Courtside Cuts: The Hairstylist Who Pampers Players at the U.S. Open
3 min
Julien Farel, with a regular clientele that includes Catherine Deneuve, Kate Moss, Brooke Shields, Sienna Miller, Liam Neeson, and countless other high-profilers, is among the most sought-after hairstylists today. His haircuts command a rate of US$1,250, and an appointment to see him is considered a coveted “get.”
But Farel’s role as the official stylist for the U.S. Open may be his biggest calling card, at least according to Farel himself, who’s had the gig since 2007.
“I approached the Open about having an onsite salon for players at the tournament, and it took me five years of pitching to finally get the contract,” Farel, a native of France, says during an interview at his eponymous salon at the Loews Regency New York hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. (He has a second salon in Palm Beach, Fla.)
The position has Farel and seven employees creating a temporary salon at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, N.Y., on the penthouse level in a secure area where players can freely walk around without being surrounded by spectators.
The roughly 250-square-foot space is a perk for the 500 or so stars who participate in the Open and offers haircuts, blow-dries, hairstyling, and makeup sessions, manicures and pedicures, Farel says. It debuts for the season two days before the tournament begins and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the event. The official dates for the 2024 U.S. Open are Aug. 26 to Sept. 8.
Over the years, his salon has hosted several hundred players, according to Farel, including Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Coco Gauff, and Novak Djokovic. Retired players, including Billie Jean King, whose moniker is part of the official name of the U.S. Open venue—the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center—have also stopped in, Farel says.
“The players make appointments, but if an A-Lister like [Rafael] Nadal or Djokovic walks in, we try to make it work,” Farel says. “We’re busy all day for the entire Open.”
Patrick McEnroe, a retired professional player and an ESPN tennis commentator of the U.S. Open, is a client of Farel’s at his Manhattan salon. McEnroe says that Farel is also a friend, and he visits him at his Arthur Ashe salon whenever he can.
“It’s a hot spot and where all the players hang out and socialise,” McEnroe says. “They love coming to the salon, and it’s a great amenity for them.”
On-site salons for players at major tennis tournaments aren’t uncommon, but Farel was the first to introduce the concept to the U.S. Open, he says. (A representative for the U.S. Open is unable to confirm if this is the case.)
Farel’s experience as a tournament stylist was the impetus for bringing his salon to the Open.
“I worked at Roland-Garros in Paris at the French Open for a decade under my mentor Jacques Dessange, who had an on-site salon there,” Farel says. “I did haircuts and styling for all the big players at the time, including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, and Monica Seles.”
Eric Butorac, the director of player relations for the U.S. Open, says that the tournament’s executives offer the salon as a benefit to players because they recognise that they’re under the public eye and need to look their best. “We understand they’re under scrutiny, and we understand the challenge of life on the road, where they’re living out of a suitcase,” Butorac says. “Julien’s salon is well-used and an amenity that isn’t related to a player’s tennis performance the way our fitness centre or nap rooms are.”
Croatian player Donna Vekic, who is fresh off winning a silver medal at the Olympics, takes full advantage of the perk. The star says that she frequents the salon throughout the tournament for blow dries, manicures, and pedicures and also visits the Manhattan location for colour jobs.
“It’s very convenient to have it at the stadium,” Vekic says. “I want to look and feel good when I’m playing.”
And if they don’t hit up the salon during the tournament, some players will stop by when the matches are finished, Farel says. “Many of the players are so busy during the Open that they only get time to pamper themselves when the tournament is over.”
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At least for people who carry the APOE4 genetic variant, a juicy steak could keep the brain healthy.
3 min
Must even steak be politicised? The American Heart Association recently recommended eating more “plant-based” protein in a move to counter the Health and Human Services Department’s new guidelines calling for more red meat.
Few would argue that eating a Big Mac a day is good for you.
On the other hand, growing evidence, including a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that eating more meat—particularly unprocessed red meat—can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s in the quarter or so of people with a particular genetic predisposition.
The APOE4 gene variant is one of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s.
You inherit one copy of the APOE gene from each parent. The most common variant is APOE3; the least is APOE2.
The latter carries a lower risk of Alzheimer’s, while the former is neutral. A quarter of people carry one copy of the APOE4 variant, and about 2% carry two.
APOE4 is more common among people with Northern European and African ancestry. In Europe the variant increases with latitude, and is present in as many as 27% of people in northern countries versus 4% in southern ones. God smiled on the Italians and Greeks.
For unknown reasons, the APOE4 variant increases the risk of Alzheimer’s far more for women than men.
Women’s risk multiplies roughly fourfold if they have one copy and tenfold if they have two. Men with a single copy show little if any higher risk, while those with two face four times the risk.
What makes APOE4 so pernicious? Scientists don’t know exactly, but the variant is also associated with higher cholesterol levels—even among thin people who eat healthily.
Scientists have found that cholesterol builds up in brain cells of APOE4 carriers, which can disrupt communications between neurons and generate amyloid plaque, an Alzheimer’s hallmark.
The Heart Association’s recommendation to eat less red meat may be sound advice for people with high cholesterol caused by indulgent diets.
But a diet high in red meat may be better for the brains of APOE4 carriers.
In the JAMA study, researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute examined how diet, particularly meat consumption, affects dementia risk among seniors with the different APOE variants.
Higher consumption of meat, especially unprocessed red meat, was associated with significantly lower dementia risk for APOE4 carriers.
APOE4 carriers who consumed the most meat—the equivalent of 4.5 ounces a day—were no more likely to develop dementia than noncarriers. (
The study controlled for other variables that are known to affect Alzheimer’s risk including sex, age, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and education.)
APOE4 carriers who ate the most unprocessed meat were at significantly lower risk of dying over the study’s 15-year period and had lower cholesterol than carriers who ate less. Go figure. Noncarriers, however, didn’tenjoy similar benefits from eating more red meat.
The study’s findings are consistent with two large U.K. studies.
One found that each additional 50 grams of red meat (equivalent to half a hamburger patty) that an APOE4 carrier consumed each day was associated with a 36% reduced risk of dementia.
The other found that older women who carried the APOE4 variant and consumed at least one serving a day of unprocessed red meat had a cognitive advantage over carriers who ate less than half a serving, and that this advantage was of roughly equal magnitude to the cognitive disadvantage observed among APOE4 carriers in general.
In all three studies, eating more red meat appeared to negate the increased genetic risk of APOE4.
Perhaps one reason men with the variant are at lower Alzheimer’s risk than women is that men eat more red meat.
These findings might cause chagrin to women who rag their husbands about ordering the rib-eye instead of the heart-healthy salmon.
But remember, the cognitive benefits of eating more red meat appear isolated to APOE4 carriers.
Nutrition is complicated, and categorical recommendations—other than perhaps to avoid nutritionally devoid foods—would best be avoided by governments and health bodies.
Readers can order an at-home test from any number of companies to screen for the APOE4 variant.
The Swedish researchers hypothesize that APOE4 carriers may be evolutionarily adapted to carnivorous diets, since the variant is believed to have emerged between one million and six million years ago during a “hypercarnivorous” period in human history.
The other two APOE variants originated more recently, during eras when humans ate more plants.
APOE4 carriers may absorb more nutrients from meat than plants, the researchers surmise. Vitamin B12—low levels have been associated with cognitive decline—isn’t naturally present in plant-based foods but is abundant in red meat.
Foods high in phytates (such as grains and beans) can interfere with absorption of zinc and iron (also high in red meat), which naturally declines with age. So maybe don’t chuck your steak yet.
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