New hairstylist joins 'What Not to Wear'

NEW YORK - Ted Gibson, hairstylist for celebrities and catwalks, is giving "What Not to Wear" its own makeover.

TLC has added Gibson as one of its advisers to join fashion stylists Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, and makeup artist Carmindy. He replaces Nick Arrojo.

The switch was made in an effort to freshen up the seven-year-old reality series, according to Nancy Daniels, the network's senior vice president of production and development.

On the show, participants trade in their old wardrobe in exchange for a shopping spree, new hairdo and makeup consultation. They also give up control of their look - and that can be the hard part, especially when it comes to their tresses.

"You can take off the clothes and makeup, but the hair is going to stay with them after the show is done," he says.

Gibson has shot five episodes so far (which start airing Friday), and he says he's enjoying it - even when the women don't quite appreciate their new look as much as he'd like.

The actual work isn't all that different from what he does at his namesake salon in Manhattan, for stars like Anne Hathaway and Renee Zellweger.

This season has had the most vocal and volatile participants, agree the fashion experts. "It's been a baptism by fire," Kelly says.

London gave Gibson a pep talk after his first taping, she recalls. "I don't think he was expecting the reaction he got at the first makeover," she said. "I sent him an e-mail explaining the psychology of it all, that people become attached to their identity and you're not criticizing them but the image they are projecting."