Adventures of a product alchemist: paul windle

With his ‘no stone left unturned’ approach, Paul Windle remains at the innovative forefront of hair care products and styling. Here, we chat to Paul about all things Windle. Don't forget to read our previous issues for more adventures with... Head on over to our digital mag issues, here. In a couple of sentences, what has been your career journey so far? I started my career over 35 years ago as a barber, then became a teacher and principal at the Vidal Sassoon schools. In 1988, I established my own salon, Windle London Salon, and after building two brands in the UK, I created my own laboratory in the Lake District where the Windle London Salon Hairdressers and Development Chemist work together to research, formulate and make all the Windle Lab products. Why do you think Windle Lab is so unique? We are unique because we fuse cutting-edge technology from the laboratory with over 200 years of combined experience from our Hairdressers at Windle London Salon under one roof. All products are tried and tested in the salon, on real customers – we are a team of hairdressers with our own laboratory, The Hairdressers Laboratory. What do you love about creating and innovating product ranges? I love the control of knowing exactly what is going into the products and what those carefully selected ingredients will do to the hair and scalp. We combine plant extracts and tea blends with science backed formulations to ensure our products feed, not coat, the hair and improve the quality of scalp health. The idea of bringing great hairdressers into a lab and saying what they want is exciting. We have been run by the big corporations for too long! What makes a cult professional haircare line? I have always been confused by the term “cult haircare line”. I think there are good products that have been created with passion and products that have been created for commercial reasons. For me, commercial success should come from passion and creating something of value – maybe that's what a cult haircare brand is. What's next for Paul Windle? I never really know what's next. There are so many factors in business as so much is down to luck. I hope I carry on being lucky and being surrounded by amazing people. When asked for my exit plan by a potential venture capital investor, I said my exit plan is a coffin! I ended up self financing our operation – skin in the game! That's the future. Catch up on our last visit to Windle Salon London, where Paul and consultant dermatologist and hair loss expert, Mia Jing Gao discussed all things hair, scalp and stress. See the full article in our April issue of HJ.