In 2001 Justin assisted stylist Neil Moody at a fashion show in London featuring the collections of several top designers.
While the fast paced celebrity life style was a dream come true for Justin the time came when he decided to take his career and his life in a new direction. He never lost his ties or his love with Vermont. With his invaluable experiences both personally and professionally he knew he could have the best of both worlds! In 2007 Justin opened an upscale, New York City style salon in Burlington, Vermont bearing his name, the Justin Cruz Salon. He continued to work in Manhattan cutting hair and doing photo shoots. Today Justin spends the majority of his time building up the salon in Burlington. He fulfills his passion every day of making people look great and feel great about them selves. He uses his experience of catering to the stars to cater to the greater Burlington area with celebrity style. He wants everyone who walks out of his salon to feel they have had the royal treatment and will do what it takes to ensure that is the case.
The future for Justin Cruz looks just as bright as his past. He plans to return to New York and LA on a part time basis to once again work with celebrities. He also plans to work on photo shoots and fashion shows around the world several times a year. As for now his focus is on the salon and his local clientele. Justin’s passion for doing hair and making people look and feel their best has been more rewarding then he could have imagined. Considering all Justin has accomplished before the age of 30 it is clear there is much more to come from Justin Cruz!