When it comes to names in the hairdressing trade they don‚Äôt come much bigger than Adam Reed or Paul Percival. Between them the celebrated pair have won awards from key industry players such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Grazia to name a few. When they aren‚Äôt taming the locks of leading icons in their salon Percy & Reed, they can be found touring the world, styling stars such as Rita Ora and Will Young. Both Adam and Paul have managed to take a break from their busy schedules to sit down and share their impressive industry knowledge with us…
With so many accolades, what do you pick as being your proudest moment in hairdressing?

Adam
I would have to say opening Percy & Reed, we took a lot of time designing the shop to make sure that anyone that walked through the doors felt comfortable and a part of Percy & Reed and we are proud to say that we have achieved that.

We have an AMAZING Team and they help to make the Percy & Reed experience what it is. I still feel proud every time that I walk through the door and we are just about to start work on the second Percy & Reed salon, so we are doing something right.

An Artists impression of Percy & Reed

At what point did you know you wanted to become a hairdresser and who were your biggest role models in the industry?

Adam
I have always wanted to be a hairdresser and started working in a salon on Saturdays at 13. I have never looked back- I love and have always loved it. There are so many people that I admire, Julien d’Ys would be my all time idol, but I love the fact that I have grown through my career with the likes of Sally and Jamie Brooks, Zoe Irwin and Carolyn Newman, I would put them in my Idol category and of course Paul Percival.

Paul
I knew I wanted to be a hairdresser once I had done a day helping in a local salon and I enjoyed being around the people and the creative buzz- better than working on a building site. My heroes are Trevor Sorbie and Eugenie Suleman and I was lucky enough to train with both and of course Adam Reed!

Who is your favourite star to work with?

Paul
My favourite star to work is Will Young and we have worked together for such a long time that he has become one of my closest friends. More recently I have loved working with Rita Ora, she is as close to a perfect client as you can get as she is always up for trying new things.

A lot of our fans would love to reach the heights you have in the trade, what advice would you give to them?

Adam
I would say, never give up. I think that a lot of people think that it is easy, but it really isn’t,-its bloody hard work. Also, never think that you know everything, I still practice all of the time to make sure that I am on top of the new techniques and trends so that I can meet anything that is thrown at me.

With such a hectic workload, what do you do to unwind when you’re not working?

Paul
I love to walk my dog with my lovely wife and kids. We drive until get lost and get out and find a footpath. It’s a great way to unwind.

An example of the work on offer at Percy & Reed

What is the funniest thing you have witnessed working in the industry?

Adam
There are so many, but most are due to the consumption of alcohol and come with a ‘what happens on tour stays on tour’ warning! One thing that is really funny is when I had hair extensions when I was 18, in dreadlocks, I loved Soul 2 Soul and wanted there hair, not one of my best looks!

Paul
As Adam said the one danger of being a hairdresser when you’re young is that in moments of boredom you have a tendency to try random and extreme hairstyles. My highlights include having purple hair and once going to a hairdresser that was the only hairdressers in kent that did plaits for guys. It was half hairdressers, half bike shop and I had my entire head put into plaits but halfway through they ran out of beads. Afterwards I ran for the train- half of my head secured with beads, half in bolts from the bikes. They almost knocked me out as I jumped on the train- not my best idea!

Percy and Reed

We’d like to thank Adam and Paul for taking part in ‘Ask the Expert’. If you have any questions for either of them why not ask them directly at either¬†@adamreedhair or¬†@percystylist