John frieda's hairraising campaign

Hairdressing legend John Frieda is back in the UK on a fresh new mission that he hopes will raise £1 million for Great Ormond Street Hospital. 

Having been in the US for the last 12 years, one of the most iconic names in hairdressing, John Frieda, is now back in the place he calls home - London.

"The primary purpose of my time in the US was business. I was travelling a lot and spending a great deal of time on planes between Connecticut and New York," he says.

Having sold his product company in 2002, John decided it was time to return home, although he is still very much involved in the products.

"I am a spokesperson for the brand and a product development consultant. I am happy to be involved and I am happy that they want me to be. It works well," he says.    

The John Frieda Business

John's other passion is his salons (he has two in London, two in New York and one in LA) - which he still owns and is still at the helm of.

"The salons are where it all started. I don't think I could ever part with them. The staff are amazing - so many of the team have worked here for many years and the standard of work they produce is incredible," he says.

The success of the salons has not been without constant hard work, which John says is testament to the team.

"The salons require a constant amount of effort and over the years we have managed to put in place a great business. I enjoy being involved in that."

Giving Something Back   

With his feet firmly back on UK soil, John's energy is now being ploughed into his latest project - a mammoth fundraising campaign for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

"Over the years I have been involved in different charities, but this time I wanted to get more involved. Children are an area that really touches my heart so when I was approached by Great Ormond Street to have a look around, I couldn't refuse," he says.

Seeing the hospital first-hand had a profound effect on John, and when he was asked to join the campaign to build a new state-of-the-art operating theatre within a new children's centre for neurosciences, he didn't hesitate.

"Seeing the children puts everything into perspective. It really touched me and affected me. It is such a worthwhile cause that I want to do everything I can to support it."

John started thinking about what he could do to support the campaign, and decided to stick to his area of expertise - hair.

The HAIRraising initiative

"Hairdressing is my profession so I thought if I could use my reputation to put a campaign together and get as many people in the industry as possible involved, the easier it would be to raise our target of £1 million."

The result is a campaign called HAIRraising, which is headed up by John, who has been joined by fellow hairdressers including Nicky Clarke, Daniel Galvin, Trevor Sorbie, Anthony Mascolo, Toni Mascolo, Andrew Collinge, Tony Rizzo, Mark Hayes, Josh Wood, Richard Ward, Mark Hill, Daniel Hersheson, James Brown, Lee Stafford and Louise Galvin - with more big names in the process of joining.

Whilst there are plenty of big names heading up the campaign, this is very much a venture that John hopes all salons across the country will get involved in. "One idea is for salons to put £1 on each bill. Alternatively, they can do a sponsored event or make a donation," he says.

The goal is to raise as much money as possible, and to incentivise salons John has approached some of the biggest names in the industry to donate a range of money-can't-buy prizes.

"Hairdressers have been extremely generous and we've got some amazing prizes lined up," he adds. Prizes include training courses, exclusive one-off days shadowing some of the country's best hairdressers, and assisting on celebrity photo shoots.

Salons that get involved in HAIRraising and raise money towards the campaign will be entered into a prize draw to win one of the fabulous prizes that are lined up. There will also be prizes awarded to individual fund-raisers.  

"Even a small contribution will make a big difference. With all charitable initiatives it's a case of creating momentum and getting a lot of people behind it. I really hope the whole industry will coming together for this great cause," concludes John.

Other Charity Initiative in the Hair Industry

• Trevor Sorbie gives back with My New Hair
• L'Oréal's Hairdressers against AIDS
• Paul Mitchell's Head for Change campaign