The U.S. women’s bobsled and skeleton teams are adding a touch of glamour to their final preparations before the upcoming Olympic Games in Milan Cortina. This week, the athletes participated in rigorous training regimes while also indulging in a unique self-care experience: having their hair styled by professional stylist Jessica Sinclair, who traveled from California to Austria specifically for this purpose.
As the athletes gear up for competition, they have been focusing on running, strength training, and strategic planning. However, with the demanding schedule that has kept them in Europe since November, many felt the need for a morale boost. Sinclair, who has previously worked with Elana Meyers Taylor, a five-time Olympic bobsled medalist, answered the call when she was invited to provide hair services to the team.
“It’s like everybody hasn’t had time to take care of themselves,” Sinclair explained. “Pretty much everybody needed something that made them just feel pretty and taken care of.” All six U.S. women competing in bobsled at the Olympics, including Meyers Taylor, Kaillie Humphries Armbruster, Kaysha Love, Azaria Hill, Jasmine Jones, and Jadin O’Brien, received some form of treatment from Sinclair, with many sharing their experiences on social media.
The U.S. women’s skeleton athletes, including Kelly Curtis and Mystique Ro, also benefited from Sinclair’s expertise. The stylist provided a range of services, from haircuts and trims to conditioning and coloring. While the athletes will wear helmets during their races, the opportunity to feel refreshed and empowered before the Olympics has proven invaluable.
Meyers Taylor emphasized the importance of self-care in maintaining a positive mindset. “A major part of being a woman isn’t just necessarily trying to look good for other people,” she stated. “You want to be able to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, I feel good, I look good.’” This sentiment resonates strongly with the team as they prepare for the high-stakes environment of the Olympic Games.
As the athletes ready themselves for Olympic processing in the coming days, the pampering session provided a welcome mental break. “To have a second to just take a deep breath and relax, and have our hair and our scalp massaged, it’s really nice,” Meyers Taylor acknowledged. “Thanks to Jessica, they’ll look cute in their pictures, which I love.”
Meyers Taylor, who previously lived in the Sacramento area, reached out to Sinclair for this special project given her experience with various hair types. “She can do Black people’s hair, white women’s hair; Jessica is a jack of all trades,” Meyers Taylor noted. “That’s why I was like, ‘If there’s one person we could bring out, it would be Jessica, because she could do it all.’”
On her part, Sinclair expressed her satisfaction with the experience, stating, “It’s kind of one of those things where you know you’re doing something important.” Having seen her first sliding track during this visit, she is eager to cheer for her new clients when the racing takes place next month.
As the U.S. women’s bobsled and skeleton teams prepare for their Olympic debut, the combination of rigorous training and moments of self-care may provide the edge they need to compete at the highest level in February 2026.
