Trevor Sorbie

Background

Dropping out of school aged 15, Sorbie started cutting hair as an apprentice to his father in Ilford in 1964.

Career

He opened his own barbers in Edmonton, North London aged 20 in 1969. He became stylist for Vidal Sassoon in 1972, and Artistic Director in 1973. Following this he spent time as a stylist and session hairdresser at Toni & Guy and John Frieda, before opening his first salon in 1979 in Covent Garden.

He opened a second in Brighton in 2004.

In 1986 he launched his own range of haircare products. Sorbie was hair stylist for Torvill and Dean on their Skating on Ice tour.

Sorbie has appeared in several television programs, and documentaries including The Wright Stuff, GMTV, This Morning, The Afternoon Show, The Salon, Mary Queen of Shops, Watchdog and Faking lieutenant, He always appears as himself, as either a stylist or a guest expert. In addition, Sorbie has also appeared in many magazine articles including Harper"s Bazaar, Grazia, Prima, Your Hair, Women and Home, Now Magazine, More Magazine, and Look Magazine.

Sorbie designed a range of consumer hair care products.

The products were designed using feedback from his salon clients". Sorbie has a line of four salons. The first "Trevor Sorbie" salon was opened in London"s Covent Garden, with salons opened in turn in Brighton, Manchester, then a second London one in Hampstead.

Sorbie has started his own charity known as "My New Hair".

Since starting My New Hair Trevor has given up salon work, and works full time on the project Sorbie also visited 10 Downing Street, and since has become involved in writing a national policy for National Health Service wigs.

The charity recently met with MPs, and attended a parliamentary briefing during which 25 Member of Parliament"s were convinced - for the first time - to lobby ministers for better wig services from the National Health Service. The work of the charity is to teach hairdressers to cut wigs in such a way that they look more like real hair, thus helping cancer patients who lose their hair through chemotherapy and other treatment, to feel as much like themselves as they can. Sorbie"s goal, in the long term, is to have salons with hairdressers trained to My New Hair standards nationwide and eventually to scale to an international level

The charity teaches hairdressers through seminars, - for which there is a charge which goes directly into the charity - advanced skills sessions, and additionally, hairdressers are also welcomed to shadow Sorbie in one of his salons customising wigs.

The charity also works with people suffering from alopecia, and anyone else suffering from medical hair loss.

Achievements

• Sorbie, creator of the wedge haircut and a four-time British Hairdresser of the Year winner, was awarded an Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2004.