Portsmouth to Mumbai: ‘Inside a British Hairdresser’s Mind’

“While he travels the world, his heart stays in Portsmouth. He confesses he can’t deal with the bustle of London and feels blessed that his base remains the city he loves and the city that inspires him,” India-based beauty writer Aparrna Gupta wrote on her blog — Lavender Room — in a piece detailing her experience meeting Tony Wood Hair salon manager Liam during his and Tony’s recent trip to Mumbai with Dyson.

In the post, Aparrna quotes Liam: “Indian hair is phenomenal! The beauty of Indian hair is that it is naturally thick and full of shine. It is unlike any other hair type in the world. It is nothing but an absolute pleasure to work on.”

Liam added: “If someone said to me at age 15 that I’d be delivering education and styling hair in India — and around the world — I would’ve laughed it off.”

Tony and Liam visited salons and academies in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore as part of their international work with Dyson as they continue to take the Tony Wood Hair name across the globe, sharing their love for the clocktower salon’s home island of Portsmouth as they go. The trip follows a week of work for Dyson on a catwalk show in London in 2017.

This recent slew of international trips — which also includes Croatia and Lithuania — also ties in with the salon’s Year of the Cut, a campaign to refocus on precision haircutting after becoming known as the leading go-to place for hair colour on the south coast of the UK.