Beauty: 'Perfect hair colour should highlight eyes'

AS the nation goes wild for Cheryl Cole's new dramatic hair colouring, LYNN GILMOUR speaks with industry expert Daniel Galvin who reinvented the technique as an art form, helping to create Twiggy's signature 1960s look in the process.

Summarise your journey into hairdressing

I recently marked my 50th year in the industry, yet my family has been synonymous with hairdressing for over a century. My grandfather and father were both hairdressers and while I was still at school, I spent my Saturdays sweeping the floors and hanging up the towels at my father's London salon.

As an apprentice in the early 1960s I became fascinated by hair colour, yet the idea of a hairdresser specialising in hair colour was unheard of.

Soon I was scooping up locks from the salon floor, dying them with different formulas and creating my own colour charts in the process. I then helped to launch the career of Twiggy by transforming her into a pale blonde using a new highlighting system I'd invented called "brickwork".

What makes for good hair colour?

When you have the perfect hair colour, the first thing people should notice is your eyes, never your colour.

Is there such a thing as the "perfect" hair colour? Many people think of sun-kissed lights as such a colour, but do they really suit everyone?

When looking to create the perfect hair colour, that quest for perfection is a journey, not a destination. In my view, there is no such thing as the "perfect" colour, rather it is my mission to always strive and achieve a better result next time.

Should people stick with a "signature" colour, or be ready to experiment with both cut and colour?

Within hairdressing, we see fashion reflected with cuts and new hairstyles but never with colour - colour must always be governed by what suits and flatters the individual and the skin tone.

If you were only allowed three hair care items - products or colouring/styling aides - what would they be?

I would never be without my highlight weave comb, tin foil for highlights and a tube of high lift tint - with these three items I can always create colour which enhances and flatters.

What is next for Daniel Galvin?

Our next, very exciting project is the first Daniel Galvin salon within a hotel, which we will be opening at the 270 million Corinthia London in spring 2011.

What are your top beauty must-have products?

My must-have products are Daniel Galvin Salon Clear Gloss, my daughter Louise Galvin's own Sacred Locks Shampoo and her Vitox Highlight Brightener treatment.

Who cuts your hair?

I have my hair cut by Robert Isaac, who is one of my senior stylists and has been my hairdresser for more than 20 years.

Favourite scent?

I love L'Eau d'Issey by Issey Miyake. It is a spicy and woody citrus fragrance.

Current / All-time style influence?

Throughout my life there have been so many style influences but today I would say that Miuccia Prada is someone I hold in the highest regards - in fashion her simple use of beautiful cut and quality is peerless.

• To indulge in Daniel's expertise at home, treat yourself to his haircare range, visit www.danielgalvin.com/shop