LIVE24SEVEN // Interviews
In addition to your impressive celebrity clientele you’re equally known for being a pioneer in the organic beauty movement, what sparked your interest in organic products? That evolved in the late 1990s and my late twenties when I decided to give up my very chemical lifestyle and focus on organic living. Suzanna, my girlfriend at the time and now my wife, was very much into organic food; I was very much the Londoner and townie whilst she was very much the shires girl. She now grows all the vegetables we eat at our home in Worcestershire, we also shoot pheasant etc so it’s very liberating being self-sufficient, we can sit to a table and all the ingredients is our own. At the time I went into all the main grocery stores and saw what was then a barrow size of organic produce that over a short period of time grew in space to four aisles long and four shelves high with organic food. I looked at the hair care section and, being at the forefront of the industry, I thought I could make a difference here, I realised this was the way forward; the industry, albeit the food industry, was growing very fast – this rganic trend. My father, beauty editors etc. all said to me that organic wouldn’t work in terms of beauty and hair care, but like everything in life, I believe if you are passionate about something, stick to your guns and create your own tomorrows, everything is possible, so that’s what I did and that was back in 1999 to 2000. In 2001, more organic ingredients were available to us and that enabled me to launch our first organic in-salon shampoo and conditioner, which worked well. People were realising that what you put on your body was as important as what you put in your body.
Did customers naturally take to the organic approach of the salon, trusting in you and your name, as I must admit I questioned whether organic could work – but I now know it does, I’ve seen the results! Just that, it’s results driven, as this salon is walking PR. Of course we used styling products that weren’t organic, but for me, colour is my heritage and our shampoos and conditioners had very gentle cleansing agents and clients found that
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their colour was lasting 30% longer, so this was where seeing was believing and of course organic colouring gives the very best results without all the damage of traditional colouring methods.
Which do you consider to be your halo products? My hair mask, which is packed full of argan oil and antioxidants – you experienced this one Katie… Yes – it’s a miracle product! It cleanses the hair and takes away pollution and product build-up. Some people will think their hair is flat and dull and needs a colour, but they don’t, they need to properly cleanse their hair without stripping colour, like a face peel, this is a hair peel, a unique product.
Am I right in saying that HRH the Prince of Wales approached you to help him create his Duchy range of products? Yes, his head representative called the shop one day… How surreal was that moment, answering that call? I was completely overwhelmed! They said would you like to come to Buckingham Gate to have a meeting? Of course, I said yes. Anyway, on the day I was sitting there in a big board room with a large portrait of the boss in his full regalia hanging on the wall [warm description of HRH Prince of Wales] and this lady came in, so there were just the two of us in this room and we began talking and then she said, “Of course HRH is a big fan of your Ginger & Lime Shampoo,” and I was so thrilled. He is so pioneering too, streets ahead of his time, and then she said would I consider creating a range of shampoos and conditioners for the Duchy – I didn’t think about it very long at all Katie! [smiling] All of a second! Correct! [laughing] I felt so privileged and honoured. I didn’t get a taxi back to work, I walked all the way back down Pall Mall just thinking, “This is surreal, I’ve been creating organic products for two years and here I am being asked to develop something for His Royal Highness”.
Was there a sense of ‘I told you so’ to
your father, beauty editors etc., You are absolutely right, but I got more satisfaction that my actions spoke louder than any words! The unsaid word.
Tell us a bit about your Dubble Trubble range and the inspiration behind it? It’s an ethical product devised for the masses. It has great USPs, it’s two in one hair and body wash, but the real inspiration behind it was – hence the name – the Tottenham riots and these kids that find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, in trouble and hard to get a job. Each year £25,000 from Dubble Trubble is donated to the Prince’s Trust, which I’m honoured to be an Ambassador of and I’m also on his official committee and the only retail member of that board, as its all hedge fund and bankers. We’re a small family-run business, so £25,000 is not to be sniffed at and it makes a huge difference. The Princes Trust does incredible work, it helped 58,804 kids get into education or work last year alone, that’s an incredible statistic. Pre the riots I went to a couple of hostels with Mark Boland of M&S and a couple of other people who sit on the leadership panel for the Prince’s Trust and whilst we’ve always employed a few kids here from the Prince’s Trust, I could never quite understand why some kids found it hard to keep or maintain jobs. Whilst I was there I was chatting to one girl who said she wanted to get into hairdressing and went on to say that she was working in one salon, but the lady was horrible to her when she didn’t turn up to work, so that rang alarm bells, as I thought, well I’d be upset if you didn’t turn up to work! So I asked why she didn’t turn up and she said she didn’t have clean clothes? Other
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