All photos and videos courtesy of Michael Klokouzas.
You might not know his name yet, but Michael Klokouzas is the definitive voice on hair. Best known to his followers as @MICHAEL_KLOK, you’ve likely stumbled upon some of his sage follicular wisdom on your nightly doomscroll. The Manhattan hairstylist provides Confucius-caliber maxims on hair health and styling that feel at once absolutely essential and ever so slightly confounding. Klokouzas serves as a sort of hairy godmother, providing his audience with hard-gleaned knowledge earned from years working in the industry, delivered in his signature punchy, cryptic style before disappearing again into the night with a flip of his strands and that Mona Lisa smirk. The hairstylist tells Interview, “For me, creativity comes from borrowing freely—from the girls’ wardrobe, attitude, and sense of expression—and blending those elements into something personal and instinctive.” We asked Klokouzas to take to the streets of New York and give us the inside scoop on everything you need to know to keep your hair looking fresh and fabulous all summer long.
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The Bob Was Born From Freedom
“The reason the bob never disappears is that it changed the way women moved. It introduced freedom around the neck, the shoulders, the face. What makes a bob feel modern today is keeping the ends soft and slightly imperfect. The moment it becomes too round or overworked, it loses the attitude that made it powerful in the first place.”
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Spray From a Distance
“Most people ruin good hair in the final thirty seconds. Hairspray should never flatten movement or freeze expression. I always spray from farther away than people expect and focus more on controlling shape than locking everything into place. Hair should still react to the air, to walking, to life.”
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Perfect Hair Is Usually Forgettable
“The hair that stays with you always has tension between polish and imperfection. Usually, I leave one thing slightly undone—a bend that falls naturally, softness around the face, texture that moves differently from the rest. Hair becomes memorable when it still feels connected to the person wearing it.”
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Good Hair Opens Doors
“Hair changes behavior before it changes appearance. People stand differently when the proportions around their face feel right. Sometimes adding softness near the cheekbones or removing weight from the ends completely shifts someone’s confidence. Hair is emotional architecture—it changes how a person enters a room.”
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Beautiful Hair Never Looks Overdone
“The most luxurious hair usually looks touchable, effortless, almost accidental. I pay attention to movement more than perfection—how the hair falls when someone turns their head, walks outside, or tucks it behind the ear. The goal is never to dominate the person. The goal is to make them feel more like themselves.”
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The Richest Looking Hair Usually Feels Effortless
“The most luxurious hair usually comes from habits people don’t see. Sleeping on silk, brushing gently, trimming before the damage appears, and keeping the hair hydrated consistently—not just before an event—completely changes the way hair reflects light and moves naturally. Expensive-looking hair is almost always the result of quiet maintenance rather than dramatic styling.”
