GH’s Carolyn Hennesy (Diane) dishes on her hair history.
Soap Opera Digest: You have one of the sassiest hairstyles on television now! And I had the great fortune to get to play with yours at GH a couple of times. How did you come up with your hair?
Carolyn Hennesy: I had long hair for the longest time, but I did not take care of it terribly well. I used the wrong kind of hair coloring products on it and it would break and split — I would end up with a ’70s shag look. And it was not by design. I then trimmed it off to shoulder length — and it was quite lovely. Then one day, I went into my hair guy, Michael John at MJ Hair in West Hollywood, CA, and I watched him sort of go into a trance and he started cutting my hair. All of a sudden, I had this very short haircut. The only thing I could think of was, “Great. Now I have to get all new headshots.” But I loved it! It sort of set a whole new tone for me. He obviously knew what he was doing.
Digest: Was you hair red back then?
Hennesy: Well, it was. But when I was much younger, I was using this ghastly, beastly stuff called Luminize. I didn’t realize that it was almost 100 percent peroxide. And about 25 years ago, I decided I wanted to be like Nicole Kidman with a spiral perm. So I went to my very first visit with Michael John. I said, “I want a spiral perm.” He said, “Okay.” He put the curlers in my hair and put on the solution. Now, I was positioned by the mirror, where I could only see his face. And as he was taking the rollers out, I saw a look of horror come across his face. My hair was coming out in great chunks because of the Luminize; it was so damaged. He looked at me and said, “In good conscience, I can never do this to your hair again. I’ll only do healthy things to your hair.” And I knew that he was the guy for me from then on! He worked for years to get my hair back in really fantastic shape. He’s done my color from then on. I’m his longest-standing client! Almost nobody ever touches my hair anymore — with the exception of a very funny story.Digest: Do tell!
Hennesy: It was just a few weeks ago. I had not been able to get in to see Michael John. Not only did I have a racing stripe from my roots, but with very short hair you have to be very careful with what lays against the back and nape. When mine gets too long, I look like Frankenstein. It sort of sticks out in the back. Desperately unflattering. And my bangs were also getting too long. And I thought, “Oh, gosh, I’ve seen him trim this so many times, I can do it!” So I grabbed a pair of pinking shears and I just started cutting into my bangs. Fine. And I thought, “Well, I’ve seen him do the back.” So I tried to angle the scissors up as I cut into the back. And after that was done, I thought, “Hmmm, I have these flippy little sides sticking out, so I’ll just cut into those.” So, a few days later at GH, I was entering the hair and makeup room, and I was about 10 feet away from one of the hair girls, Angela [GH hairstylist]. She asked, “Did you cut your hair?” “Yes, but I did it myself.” And Angela starts howling! Then she and Jennifer [another hairstylist] sat me down and said, “Please don’t even tell us what happened.” And they tried to fix it. Apparently, I had cut out so deeply into my neck, there was only so much they could do. And then, just a few days after that, I walked into Michael John’s — and he had that same look of horror, and he shaped my hair again. Only now it’s about an inch long all over my head. It was so horrifying! I’m usually able to control myself and wait. Michael John looked at me and said, “Carolyn, you’ve been sober now for 10 years. If you called me and said, ‘Michael John, I’m picking up a bottle of scotch,’ I’d tell you to put down that bottle of scotch. The next time you feel like you have to pick up the scissors, you have to call me and I will make an emergency run to you.” And I thought it looked fine. Of course, I didn’t dare look at the back.
Digest: Any desire to change your hair?
Hennesy: Every day. Every day when I’m in the shower I wish I had long hair. I wish I was able to maintain long hair the way Laura Wright [Carly] and Becky Herbst [Elizabeth] do. These gorgeous vixens with fabulous, healthy hair. Especially Laura Wright. I see her getting her hair done and I get a little jealous. But then I see myself on GH and in COUGAR TOWN, and then I think I really do have great hair.
