The Midas Touch of Lee Stafford

British hairstyling celebrity Lee Stafford is charming, witty and full of focus. Come to any of his demonstration and Stafford can make something as unseemly as getting a great haircut in five minutes seem like a shared, fun adventure that renders a fine result. Entertaining demonstrations aside, unlike the current crop of celebrity hairstylists that have flooded the airwaves and red carpets thanks to the plethora of reality television, Lee Stafford is truly committed to his craft and the beauty industry. And though hairstyling was an unlikely career for Stafford, once he picked up his first pair of styling shears, he knew he had found his true calling. “Being a hairstylist was never a burning desire of mine. I do remember when I was young sitting in the hair salon with my mother, my mother suggested I become a hairdresser because I hated getting my hands dirty and I loved fashion. It was kind of an offhanded remark from her, but once I pursued it, I fell in love with it,” explains Stafford.

And that love has given Stafford an international following and a hair care line that is sold in over 35 countries. But like all great artists, Stafford realized early on that in order for him to be successful at his chosen profession he had to work hard and acquire the requisite skillset. “I really fumbled my way cutting hair at first until I went to the Vidal Sassoon Academy. I didn’t have much money, nor did I have a lot of extra time because I was cutting hair full time. So, I knew I had to be frugal and spend my money and time wisely. And I wisely chose the Vidal Sassoon Academy to acquire the precision and fine tuning.  The training there had a massive impact on my career,” confides Stafford.

Though Stafford’s signature cuts are sometimes compared to the late Vidal Sassoon, Stafford has forged his own unique path. And unlike Sassoon, Stafford has used the media and new technologies to advance his career and create new opportunities. From winning the British Men’s Hairdresser Award to his regular appearances on the British morning magazine show This Morning to creating the 5-minute cut, Stafford takes the proverbial bull by the horns and has learned how to turn even the smallest opportunities into gold. “In the UK, I became the resident hairdresser on This Morning, one of the morning magazines shows. Usually if the show had five extra minutes to fill a segment they would come to me and ask me to do something. So I came up with the 5-minute haircut to fill in live time on This Morning. It started out as a bit of fun, but I discovered that cut always comes out fine because you are using the shape of the head to the cut the hair, so the hair always falls right to frame the face. I now use the 5-minute cut as an entertaining element of demonstrations I do globally,” details Stafford.

With all his success, Lee Stafford has not forgotten his humble beginnings and is striving to pass on his knowledge and love of his craft to others. “I am very passionate about proper training for our youth. Unfortunately, most of the government-sponsored beauty and hair training schools in Britain are subpar, so I’ve started my own hair academies in the UK,” confides Lee Stafford.

With his hair care products now in the US market and his chain of hair academies in the UK, Stafford has come full circle. Still, Stafford projects toward the future. ”The next hair trend is going to be matte hair. Shine and healthy-looking hair will always be in fashion. However, many young people want the opposite and don’t want to look like their parents, they are leaning toward the way people wore their hair in the 18^th century, you know almost dusty.”

Dusty hair, well I don’t know. But, who would have thought that a boy from the seaside town of Essex would become an international hairstyling celebrity. Prove me wrong, Lee!!

For more information, about Lee Stafford and his products, go to leestafford.com.

—William S. Gooch