Alysa Liu’s gold-medal glow: Here’s the story behind the ‘halo hair’

ST. LOUIS — Figure skating fans are celebrating Alysa Liu’s individual gold medal at the winter Olympics.

She became the first American woman to claim that title since 2002.

Her performance was unforgettable and so was her hair. That halo hair was actually done right here in St. Louis! 

St. Louis hairstylist Kelsey Miller spent five hours with Alysa Liu at the salon Thirteenth and Washington in downtown St. Louis.

“That is definitely by far the craziest thing that has happened to me in my career, which is like really fun because I’ve been doing hair for so long. So to have something like this happen has really changed my career in a sense like working with her and all the publicity and stuff that I’ve gotten from, it is amazing,” shared Miller.

For  Miller, it’s all about empowering women. She said it’s more than just hair.    

“I love to make women feel good about themselves and I feel like that is the power of hair, when your hair looks good, you feel so good and that is so rewarding to give that to my clients,” shared Miller.

As a woman who truly loves what she does, Miller had the chance to work with someone just as passionate. 

Liu was in St. Louis for the US Figure Skating Championships and through a mutual connection, their worlds collided.

Miller explained, “It’s such a small world. One of my clients was actually out to lunch with someone who works in the figure skating world and for the organization. When they were here in January, she couldn’t tell me who it was or what I was going to be doing, she just told me that there was a figure skater who needed her hair done and asked if I had any time to do it. I did, and she said, ‘OK, I’m going to give the coach your phone number and he’ll reach out to you.’ And he did. At that point, I was like, ‘OK, can you tell me who this is and what I’m going to be doing?’ Then he sent me videos of Alysa skating.”

Miller reacted, “I was like, ‘Oh my God! This is amazing to have this opportunity right now.’ It just kind of fell into my lap.”

Miller explained she specializes in dimensional color, redheads and extensions. 

Liu has previously shared that the rings on tree trunks inspired her approach to hair. For Miller, she’d never done halo hair before. 

“It’s time to put my game face on and like really put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out how I’m gonna do this, so it’s fun to switch it up, you know, and do things that you don’t normally do that you can like bring out your more creative side,” Miller pointed out. “She was so calm, she was so chill and down to earth that I feel like that really helped ease me as well and just think of her as like just another person sitting in my chair who wants their hair done.”

Miller told 5 On Your Side the goal was to keep the integrity of the hair nice and strong. 

She explained Liu had bleached her hair two times within a week. 

“She didn’t lift herself light enough, so she had like really brassy warm pieces in there and she wanted them like cooler colors and she wasn’t going to get that just by doing it herself and not using a toner on her hair or anything like that, so that was where I could come into play,” added Miller.

Miller discussed how traveling and exposure to different climates can affect your hair.

“I told her in our consultation that I really educated her, like, your hair appointment doesn’t just end when you leave my chair. It’s up to her, in between services, to oil her ends, do deep-conditioning masks weekly, and avoid using very hot water, among other things. Especially because she travels so much, and hotel water isn’t always the best, which can really dry out your hair. So it’s really important to use good products on your hair,” she noted. 

Liu has described herself as an artist, and for Miller, hair is a work of art too. 

“It’s absolutely an art form because you’re basically painting on a canvas, and for her she had already started the painting for me and it was just me finishing it off and tailoring it to like exactly what she wanted,” said Miller.

The dyed stripes became a bold move, making Liu stand out even more, and they shined bright when she claimed the gold medal.

“There’s a picture I saw where she was holding the American flag after she got her medal, and just seeing her stripes alongside the stripes of the flag, it looked so cool together. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I got to be a part of that! That is such a rewarding feeling,'” added Miller.

For Miller, she’s still in awe to see the hair on a global stage. 

“I mean it makes me like super emotional… just, I would have never expected any of this to happen but to see my work out there and everyone is talking about it,” shared Miller. 

At the salon, they’d added Liu to their mood board. 

“It’s just like the trends that are happening right now that we have upon our mood board and you know, obviously to have somebody that iconic in our salon was so huge for us as well, so we had to put her up there,” she noted. 

Miller thinks the halos will catch on.

She shared, “I definitely think that’s gonna happen, you know, look at Dorothy Hamill. I feel like after she won as well, like everybody wanted that haircut and for someone who’s such a role model, like I think definitely people are gonna be wanting that. I’ve already had people ask me like, oh, what do I ask my hair stylist for to achieve this look.”

Miller said moms have been reaching out, hoping she can create wigs for their daughters so they can rock the same look as Liu.

In an interview Liu said, “I hope that I’m inspiring the kids to be more out there and make decisions that some people won’t agree with, because that’s how you have to be sometimes.”

Miller agrees with that statement.

She added on by saying, “Follow your dreams and don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do something.”

Before Liu even went for the gold, it’s safe to say, she always had her crown.