A passion for creating beautiful locks has run in our family for four generations. Being part of something enduring is important to me. A heritage built on healthy hair is – literally – in my roots.
My great-grandfather was a barber in Jermyn Street in London, near Fortnum & Mason, and wore a top hat and tails to work. Those were the days when gentlemen carried gloves and umbrellas. They walked near the curb to protect ladies’ satin dresses from getting splashed by carriages in the rain as they headed to costume balls at Claridges. His son, my grandfather, started his own barbershop, in the west of London, in Notting Hill.
In the late Sixties, my father, Daniel Galvin, took the hair world by storm. Both Vidal Sassoon and Leonard of Mayfair invited my father to join their companies. He decided to work with Leonard and was there for many years, building the largest colour department in the UK and pioneering the latest techniques, before starting his own high end salon in ’76.
During those years my father worked regularly in Hollywood (“Barry Lyndon”, “Clockwork Orange”, “Murder On the Orient Express”) and for glossy magazines. Vogue invited him to colour the hair of Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton and Bond girl Barbara Bach on glam cover shoots. When I was very little I remember pouring over the magazine spreads at home - especially the ones with Cheryl Ladd and her beachy-blonde tresses - and asking my dad lots of questions about the business.
As soon as I was old enough, I started helping out on Saturdays when I was at school, absorbing everything and getting inspired. I was thrilled when he expanded the business abroad to the USA, and Japan. I trained under him and started to build up a clientele of my own.
Sacred Locks is only part of my work – I still have a client list at my father’s salon in Mayfair and love working alongside both him and my younger brother, James. Family is very important to me.
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A-List colourist Louise Galvin has tended the beautiful locks of many famous and fashionable beauties, including Sophie Dahl, Plum Sykes and Patsy Kensit, at her father Daniel Galvin’s salon. Now Louise brings her own Carbon Neutral, natural ingredients haircare product line to the global ecommerce market with the launch of LouiseGalvin.com.