Celebrity Hair Stylist Ruslan Launches LEV

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Ruslan Nureev has made a name for himself in the hair world as a talented hair stylist for the last 16 years. His impressive roster of clients ranges from Bella Hadid to Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian to Camila Morrone, Elsa Hosk to Priyanka Chopra. Now’s he announced his latest endeavor, adding entrepreneur to his repertoire, with  LEV, a new luxury hair extension line he created. LEV is fully sustainable in ethical production practices and ethically sourced hair. The non-toxic line is custom designed personally by Ruslan with his partner Merria Dearman, an artisan wigmaker and veteran hair stylist. The extensions set consists of a 9-piece clip-in set offered in 8 beautiful colors, complete with a custom box for easy transport and travel. Ruslan wanted to incorporate his  roots into the brand as well, which is what inspired the name LEV. The name means Lion in Russian and Lion and Heart in Ukraine,

He has lived in New York and currently is based in LA,  he quickly developed a talent for celebrity hairstyling. After learning from artists such as Jennifer Yepez, Harry Josh, and Chris Appleton, Nureev forged an independent career creating stunning red carpet looks for celebrities including Eiza Gonzalez, Kylie Jenner, Hailee Steinfeld, Dixie D’amelio, and models such as Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Romee Strijd, Shanina Shaik, and Sara Sampaio.  His talents can be found in publications such as Vogue Mexico, Elle, InStyle, Harper’s Bazaar, and Glamour, on a global level, and in advertising for brands like OUAI, ASOS, Privé Revaux, and Ouav.

Over the weekend, Ruslan hosted an exclusive launch event in the Hollywood Hills to showcase the 8 style offerings of the collection, (8 custom hair shades), and officially debut the brand. Timed to his e-commerce digital launch, LEV is officially live as of today. Pricing varies from $1200-$1600 for the 9-piece customizable set.

Models, influencers and beauty industry notables such as Livia Pillmann, Lily Benardout, Chanel Stewart, Bailey Clark, Hoda Elkoussa, Yi Zhou, Nars Khenchil, Caitlin Lawson, Ella Udu, Oliver Trevena, Madison Brodsky, Sergio Farias, Caroline D’Amore, Kailyn Shepherd, Rose Rosenfeld, Zoe Sellars, Laken Romine, Georgia Ball, Hailey Barnett, Megan Moilanen, Zey Besaran, Hannah Linderman, Ann-Katherine Rudel, came out to support Ruslan at a stunning party featuring breathtaking views overlooking Beverly Hills.

The event featured delicious cocktails by El Cristiano tequila and Hollywood Vodka, hydrating Caliwater cactus water, Essentia, and catering by Pizza Girl, with guest chef and founder Caroline D’Amore.

A Moment with Ruslan…

Why did you decide to launch an extensions line?
The last few years of my career I have been passionate about creating my own brand! A brand that stands for helping people, making them feel beautiful and of course being ethical! I’ve been fortunate to work with the most beautiful women in the world, and a lot of the time I used hair extensions to enhance their beauty! I decided to create my own hair extensions brand, because I had a vision of how I can improve the design of hair extensions, their color, and help women and girls to use them on yourself easily without always having seeing a hairstylist.

What makes your extension lines different from the others out there?
First of all, all of our hair is ethically sourced and produced, and minimally processed, to preserve the highest quality possible! All women were compensated very fairly for selling their hair, and we source the best hair possible in Asia! We really care about all the aspects of sourcing the hair, from women who sell them to us, to factory workers who produce such beautiful work!! And second of all is our design! It’s completely different from all the hair extensions on the market, We have a 9 piece set, all the pieces are labeled and already pre cut to match the average layered haircut. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about it throughout my career and I think this design will make life so much easier for everyone who wears hair extensions! You will never be confused how to apply the hair and which piece goes where and we have the best quality hair! I wish you could feel them, they are like silk.

You’re a successful hair stylist with an incredible roster. You must be constantly booked and busy, so why now in your career is this something you wanted to do?
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m definitely very busy with work and projects, but having been in the industry for so many years made me realize that now, I have a name for myself and my work, it would definitely be easier to create a brand and bring my vision to life and help women who provide their hair for us and women who like to use extra hair (extensions) to look beautiful.

Nars Khenchil, Ruslan Nureev

What are tips for women who use extensions? Are they easy to self-apply into your hair?
My tip would be to always try to use clean sections, I think that’s the key for beautiful seamless application of the hair extensions! Please spend extra time making the sections clean and neat, that will change the game for you. Yes they are very easy to self apply, I created a step by step tutorial for my extension line, all hair is labeled and pre cut, the length of the weft specifically measured to perfectly fit average head, and to assure an easy and seamless application. I also filmed a tutorial for that, which is always helpful for people to watch and do it themselves

As a celebrity stylist for two decades, can you tell us a secret to styling?
My secret to styling would be properly heating the hair in order for it to hold the shape or curl Lots of stylist are afraid to heat hair properly and it sometimes leads to hair not holding the desired shape, wave or curl.

What is your goal when styling hair?
My goal is always to make my client feel as beautiful as can be! I love when my clients feeling themselves when they have their hair done beautifully, it’s such a beautiful energy, I love creating beauty

What is your favorite type of hair to style?
My favorite type of hair to style is clean hair! Just kidding!  Probably slightly wavy hair is one of my favorite because it holds the shape so well, wether you want it straight or curly (wavy) it can easily hold either versus  super straight hair in some cases doesn’t properly holds the curl

Anything you’d like to add?
I am beyond excited for everyone to see my hair extensions line. I’m feeling super grateful for everything! Feeling lucky that I can also spread awareness about ethically sourced hair, and hopefully help to change the hair extensions industry for better.

Watch the LEV campaign video! 

You can follow @hairbyruslan and @levhair_ for further updates!

Photos: BFA

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