Chatter: Media: Poof!

Contrary to popular opinion, Snooki did not bring back the poof, that retro, pumped-up hill of a hairstyle that’s everywhere right now. No, for that we can thank Brookhaven native Suzanne Martinelli, whose company, Bombshell Beauty, released the “Pouf” back in 2005 — pre-Mad Men bouffants, pre-Jersey Shore and, yes, pre-Bumpit. Martinelli, 46, worked in marketing — not hairstyling — when she dreamed up the combs attached to “enhancers” about the size of a spool of thread, covered in fibers colored to match your curls. Hair’s teased up; the Pouf is affixed beneath; and voilà! Big hair — and big business.

Bombshell’s Poufs and Sure Grip Velcro rollers sell in CVS, Walgreens and Ulta under the Sassoon label, and stylist Jessica Steele, Martinelli’s business cohort, uses them on that high-hair queen, Sarah Palin. So did it hurt when Snooki got credit for the uprising? “We just cringed,” Martinelli says. “That’s not what we are! But she’s got better PR."