Simi salon owner shines bright on small screen’s ‘Shear Genius’

A STYLE ALL HER OWN—Simi Valley stylist and salon owner Brig Van Osten is showing off her skills in season 3 of Bravo’s creative hairdressing competition, “Shear Genius.” The reality show airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Photo courtesy Maile Marshall of Bravo/NBC Universal A colorful dresser with a strong sense of self, Simi resident Brig Van Osten is strutting her stuff on reality TV these days.

The owner of P!ay Hair Lounge on Kuehner Drive is one of 12 contestants battling it out on season 3 of Bravo’s hairstyling competition “Shear Genius.”

Each week, the stylists’ skills are tested in challenges. Celebrity hairstylists put the contestants’ work on the chopping block, and each week those whose work doesn’t cut it are sent packing.

Van Osten’s personality and style made an impression on audiences—and her fellow stylists— in the first episode, which aired Feb. 3. She’s still in the game halfway through the season, having survived this week’s elimination.

STYLIST SHOWDOWN—Brig Van Osten, left, competes in the “Shear Genius” salon during one of the show’s hair-styling challenges. Van Osten, 34, is still in the game halfway through the competition. Photo courtesy of Ray Mickshaw The hairdresser doesn’t have a TV in her apartment, but she’s been tuning in to see the show at a neighbor’s house.

Fans won’t know if she wins or loses until the finale airs April 7. Van Osten said getting a shot at winning $100,000, an apprenticeship with Nexxus Salon Hair Care and the chance to style hair for an Allure magazine photo shoot took some hard work and patience.

She first tried out for season 2 and was “this close” to getting on but was ultimately turned down. However, while the casting directors felt she wasn’t the right fit for that season, they told her to try again next time.

Van Osten followed that advice and went to the open casting call for season 3 in Santa Monica.

She said hundreds of stylists showed up that day. Despite the pressure and previous rejection, she said she wasn’t nervous.

“I just focused on the fact that I wanted one of those 12 chairs in the ‘Shear Genius’ salon for season 3,” she said.

When she found out later that she had made the cut, Van Osten shrieked with excitement, like a child about to go to Disneyland, she said.

“I put my hand over the phone so I wouldn’t blow someone’s ears off,” she said. “I was so, so elated.”

But Van Osten might not be living out this TV dream had it not been for her mom, who she credits with sparking her interest in hairdressing.

“I always knew I wanted to do something creative. I was always very abstract growing up,” said the Oak Park native, who moved to Simi 12 years ago.

Van Osten had dreamed of attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. But fashion school proved too expensive, so her mother suggested hairstyling.

“From the day I stepped into cosmetology school, I knew it was for me,” she said. “I guess moms know best.”

Van Osten was 19 when she began taking cosmetology classes in Simi. After graduation, she took a job at Allen Edwards in Studio City. Six months later she moved to a different salon in Silver Lake.

All told, Van Osten has worked at six salons. She grew frustrated with the traditional salon model, so in June 2006 she opened P!ay Hair Lounge.

“I came up with ‘P!ay’ because I couldn’t call it work,” she said. “I’m so passionate about what I do, I feel like I’m playing every day.”

Van Osten said her goal was to create something completely different from the typical day spa experience offered in local salons.

“What I recognized was that there were a lot of people in Simi driving down to L.A. to get their hair done,” she said. “They wanted an alternative atmosphere, something a little more urban . . . so I opened P!ay as a hair-only hotspot.”

Business has boomed since season 3 premiered, said Simi native Jena Wright, a stylist and manager at P!ay.

“No one’s coming in asking for the ‘interracial snowman,’” the 26-year-old laughed, referring to a judge’s comment made to Van Osten about a tiramisu-inspired hairstyle she created on the show. “But everyone is coming in wanting Brig to work magic on their hair.”

Van Osten is probably best known on the show for her unique wardrobe, whether it’s her huge, Minnie Mouse-esque bow or her traffic-stopping yellow tresses.

“I’ve been dressing very vibrantly and unusual my entire life,” she said. “I just like to be bold, and it feels very normal to me.”

Van Osten is bold in her work, too. She prides herself on telling clients like it is—even if it does slightly offend them at first—because they appreciate the results in the end.

“She’s just extremely talented and brutally honest, which is what you want in a hairdresser,” said Wright, who has known Van Osten for 14 years and considers her a mentor.

As with any reality show— especially one with prizes at stake—there’s drama. Van Osten didn’t always get along with her fellow cast members.

“At the end of the day I was there for me, to focus on the challenges and push myself professionally,” she said. “And the other thing is to have a great time, which I did.”

She didn’t shed any tears when she saw fellow stylists get booted from the show, noting that she makes no secret that she’s very competitive.

She also makes no secret about where she’s from, even though the other stylists list cities like London, New York and San Francisco as their hometowns.

“You don’t have to be doing hair in a big city to be an expert stylist. I was very proud to go and say I was from Simi Valley. I punctuated the fact that I didn’t want them to say ‘from the L.A. area,’” she said.

Van Osten said the opportunity to be on the show was the best prize of all.

“My favorite part of being on the show was getting to share my talent with the world,” she said. “Regardless of where I end up in the show, I’m just glad they recognized something in me to put me with those 11 other stylists.”

“Shear Genius” airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. on Bravo.