Sarah Palin’s hairdresser reveals all

One of Sarah Palin's secrets is out: why she wears her hair 'up' and where she gets the 'updo' done. The New York Times has tracked down Jessica Steele, owner of the Beehive Beauty Shop in Wasilla, Alaska, which Palin has frequented since 2002 when she was the town mayor, long before she became state governor and, more recently, vice-presidential candidate.

Steele says Palin put up her hair because "Sarah wanted to look more professional and ready to work and not come across as high-maintenance and fussy." It also made her look taller for the cameras.

"She’s very involved in her look and how she's perceived," says Steele. "We would talk a lot about how if she looked too pretty or too sexy, people wouldn't listen to her. How important it was for people to see her as an intelligent, smart woman. It was comical when her hair was down, how big a difference that would make, especially when she was running for governor."

Steele started the Beehive salon in the garage of her home and charges $30 for a haircut. "We would talk about pedicures and manicures and moose and politics, all while Sarah was having foils in her hair and holding my baby on her lap," says Steele.

While Palin would sometimes be writing speeches and checking her BlackBerry she would also chat about hunting, especially to the salon's manager, Brooke Mongreau. "Brooke is a cute  blond babe," says Steele, "but she wants to get a bigger grizzly than her husband got last year." The grizzly in question was nine and a half feet. ·