Gabrielle Union and Hair Pro Larry Sims Bring Hollywood Glam to JC Penney: ‘Reaching People Where They’re At’ (Exclusive)

If you ever wanted to get one of Gabrielle Union’s fabulous red carpet hairdos, you can finally do so — and at an affordable price!

Noted celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims — who’s worked with the beloved actress for over 20 years — has partnered up with JC Penney to bring the SimStyled salon experience to select JC Penney Salons in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, just in time for the holidays.

As part of the SimStyled experience, Sims and Union have curated eight of her most buzzed-about looks and helped train JC Penney stylists in how to recreate each one.

With two decades’ worth of innovative and eye-catching hairdos under their belts, the two best friends (and dedicated karaoke partners, as Union revealed), the process of refining the style menu was not easy.

“When we were trying to narrow it down — we [first] narrowed it down to, what, 26 because we’ve done so many? It’s literally been 20 years worth [of hairstyles]. And so we kind of had to figure out what are the most commented on and what [people] have most attempted to recreate [then] we had to work with the JCPenney team to come up with a variety of styles that meets all of our textured hair customers where they’re at without making them compromise,” Union told PEOPLE exclusively at a meet and greet event hosted at JC Penney Glendale Galleria in L.A. on Dec. 3.

After much refining, Union and Sims finally settled on eight classic and diverse looks for textured hair, that can be executed at the salon in two hours or less. And because the pair work together on all things hair, every look in the SimStyled experience is created utilizing products from Flawless by Gabrielle Union, the affordable haircare line on which they also collaborated.

Because Sims wanted the experience to feel as authentic as possible, he also took the time to train the JC Penney stylists who will be recreating these looks.

“When it came down to training, JC Penney was very particular about making sure that the claims were real. They were like, ‘If you can do this in two hours or less, we really have to see you in action,'” Sims told attendees at the L.A. event.

“So a few people flew out and they saw me do my thing on a few friends of mine that are here and we were able to accomplish it. They were able to see the SimStyled method be done in two hours or less.”

That in-person training was also key for Sims, who says recreating the looks goes beyond just doing someone’s hair.

“I just didn’t want to be a celebrity ‘stylist’ with a tutorial video. I wanted them to feel the authenticity of my spirit and my passion for the movement, which is the SimsStyle method,” he told PEOPLE.

“I wanted them to know that we were a team. It’s not them working for me or just for JCPenney. We’re family now and I need them to feel like we’re family so that they can be passionate about executing the vision. Because if they believe in the vision, then the customers are going to be really happy with the results and that’s what we want.”

Partnering with JC Penney also meant that customers would get that Hollywood experience, but at an affordable price. All hairstyles can be executed for $78 or less, depending on what add-ons you want to include in your service. The net: you can still get high-quality service and a fabulous hairstyle, without breaking the bank, which was an important aspect for both Union and Sims.

“That’s part of the partnership because growing up, JC Penney stores were everywhere and there were so many JCPenney Salons. So we were like, ‘Who might best utilize what we’re trying to bring?’ [and we said] JC Penney because they’re in every kind of community and they’re also some of the first stops for our people coming out of beauty school,” Union explained to PEOPLE.

“We wanted to make sure that we are reaching people where they’re at and making sure that people can afford it, so [we] partnered with a company that is all across America, at a price point that you can get your whole family done, in and out.”

The SimStyled salon experience is only available in eight stores currently, but the two friends and business partners plan on expanding.

“We started off very small, but the goal is to grow that menu so that more styles are available and we want to get in more JCPenney salons,” Sims explained. “They have 621 salons throughout the country. We’re starting in eight because this is home base between San Diego and LA, but we hope to be at a JCPenney salon near you.”