U.K. trichologist first coined term ‘bad hair day’
Philip Kingsley, who died on Sept. 3 at the age of 86, was Britain’s most renowned trichologist, or hair and scalp specialist; dubbed “the Hair Doctor,” he revived the lank locks of numerous celebrities as well as restoring the confidence of ordinary folk having a “bad hair day” — a term he himself coined.
“You can’t flaunt your primary sexual characteristics in public, at least not in western society,” explained Kingsley, “so that’s what makes your hair so important. It’s about sexuality and morale. Lots of women — and men — find that if they’re unhappy with their hair then they’re unhappy people.”
Earlier on, women in particular suffered from the harsh substances used to colour and control hair, especially after the 1950s as hats fell out of favour.
One victim of that was arguably Kingsley’s best-known client, Audrey Hepburn. While filming Robin and Marian with Sean Connery in 1976, she found that her hair looked flat and dry on camera because of all the styling products applied on set. She booked an appointment with Kingsley under her married name of Dotti, and it was only after some minutes that he ventured to remark that she bore a strong resemblance to the Hollywood star.
Kingsley decided that she needed a “pre-shampoo masque,” which he mixed for her in his laboratory. (He initially made all his products himself in a cooker in his garage.) For the rest of her life, he would post pots of the mixture to her in Switzerland.
She was so delighted with the results that she ordered handmade shoes for all the treatment girls on his staff, since they were on their feet all day. Kingsley eventually called the fluid “Elasticizer” and a bottle of it is now said to sell somewhere in the world every two minutes.
At first, the formula needed to have water added to it at home by the customer. When one of Kingsley’s well-heeled American clients heard this, she shrieked at him, in a tone of astonishment heard around the clinic: “What? You expect me to cook?” But, in the end, she did.
Kingsley was born on June 4, 1930, in Bethnal Green. His father was a jobbing tailor and his mother sewed buttonholes. The family was Jewish but celebrated Christmas. Yet they were so poor that the only present that Philip and his four siblings would receive was a tangerine.
He left school at 14 and went to work for his uncle, a hairdresser, in London’s East End. He soon realized that although he knew only a little about hair, that was more than his colleagues knew, and after taking a course at the Institute of Trichology he opened his first clinic in Marylebone in 1957.
Kingsley moved his premises to Mayfair a decade later. He took the decision with some trepidation, as the area seemed so exclusive, but it greatly increased his clientele. At first, however, with typical acumen, he booked all his appointments at the same time to give the impression of being in demand.
Mick Jagger was reputed to be a customer, while in the 1970s many actors were sent to him from the National Theatre by Laurence Olivier.