Daniel Galvin (OBE)

Decades of recognition and awards – ultimate accolade in 2006 as the first hair professional to achieve an OBE

“Hair colour is my absolute passion. I count myself lucky to have a job that lets me be an ambassador for something i love.” Daniel Galvin

“The King Of Colour – Stories To Dye For!” extensive double-page interview in the Daily Mail featuring legendary British celebrity hairdresser Daniel Galvin OBE

1960s: Modern Highlights are Born & “Crazy Colour”

“Daniel invents Brickwork the new colour system to transform Twiggy and launch her career”

The sixties changed everything. London was at the heart of a creative revolution, fashion was being rewritten, and hair had become a statement of who you were.

He experimented, mixing his own dyes, testing them on hair cuttings and drawing up colour charts of his own design. His talent soon caught the eye of Leonard Lewis, the most celebrated salon owner of the day, who brought him into his Mayfair salon. It was there that Daniel gave Twiggy her famous pale blonde, using a soft, natural placement inventing a technique he called “brickwork.” It permanently phased out the painful plastic pull-through caps that had dominated salons for decades. He innovated with nylon and poster dyes for designer Zandra Rhodes, creating vivid pinks, blues and reds that were considered revolutionary at the time.

1970s: Natural Beauty Enhancement & Silver Screen Mastery

“Europes first mega salon is opened in Marylebone London”

Daniel mastered a philosophy that still defines the salons: natural beauty, enhanced. He drew semi-permanent shades from black coffee, lemon juice, henna, egg and red wine. He pioneered Tortoiseshell Highlights. He was among the first to match colour to skin tone and eye colour, a method the world soon adopted as standard. Cinema took notice, calling him to Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974). In 1977 he opened Europe’s first specialist colour salon on George Street, Marylebone, and published The World of Hair Colour.

1980s: Global Colour Influence &  Retail Products

“Highlighted hair needs customised products that nourish the more absorbent highlights. we use the mildest ingredients possible to achieve the simplest effect” Daniel Galvin

Daniel devoted his expertise to his own professional colour signature products and to something the industry had never seen: the first haircare range created specifically to preserve colour, realising that harsh supermarket shampoos stripped and oxidised fresh salon colour. Every colour-care shelf today owes something to that idea.

His chair, meanwhile, welcomed one of the most scrutinised Prime Ministers in Britain: Margaret Thatcher, an assignment he later admitted to the Daily Mail was terrifying.

1990s: By Royal Appointment: The Most Famous Blonde in the World

“10 years as Princess Diana’s trusted, personal hair colourist”

Daniel Galvin spent the final ten years of Princess Diana’s life acting as her trusted, personal hair colourist. He crafted her bright, heavily multi-toned blonde layers, helping define her iconic 90’s image.

Daniel’s reputation had reached far beyond London. His work attracted an international celebrities & clientele, and his influence extended into new markets. Daniel turned his attention to Japan, travelling there regularly to introduce his approach to colour. Until then, Japanese hairdressing had centred on cut, shape and the perm. His colour line launch took the Far East by storm, and he became known as the man who inspired millions of Japanese women to colour their hair. His influence is still recognised there today and is featured in the Hoyu “Age of Colour” museum section on Japanese hair colour history.

2000s: Royal Honours & Europe’s First Mega Salon

“Europes first mega salon is opened in Marylebone London”

The Marylebone Landmark: In 2003, Daniel moved his flagship into a 9,000 sq ft home on George Street, Marylebone. At the time it was the biggest salon in Europe, with an entire floor dedicated to colour.

The OBE: In 2006, the Queen awarded him an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his staggering contributions to British hair colour and the beauty industry.

He featured in a BBC documentary The Real Blow Up: Fashion, Fame and Photography in the ’60s.

2010s to Present: The Next-Gen Dynasty

Today, the brand is run as a multigenerational dynasty. Daniel continues to collaborate directly with his children, Style Director James Galvin, Daniel Galvin Jr at Kensington and Celebrity Colourist Louise Galvin.

The brand expands into some of London’s most prestigious addresses: a salon on the third floor of Selfridges, and a partner salon at the Corinthia London, complete with its own Movie Makeover Room.

Galvin’s many industry honours include the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 from the Fellowship for British Hairdressing. In 2013, he was named Patron of Honour by the Hairdressing Council, in recognition of his support for their campaign. In 2025 Daniel was named Leading National Hair Colourist (UK) by Lux Life, and he sits on the judging panel for the Marie Claire UK Hair Awards 2026.

Daniel’s Wikipedia Page