Ian Carmichael MVO

Biography

Ian has been a top stylist for more than 40 years and is based at Trevor Sorbie’s salon in London’s Covent Garden. For many of these years he has specialised in working with people suffering from hair loss for reasons including cancer, alopecia, psoriasis, thyroid and other autoimmune disorders.

Ian also specialises in developing non-medical hair scalp aids and products. His long-held belief, is ‘that a hairstylist should place their hand on your shoulder and guide you through your journey’.

As well as his salon and specialist work Ian, is the personal hairdresser to HM The Queen. She invested him into The Royal Victorian Order. Ian is a native of Stirling, Scotland, and lives in London.

For Ian, it all started at the age of fifteen in the little town of Stirling in Scotland. After a very tough apprenticeship and building a large clientele, he opened his own Salon at the tender age of 21. On the need to do more, he quickly began working with Cruise Ships & thus in 1989, he first stepped onboard the QE2 as a stylist at the sea.

Wearing many different hats and performing many different roles from Management to Artistic Directors. He then travelled and worked with Spas onboard training staff in all aspects of Hair and Beauty - a career that spanned for 13 years. It was during this time, he was chosen to look after HM Queen’s hair and still has the honour to date to do this. In 2011, he was been granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment for his years of service.

Always looking for new challenges, he has built a vast portfolio working on Fashion Shoots, Videos and TV work – including the last two series of Ladette to Lady for ITV1.

Over the years, he has worked on many celebrities hair but never sees himself as a celebrity. He feels he is a hairdresser and his role in life is to make women feel feminine, fashionable and ultimately fantastic creating looks such as In Excess.

For the first time in a book about food and nutrition for breast cancer patients, The Chemo-Cookery Club series, Ian has been quoted for hair, nail and skin care. His quote ‘Good nutrition is paramount for healthy hair and skin. Losing one’s hair can feel like losing part of one’s identity but there’s a lot to be said for feeling in control of how you look when many other things are beyond your reach’.

Awards

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