Choose Beauty: Patrick MelvillePatrick Melville

Owner, Patrick Melville Salon & Spa
Year I Obtained My Beauty License: 1970 in the U.S. and 1975 in England

Raised in Manchester, England, I was a young boy with a deep passion for sports. By the age of 12, I began boxing for England, which soon became an outlet for me and a means of keeping me out of trouble! By the age of 15, with the completion of grade school, I was forced to think about a career. With the limited job availabilities at the time, I began working for a ship carpenter on the docks and quit after three months. It was not the work my hands were meant for. On a whim, with the thought of meeting women in mind, I applied for a hair assistant job at Harvey and Rupids Salon. I had found my calling.

Throughout my 20s, my hands endured the brute force of boxing, and assisted in the creation of various hair cuts and styles at the salon. Despite my newfound inspiration for hair, I couldn't give up boxing-it was a great way to meet women and attract new clients. With a one-week vacation planned, I went to New York City, a metropolis that had always fascinated me. The trip turned into an endless journey and I moved to New York to pursue my career as a hairdresser in what I believed to be a city of opportunity and growth.

At one of New York's hottest salons, I grew tired of being an assistant and felt an uncontrollable enthusiasm and hunger for greater things. I decided I needed to make a change in my life and, on a whim, called the beauty editor of Glamour magazine from a pay phone on 54th street and pitched a hair story. I was able to convince her to book me for a spring/summer feature hair story. Once the 12-page feature hit the stands, my career as a hair stylist  took off-two weeks later I was on a plane going to shoot the cover of Vogue .

From boxing to making people beautiful, my hands have always been the root of my talent. My career choice to become a hairdresser has become my life, my breath and my passion.


For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.