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"Watching *What Not to Wear * always makes us want to clean our closets and get a new haircut. So we can't wait to see what tonight's premiere (TLC, 9PM) inspires: *Dancing with the Stars * pro Cheryl Burke and actress Jenny McCarthy nominated Becky, their 37-year-old friend and personal assistant who lives in jeans, oversize sports jerseys, and a ponytail. (McCarthy grew up next door to Becky and says she's known her \\\"my entire life.\\\") We talked to *WNTW*'s resident hair expert Ted Gibson, who styles Angelina Jolie and Anne Hathaway, about the risky business of changing a reluctant woman's hair, his favorite makeovers on the show so far, and how you can give yourself a mini-makeover before heading out after work.\\n\\n\\n\\n                   \\n\\n__What do you like about working on a makeover show?__ \\\"With all of the celebrities that I've worked with, all of the red carpet events, all of the work in the salon, I think I didn't really discover what a hair makeover truly meant to a woman until I started *What Not to Wear*. What I found was that it didn't matter if she was a size two or a 14, what background she was from, what part of the country she was from, what ethnicity, what kind of texture of hair\u2014all women kind of feel the same way\u2014that there is something missing that they want to look better.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__Can you walk us through the pre-process? What do you see before you meet the ladies?__ \\\"The show goes out and scouts and does this whole thing where after the women are nominated for two weeks they are filmed by a camera they don't know is there. So I've seen the footage before I've met them. And then I come in on the third day and talk to them about their hair and their lifestyle and how their week has been. And you know what? I always think, 'Okay, clothes you can take off, makeup you can take off, but hair you really can't.'\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__I've always thought that was the higher stakes moment on the show\u2014because what if they don't like it?__ \\\"I had a woman two weeks ago who felt like she looked great before. So I changed her color and I had wanted to change her haircut, but I decided at the last moment not to change her haircut because she had already cried for 20 minutes in my chair before I started the process. I didn't want to take her to a place where she wasn't ready to go. I think as a good hairdresser that's a specialty you have to have\u2014to not make it about our ego. You can push them toward something but at the end of the day...\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__And that's the part that we don't get to see on the show. That full consultation where you're getting a read on her.__ \\\"Yes, I'm with them for almost four hours and on the show it's only about three and half minutes of footage.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__Do you have a favorite* What Not to Wear* makeover off all time?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  __ \\\"Yeah, and I believe it was just voted number one for most difficult makeover. What it was was that she did not want me to do anything. She didn't want me to cut it, she didn't want me to color it. So the frustration after doing a 45 minute consultation with her, she said, 'Well, you know Ted, I'll do rock, paper, scissors with you.' And I said, you got it. I love a challenge. So we did rock, paper, scissors, and I won. And I said, 'That'll teach you not to mess with Ted Gibson!' it was great. It was the most incredible show.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__Did she love her makeover afterwards?__ \\\"Loved it. She said, 'I wish that I would have done more.' And that's why you're there. You're there to have that experience, to look at yourself in a way you didn't before. That's why I'm there.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n \\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  __Which was the most elaborate makeover you've ever done on the show?__ \\\"My first one on the show, Ariel. Ariel was a 'kissing wench' [at a Renaissance Festival] and she considered herself a blonde bombshell. She had not deliberate ombre and hair down to the middle of her back. And I said, 'You would make an incredible redhead.' Finally, I talked her into it and she's still a redhead to this day, and that was about a year and half ago.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__What hair changes are women usually the most hesitant to make? Is it color?__ \\\"I think it's the cut. I think that women have a tendency to get a little afraid of changing the length. I always tell women, 'Look, you have to change your hair at least twice a year. You have to change it seasonally.' And it's not only to keep yourself fresh for your husband, or your wife, or your girlfriend or whatever\u2014but it's just so that you feel a change in yourself. You know when you leave a salon, you're a new woman. I think that the hour and half or three hours you're getting cut and colored really helps you get to feel better about themselves.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__So it's about rejuvenation?__ \\\"Yes.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__Now, twice a year can seem like a tall order. A lot of women have a signature look. But you think it's important to change that up?__ \\\"Well, look at Jennifer Aniston. Think about Brooklyn Decker when I cut all of her hair off, look at Rihanna. I think there are a lot of women who understand that concept. And it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to cut it from long to shoulder length. You can cut a side swept bang or a layers, changing how it moves, putting a wave in it if it's straight all the time, it's changing it but not necessarily cutting it all off.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__Now say I'm in a hair rut but I can't get a cut or color. What's something that I can do on my own, just with styling?__ \\\"I think that most women are used to wearing a ponytail. So I say, change the ponytail. Adding some texture to the ponytail, changing the location of the ponytail. Obviously, the higher the ponytail, the more cheerleader, a little more girl next door. The lower the ponytail, the more sophisticated and chic. So depending on what your mood is and what you're wearing, you can create something special for yourself in that way.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__Say I'm just having a bad hair day. Is there quick fix?__ \\\"I think that if you're at the office and leaving to go to a special event, to go out with the girls for a drink, I think my [Hair Sheets](http://www.allure.com/beauty-products/hair/2010/ted-gibson-hairsheet-styling) are the perfect product. They calm the flyaways; they add a nice fragrance to the hair. And if you're worried that's it's left your hair too wet\u2014and it dries really quickly\u2014then just use the hand dryer in the bathroom. It'll give your hair a little fluff. And a travel-size hair spray never hurt a girl. I like [L'Or\u00E9al Professionnel Infinium 2](http://www.allure.com/beauty-products/hair/2010/loreal-texture-expert-infinium-2-working-spray), because it's a workable hairspray, it's not going to be too stiff or too sticky.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__What's the most common mistake that you see women making?__ \\\"I think it's choosing the wrong products for their hair. I think that if you have fine hair you don't want to use something that's really heavy. If you have relaxed hair you don't want to use a dry shampoo.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n__I got to ask, what do you think of Stacy London's hair?__ \\\"I love Stacy's hair! I love that she has the streak, and that it works in that context. (I think women who have all grey hair should color it because that looks aging.) It has a nice soft wave, it's modern, and I think it's a hairstyle women can relate to, it's definitely the kind of hair that most women want.\\\"\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n \\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  __\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  RELATED LINKS:__\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  [Make Over Your Hair; Get a Better Job](http://www.allure.com/hair-ideas/2011/make-over-your-hair\\\\#slide=1)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  [Daily Beauty Reporter: 4 Makeup Tricks That Transform Your Look](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2010/10/4-makeup-tricks-that-transform-your-look.html)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  [Insiders' Guide: How to Get Great Salon Color](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/how-to/2010/get_great_salon_color)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n  [44 Confidence Boosters](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/how-to/2010/confidence_boosters\\\\#slide=1)"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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