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Interview
with Trevor Sorbie MBE
By Heather Bell, UKHairdressers.com
Delighting celebrities
and regular clientele alike with his visionary hairdressing
style, charm and eloquence. Trevor Sorbie MBE was born
in Paisley, the son and grandson of barbers. At the
age of 15 he began work in his father’s two-chair salon
in Ilford, Essex – six days a week from 9am to 7pm and
received just £2.60 a week.
It was the beginning of something special and hairdressing
became his passion. Forty years on, he has contributed
so much to his profession and nowadays, clients pay
£150 for a haircut. |
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During
his career, he has been British Hairdresser of the Year
four times; received many other awards; written books;
given us pioneering techniques and cuts such as the
Wedge, the Chop, the Scrunch and conveys a great enthusiasm
for his profession.
In 1979, Trevor opened a Salon in Covent Garden, London
and despite putting his house on the line at the time,
to raise the funds, he has never looked back. |
He lives in a flat in London
and probably spends more time in taxis than driving his Mercedes
SL500 (he’s saving up for an Aston Martin). He has one daughter
and has been divorced twice.
Trevor has frequently taken part in our popular ‘Ask the Experts’
section on UKHairdressers.com, offering solutions to hair
problems. We caught up with him recently and asked him a few
more questions about his life in the hairdressing industry.
Here’s what he had to say:
Q: “Is
it true that you wanted to be an artist when you left school?
Do you feel your creative hairdressing has fulfilled this
in a different art form?”
A: “Yes it is true and creative hairdressing has made me an
artist who uses hair and hair colour as my medium. I feel
that my artistic energies have been used and fulfilled.”
Q: “Your
celebrity client list includes Denise Van Outen, Emma Bunton,
Lesley Garrett and Chris Tarrant. Can you give us a few more
to watch out for? Our website visitors take a great interest
in celebrity styles.”
A: “Others include actresses Susan George, Helen Mirren, Lorraine
Kelly, Leslie Ash, Siobhan Redman, musician Chesney Hawkes
and Mike Mills of REM.”
Q:
“We hear of celebrities flying
their hairdressers all over the world, to help them
cope with bad hair days. What is the strangest request
you’ve received during your career styling for the stars?”
A: “It was when I did Skating on Ice with Torville and
Dean. I had to create hairstyles that looked good on
and off the ice. Basically styles that were acrobatic
proof, that was a challenge.”
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Q: “You
must have seen many changes in hairdressing over the years.
What in your opinion were the best innovation and the worst?”
A: “The best innovation
is straightening irons (women used to use their irons and
ironing boards, very dangerous and it led to many a burnt
tress) and perms which I think are really bad for the hair
and never give the promised result.”
Q: “How
many Salons do you have and how many stylists do you employ?”
A: “I have one salon
in Covent Garden and one in Brighton, I employ 80 people.”
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Q:
“What do you consider to be the
finest scissors to use for cutting hair?”
A: “I always
use Joewell Cobalt scissors.”
Q: “Apart
from a pair of scissors, what hairdressing tool or product
would you never be without?”
A: “Section
clips, they work as another pair of hands.” |
Q:
“Is it better to cut and shape hair
when wet or dry?”
A: “Wet for the basic
shape, then dry for finishing and fine tuning.”
Q: “What
type of hair is the most difficult to cut?”
A: “Afro and Asian
hair.”
Q: “For
our many web visitors who want to become hairdressers, could
you give them a couple of special tips to help them on their
way to success?”
A: “Go to a salon
that looks good and whose image suits your personality. Hairdressing
is a craft that you must be prepared to learn through observation;
practice and inspiration from your peers. It is a career that
offers myriad opportunities from cutting, colouring, session
work, photographic styling, show work, seminars. Literally,
once you are trained, the world is your oyster.”
Q: “On
a personal note, is your daughter interested in following
in your footsteps and the family tradition?”
A: “No, I am afraid
a career in hairdressing is not for Jade.”
Q: “What
is your favourite hairstyle of all time?”
A: “Long, straight,
cut blunt and looking like glass.”
Q: “Tell
us about the very worthwhile campaign you are spearheading
- to customise wigs for cancer patients.”
A: “I have a lot of
experience in cutting wigs and any hairdresser can learn to
provide this invaluable service to clients. Coping with illness
is very traumatic and to have the added stress of hair loss
can be devastating. Hairdressers are very involved with their
client’s image and providing this service is an additional
way to enrich a client’s life during this sensitive time.”
| Trevor
is leading a national network of hair professionals
in an initiative called ‘My New Hair’, to help people
suffering from medical hair loss. |
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He personally offers his internationally
acclaimed talents totally free of charge, in support of women
suffering from the effects of cancer treatment or hair loss.
In the past year he has provided many women with this personal
service offering advice and customising wigs to reflect the
natural style they want to achieve. My New Hair has its own
dedicated website www.mynewhair.org
– which is packed with information and lists participating
salons around the country.
Q: “Finally
Trevor, would you create a new hairstyle for us to preview
on UKHairdresser.com and set the next trend for the summer
months?”
A: “I am doing some
new images this month and as soon as they are ready I will
share them with you.”
Our thanks to Trevor for answering all our questions, we look
forward to previewing his new hair images soon and wish him
well in his many good works.
Article by Heather Bell.
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