Martyn Maxey is the award-winning hairstylist in London, with a long list of accolades that include Stylist of the Year Award and the Best Luxury Salon in the UK. With an impressive list of celebrity clients, Maxey has worked with the likes of Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell, Cat Deeley, Tommy Hilfiger, Minnie Driver, Elle McPhearson, India Hicks and Greg Rusedski to name a few. We caught up with Martyn to find out how he started in the industry and his top looks for summer…
How did you start in the beauty business?
I Kind of fell into it really I had no burning ambition to be a hairdresser and really started the apprenticeship as a stop gap but found I was really good at it and by the time I was 20 was Young Hairdresser of Great Britain and in the same year travelled to London, New York and Paris, with hairdressing, and decided to stay with it.
Tell us about your salon…
We started off the first salon in Motcomb Street, in Knightsbridge, then I was invited to open a second small salon in a Tennis Club in The Harbour Club in Chelsea and 3 months later Princess Diana joined and our timing was perfect, we worked 12 hours a day and 7 days a week. I then moved the main salon to Mayfair in Grosvenor Street which stayed there for many years, but the building was changed to offices and we move to Marylebone in Wigmore Street, between Selfridges and Marylebone High Street. It is the new hot area in London and has all the creative drift from Mayfair and Notting Hill coming together in one place, a really vibrant area with lots of independent shops and is such a success.
What is your top hair look this summer?
Top look is discreet casual Glamour, a kind of semi done beach look more than finger dried but less than polished, it’s an undone look for the fashion sophisticated but works well on a lot of women of diverse ages. It’s all in the cut as a strong foundation then we add multi tones to break up the surface color and finger dry, then some brushwork and finish with fingers and a little product. This does bring more attention to the clothes you are wearing but gives you the latitude to dress down the clothes for a day or dress up the clothes for the evening.
Are there any hair trends that you get asked for in particular?
We always get a variety of requests but they are always personalized to each client, occasionally we throw the requests out and start with a clean sheet!
Do you have any plans for the summer?
We are always reviewing new product offerings and treatments are very popular this time of year, we have L’Oreal, Wella, Morrocan oil treatments and our new beauty department are now open.
