Nicole Mangrum always knew hairstyling was in her future. “As a little girl I carried a brush and a comb everywhere,” she says. “I styled anyone who’d let me.” All that practice (and a stint in beauty school) led to her own salon in Chicago, which she ran for 14 years. Three years ago, she started thinking about her next chapter. Not long after, Oprah’s longtime hairstylist Andre Walker was looking to retire. He asked a friend of Nicole’s if he knew anyone who might be able to replace him. “When Andre called, it was literally a dream come true,” Nicole says. “I’d made a vision board years ago; one goal was to work for Oprah. But I never thought we’d be working this close!” Oprah invited Nicole to do her hair for a couple of SuperSoul Sunday episodes. “I was beyond nervous,” Nicole admits. After seven months of try-outs, the job was hers. She joined Oprah as her full-time hairstylist in July 2015.
As she was about to take off with Oprah for her first trip to South Africa, Nicole revealed the best of her accumulated hair wisdom.
For the complete story, visit TheHuffingtonPost.com/OprahMagazine.
