About Richard Kavanagh

By Richard Kavanagh - Back in 1984, Scotty Parker and I went to see Neil Young in concert at Western Springs Stadium. We went in his dad's big V8 Dodge and we thought we were pretty hot with our mullets ironed into puffy things hanging down our backs. Little did I know that pretty soon, the simple act of getting my haircut was going to change my world profoundly.

My stepdad's girlfriend at the time (yes I come from one of those modern extended families too!) was a hairdresser. She cut and coloured my hair during the school holidays and it had a profound effect on my life and my future...

Her name was Stephanie, and while she was cutting my hair, she explained to me how chemistry (the haircolour product) intersected with biology (my hair) to create the exact colour she wanted. And she explained while she was doing this that there was an exact and measurable science behind this.

While she cut my hair into a wedge cut with a flat top and a long fringe over one eye, she talked to me about geometry and how geometric shapes formed the basis of hair design. It hit me like a sledgehammer between the eyes. For the first time in my life, I was completely certain about something. I was going to be a hairdresser.

I went home and told my mum that I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I'm going to be a hairdresser I told her excitedly. She was less than enthusiastic to say the least, but after several months of me not wavering, she conceded to let me leave school so long as I was able to get myself an apprenticeship.

I managed to navigate my way through my apprenticeship with a number of the usual teenage mishaps along the way, and eventually, I became a hairdresser. Hairdressing has been the catalyst for many of the most incredible experiences in my life. I have travelled all over the world for my work to places like New York, L.A, London, Paris, Hawaii, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, China, Australia, Fiji. I've worked with top fashion designers, musicians, directors, and some of the worlds biggest brands.

My work has featured in many international hair and fashion magazines including Vogue and UK Cosmopolitan, I've worked with celebrities like Naomi Watts, Adrian Brody, the Black Eyed Peas, Steriogram, Kylie Bax, Carly Binding, Collette Dinnigan, Chloe Maxwell, and many many more. I've had my own prime time TV show. I have received awards and accolades from the hairdressing industry for over a decade, but none of this even comes close to the magic of one specific moment in 1992.

In 1992 I was working in a small suburban salon in Devonport. A new client came into the salon one day to have her hair cut with me for the first time. She was painfully shy, with a port wine birthmark on her jaw and she walked with a shuffle and hunched shoulders. While I was cutting her hair, she didn't speak to me and every time I tried to straighten her head up, she would avert her eyes from the mirror and look down into her lap.

Her hair was coarse, and not a lot of it, with a wave that caused it to stick out in all the wrong places. I don't think anyone had ever taken the time to cut her hair well. I cut her hair into a chin length bob shape to lend some strength to her jaw and shaped around her face a little to bring our her cheekbones and eyes and I gave her a fringe to balance out her face shape. After I had finished cutting, I grabbed my hairdyer and blowdried her hair smooth, sleek and shiny. Proud of my work, I whipped off the cape to signal that I was finished and as she glanced up to the mirror she did a double take. What she saw as she looked in the mirror caused her to break into a broad beaming smile.

Her shoulders pulled back, her spine extended and she strode to the counter to pay for her hair. Instead of shuffling out the door and down the street in the same manner as when she came into the salon, she strode down the street, head held high with a smile on her face meeting the eye of people as she went. That was the single most amazing experience of my career, to be able to witness the transformation of a person from shy and what appeared to be ashamed, into confident and powerful just because she knew she looked good.

My wish is for every woman to feel that good about the way her hair looks every day. That is why I developed my professional styling tools. And that is why I am going to share with you all the tips, tricks and star secrets so you can have beauty, confidence and self respect every day.