The Legend: Vidal Sassoon

  On May 9, 2012 the hairdressing industry lost a legend. I was so upset when I heard that Vidal Sassoon passed away at the age of 84. It's really taken me some time to put my thoughts and feelings into words.
What he did for the hair industry affects me and every hairdresser today and I have always had such a tremendous amount of respect for him. Although I never got the chance to meet him in person I did have the pleasure of attending a intensive course at the Vidal Sassoon Academy last year. His way of cutting "The Sassoon Way" is still to this day the foundations of every single hair cut. Many of you may not know much about Vidal Sassoon and what he did for the hairdressing industry. So let me tell you a little bit about him and what he did to become the legend.

  When he became a hairdresser he said he was going to do something big change something. To say that he "changed" or did something "big" is an understatement. Back when he began apprenticing women were stuck in the old ways of weekly rollersets. It was all about the style and making sure it kept for a week. He made it about the haircut. He was the first person to give somebody a "wash and go" haircut. When he cut the infamous a-line bob on Nancy Kwan for Vogue and the pixie cut on Mia Farrow he became a sensation. His work was edgy and different nothing like anyone had ever seen before. Most of the work he is famous for are very geometric short cuts, but what he teaches still applies to every haircut long or short.

Nancy Kwans bob on the cover of the Vidal Sassoon Movie

   His two loves were hair and architecture, specifically he loved the Bauhaus school of architecture. He saw the similarities in both and as you can see much of his work was inspired by architecture. He spent nine years of his life devoting himself to learning, creating, and mastering shape and how to create  a shape on a someone's head. Some people think he only created specific haircuts. But what he really created were the techniques. With the techniques there are endless posibilities. His philosophy is about creating a haircut to suit the individual. He made cutting hair an art.

  Without him the hair industry would not have been able to evolve to what it is today. We wouldn't be doing what we are doing today. He started the revolution, and as long as every hairdresser is passionate and loves what they do the possibilities are endless. 

"If you don't look good, we don't look good" - Vidal Sassoon may he Rest in Peace.