CAREERS

Hairdresser and session stylist, Leigh Keates, talks fashion week, hard truths, and celeb clients

PHOTOGRAPHY & MAKE-UP NAOKO SCINTU

PHOTOGRAPHY & MAKE-UP NAOKO SCINTU

PHOTOGRAPHY & MAKE-UP VALERIA FERREIRA

“I decided to be a hairdresser from flipping a coin,” Leigh shared. Flippant words, yes, but it all stemmed from his love of the salon environment. The experience, vibe, even the smells, are all relatable subjects that tend to pop up when we ask stylists why they chose hair as a career. So when we were chatting to Leigh about his journey into the industry, it came as no surprise that it all started in the salon. “My mum was a hairdresser, and then I started getting my hair cut at The Box Hair Salon – it was so cool, I ended up asking for a job. People tried to talk me out of it, but I stuck with my gut.” And so Leigh’s apprenticeship began. “It wasn’t very natural in the beginning, but I loved every second,” he tells us. “I remember them asking what hand I hold a hairdryer in, and I was like ‘Oh, I’ve never held a hairdryer before’,” he laughs.

Talking about the breadth of the industry, it was quite late in his career before Leigh realised there were so many options within hair. “I remember it sinking in on an escalator. I saw adverts at the side of me and thought, ‘Oh, there's a hairdressing team that created that’. That’s when I realised how important this career is.” After a few years working in the salon, Leigh travelled to Australia. “I got a job in a local salon, and I was able to earn a bit of extra money cutting people’s hair in the hostels. I just took my scissors everywhere – we’d go into the community toilets or to the beach and sit on an upside-down beer crate,” he tells us.

After a year, Leigh made his way back to London and began working at Michael Van Clarke. Not long after, he started entering competitions. “I didn’t know what I was doing but I started getting shortlisted and eventually won two awards on the same night – that was a big moment for me.” And it was during this time that Leigh entered the world of session styling too. “I’d use my holidays to base myself in London, Paris and Milan for Fashion Week and more opportunities came my way.” Did he prefer the session world to behind the chair? “I was learning and growing so fast with session, I had this fire in my belly.”

A typical day in his life now? “I could be all over the place, multiple jobs in a day, jumping on planes and trains or I could be sitting there waiting for the phone to ring. That’s the thing people don’t talk about,” he tells us. “But I like the unpredictability and uncertainty.” One look at Leigh’s Instagram and you’ll see he’s worked on his fair share of A-List celebs too – think Jenna Ortega, Jodie Comer, and Nicole Scherzinger. How did that come about? “The first time it happened to me; someone didn’t turn up and I got a call asking if I could be somewhere within 20 minutes. I just grabbed everything and legged it – it’s about being nice and easy to work with.”

Struggling with confidence though, has been a challenge. “We live in this smoke and mirror Instagram lifestyle but the second you open up about yourself, it disarms them too.” His best piece of advice? Don’t compare! “We all have our own skillsets.

Comparing yourself to others just makes the journey so much tougher.”

From being an assistant sweeping floors, polishing products and dusting shelves to earning a living from being a hairdresser, there have been so many proud moments for Leigh. But we want to know, what’s next? “I’ve been distracted for a few years with my restaurants but I’ve just closed them and I’m so excited to get back fully into hair again. I have a few things floating around but I get worried I’ll jinx it unless it’s 100% confirmed,” he laughs. Perhaps something else all hairdressers can relate to…