| Biographies
Richard Hayler
Owner/Founder of Richard
Hayler Colour Salon
If there's anyone seemingly
born to the business of doing hair,
it would be Richard Hayler. This transplanted
Londoner started his career in 1979
at the tender age of 16.
From his early days as
an assistant earning only 25 pounds
a week (at the time, barely enough for
cab fare), he's garnered a reputation
as one of the top colorists in America
with an entrepreneurial streak. His
Dallas-based Richard Hayler Colour
Salon (6174 Sherry Lane) has been
built into a two and half million dollar
a year business with a stellar reputation
for color and cut. Not to mention a
family atmosphere where staff is treated
as well as the clients.
It may be surprising to
learn that Richard became an expert
in his field through a series of happy
accidents. After apprenticing for two
years at a hip salon in London, he followed
his parents to Texas in 1981.
"'Dallas' the
TV series was all over England and the
perception of Texas was so glitzy,"
he says. "To an 18-year-old,
it was like the streets were paved with
gold. It was very exciting."
Richard interviewed for
his first job in Texas, where they were
ready to hire him on the spot -- that
is, once he got his license.
"I said, 'Okay,
where do I get it?' I thought it was
like a driver's license. I found out
I had to go to school and that's where
it all changed."
While in beauty school
he spotted a shot of a model he knew
from London in "D Magazine."
The ad was for the Alan Stone Salon,
then located on Sherry Lane across the
road from where the Colour Salon now
resides. There turned out to be more
coincidences afoot.
"The salon I worked
for in London had a partner who had
gone to America. It turned out to be
Alan. He hired me to be an apprentice
and during that time he also hired Joan
Miller who was at Smile (Salon) in London.
As soon as I met her I knew I wanted
to be a colourist, and I was very fortunate
to train under her."
When Joan went back to
London, Richard got an offer he couldn't
refuse, taking over as Alan's main colorist.
He says he learned on his feet -- devising
new client's color by comparing formulas
to the ones for existing clients. He
must have been doing something right,
because, Richard says, "I've
still got clients today who used to
come to me when I was 19!"
Richard joined the legendary
Toni and Guy team, which opened
their first Dallas outpost on -- you
guessed it -- Sherry Lane in 1985.
"It was brilliant,"
he says of the Toni and Guy years. "It
was so exciting and different from what
else was going on in town at the time."
Along the way Richard
had the idea to have a Toni and Guy
franchise that concentrated on color.
"I was speaking in London with
Anthony Mascolo and we were discussing
how the stylists in the salon are busier
than the colourists. The London salons
were structured so the stylists were
on the street level (you saw them as
soon as you walked in) and the colourists
were in the basement. Suddenly it became
obvious to me that there was a huge
market for colour business that wasn't
being addressed - people don't buy what
they can't see. That's when I started
dreaming about a colour salon."
Because purchasing a Toni
and Guy franchise was an expensive
proposition, Richard opted instead to
take over the space he's currently in
in 1992. He also liked the idea of concentrating
on what he did best. "Colour,"
he says,"became a niche for
us." Magazines were starting
to notice his skill. In its premiere
issue, Allure gushed over his abilities,
and he's since been profiled in publications
such as W, Glamour, Salon Today
and the Dallas Morning News.
Although his Salon offers
expert services from styling to perms
to the latest hair cuts, Richard Hayler
has earned his reputation by creating
the perfect shade --- be it the lightest
blonde or the deepest brunette.
"The thing clients
have always liked about me is my consistency,
and that is a key ingredient in our
training" he says. "When
a client leaves my Salon they look fantastic
and more importantly feel amazing."
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