Alysa Liu won the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Her platinum-striped hairstyle was originally done by St. Louis hairstylist Kelsey Miller.
Liu had her hair touched up at a salon in Milan before her gold-medal performance.
The 20-year-old skater’s hairstylist watched her win on a phone while at work in St. Louis.
MILAN — A noteworthy hairstylist in St. Louis said she watched on a phone when Alysa Liu won the gold medal in women’s figure skating singles at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
That would be Kelsey Miller, the hairstylist who dyed platinum stripes in Liu’s dark hair during the U.S. Championships in St. Louis in January. Liu earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and, you can say, earned those platinum stripes that were on display for a worldwide audience Thursday, Feb. 19.
Liu, 20, triumphed at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, then noted her gold dress matched her platinum stripes – to the delight of the St. Louis hairdresser.
‘I think this is her iconic look now that she should trademark,’ Miller, 39, told USA TODAY Sports during a phone interview.
Miller shared a photo of her and Liu, and Liu’s Instagram page includes a photo dated Jan. 9 along with “kelsey.styles.hair.’’
The hair underwent an Italian touchup before Liu took the ice for the Olympics at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, according to a man at JennyBMilano hair salon who identified himself as Christian Broccoli. He said he was one of three brothers at the hair salon and that Liu visited him at the recommendation of a contact with the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Oh, Liu’s page features another photo with this comment “someone said i look like king tut.’’
‘Her top halo was brassy’
Miller said she was introduced to Liu through a mutual client and one of Liu’s coaches made the appointment. Until Liu arrived at Thirteenth and Washington, the hair salon where Miller works, Liu’s identity remained a secret.
Courtesy of Liu, some background; Liu dyed her hair on her own in 2023 and 2024 before visiting Miller on Jan. 8, according to the hairstylist.
‘Her top halo was brassy, so I went through and bumped the warmth out to make it more platinum,’ Miller told USA TODAY Sports. ‘When you lift someone with dark hair, they lift really warm. So when she came to me, she wasn’t lifting her hair light enough to pull out all the warmer tones of her hair. So I had to bleach her again and then tone it to make it a milky color.’
Ultimately, Miller said, ‘We had to lift the warmth out of her hair in order for the halos to look bright blonde.’
During a five-hour appointment, Miller said, the hairstylist got to know more than Liu’s hair.
Miller said she learned about how Liu’s father fled from China after organizing protests and hunger strikes in 1989. And that Liu has four siblings. And how she stopped skating for two years before making a comeback. That led to the electrifying performance that earned her a gold medal.
‘And then to watch her be so successful,’ Miller said, ‘watch her be so happy and passionate with doing what she loves. I mean, that’s huge.
‘It just goes to show you she knew what she was doing. She’s very smart. She’s a very smart woman.’
A usual hair appointment
After the appointment in St. Louis, Miller said, she stayed in touch with Liu.
‘I reached out to her to make sure her hair was feeling good, if she needed anything, any service, a toner, a deep conditioning mask, anything like that,’ she said. ‘Just her hair is like her identity. Clearly. We see that all over TV. So I had to make sure it was looking right.’
Liu declined any of those services but sought touchup help during the Olympics. On Instagram, Liu posted a photo with the caption ‘and styled @jennybmilano.’ JennyBMilano is a hair salon in Milan.
The man who identified himself over the phone as Broccoli said Liu came into the salon twice, once to have the platinum stripes brightened and once to have the sides cut. He said he watched on TV when Liu won the gold medal.
Miller, the hairstylist, said she was watching on a phone at the salon where she works in St. Louis while cutting a client’s hair.
‘She was holding her phone and we were both watching it while I was cutting,’ Miller said. ‘I couldn’t miss it.’
And Liu’s hair?
‘I loved it!’ Miller said. ‘The way her halos were sitting on her head when she held the American flag behind her was so dramatic and made the halos stick out even more in my opinion.’