Get to Know Dove's Glam Team: Hairstylist Jacob Rozenberg and MUA Kale Teter

This time around, we’re introducing you to Jacob Rozenberg and Kale Teter, the masterminds behind the hair and makeup looks for Byrdie’s 13th issue—The Fall Issue—featuring Dove Cameron. Below, join us in taking a peek behind the curtain, as their words are creative and inspiring in equal measure.

Hairstylist Jacob Rozenberg

On the inspiration for the hair looks…

“For the first look, we went with full, bouncy ’60s hair. The second was a true group effort. Dove had the idea [for the placement of the safety pins], and between Kale and Michaela (my assistant), we brought it to life. For the final look, I really wanted to let the makeup be the focus, so I kept the hair simple and sleek.”

On working with Dove…

“It’s a dream. It’s like playing dress up with a friend, but instead of being 5 years old at home, I’m 35 and doing it for the Met Gala! But to be real, she’s super collaborative and has so many great ideas. It’s fun to get to play and create looks together.”

On his early years and starting his career in beauty…

“I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was in grade one. My parents told me school may not come easily to me, but that I would excel in something else. I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and I remember being at the hair salon with my mom and I was fascinated by women getting foils and perms. I never wanted to leave. I wanted to stay all day to see the transformations.

“My aha moment was at summer camp when every girl started asking me to style their hair for Shabbat. I would get booked up weeks out!

“At 16, I went to a vocational school where my elective was hairdressing. I started participating in hair competitions and represented Canada at the Hair Olympics, OMC Hairworld in Moscow and Chicago.

“I worked at a top salon in Vancouver until I was 26. Then, I picked up and moved to NYC and started to work assisting many artists: Guido [Palau], James Pecis, Orlando Pita, Serge Normant, Shay Ashual, Merria Dearman, and Harry Josh. I was fortunate enough to become Harry’s first assistant and I worked under him for five years.”

On his career highlights…

“Cutting Karlie Kloss’s bob in Paris. Also, Anne Hathaway’s ponytail at Michael Kors, which got a lot of press because she looked like Andy Sachs. And Meghann Fahy for the SAG Awards was a big moment for me.”

On what beauty means to him and how it’s empowered him throughout his life…

“Confidence. A confident person always looks the most beautiful, from the inside out. It took me a little while after being bullied when I was younger, but after I came out of the closet when I was 19, I realized that I was so very happy to be me and who I am. Of course, taking care of oneself doesn’t hurt, and that makes me feel confident.”

Makeup Artist Kale Teter

On the inspiration for the makeup looks…

“For the first look, I liked the idea of a very dark lip (black, in this case), with basically nothing else to distract from it. The skin is kept quite fresh with that lovely sheen we like, and there’s a very sheer wash of iridescence on the eyelids but no other eye makeup. Doing it this way keeps it in the realm of ‘slightly unusual’ without going too [far].

“[The second look], as far as glam goes, offered the pins in the hair as the hero moment, so I kept makeup simple. She essentially has a bare face, and there’s only lip balm on her lips. Then we put these spiky, clumpy lashes on. To achieve the look, I coated the lashes themselves with lots of mascara, letting the pieces stick together and get messy. I applied [false lashes] afterward, not even being particularly careful about getting them right at the lash root. And you’ll notice there are some stray dots of mascara around the eyes, which were left intentionally as well. The imperfect look of them complements the punk vibe of the pins.

“The third look is my favorite because of how bright the blue of the eye shadow is. I wanted supersaturation for this. The colors look very retro and technicolor-y. The original inspo was obviously quite ’80s—all the shadow, all the lipstick—but we pared it back a bit for maximum impact.”

On working with Dove…

“Sometimes I feel like Dove and I share a creative brain. We have such a magical give-and-take [relationship] when it comes to ideas for makeup. If I know what she’s wearing ahead of time, I’ll always come with a few ideas, and she gets excited about my suggestions, which feels good as an artist and creative person. Other times, she will have a specific idea she wants to do, but she will still let me adapt it to my style and do my own version of it. It’s very collaborative between her, me, and Jacob who usually does her hair, and it’s very special to work with someone who respects the artistry and vision of the people she surrounds herself with.”

On his early years and starting his career in beauty…

“I grew up in a small town [called] Panhandle, Texas. The population hovers around 2000 people, so obviously very different from where I’ve ended up. I wasn’t really aware being a makeup artist was a job until I was in college. I had some friends who worked for MAC [Cosmetics], which at the time was [one of the] only brands with bright colors and a focus on artistry. I just thought it would be fun to work at the counter, which I never did! My first makeup jobs were in retail. First as a holiday hire at Sephora (they didn’t even keep me on). Then at a boutique in Portland, Oregon. Around that time, I won a trip to NYFW with Nars and met all their big artists backstage. The more I learned about it, the more alluring it all felt to me, and that’s when I started pursuing it.

“Later, I moved to L.A. and started assisting Uzo, who is still with the brand. She took a big chance on me, and I learned so much from her. I started doing the shows at NYFW with her and James Boehmer, Lena Koro, and even François Nars himself. I assisted and learned from many different artists for years. Eventually, I was first assistant to Hung Vanngo, and after that, I finally went out on my own. I came up the old-school way, you could say. It’s often a very long process getting into this industry, which I think a lot of newer artists don’t always realize.”

On his career highlights…

“I’ve had so many moments I’ve had to stop and remind myself, hey, this is amazing. This is where you wanted to be. So it’s really hard to pick one singular highlight so far. Perhaps my first Met Gala. It was Dove’s first too, and she went with Iris van Herpen, which I thought was such a perfect fit.”

On what beauty means to him and how it’s empowered him throughout his life…

“Beauty, to me, is owning your own image. It’s never about hiding or impressing other people or anything like that for me—but rather enhancing the things you love most about yourself. It’s about being playful and creating moments of joy. If you swipe on a bright blue eye shadow or glue crystals on your cheeks and it makes you feel happy, that’s beautiful.”