Name some of the world’s most famous supermodels. Naomi Campbell. Kate Moss. Add royalty like Princess Diana, celebrities and Asia’s most renowned socialites to the mix and you’ve got yourself the A-list clientele of Kim Robinson.
The celebrity hairstylist – who charges $2,000 per haircut– is in Singapore to introduce his newest venture: his first in-house hair care range. Concocted in Italy, the Hair Rejuvenation Formula (HRF) collection was borne out of his 45 years worth of experience working with Asian hair. The formulations specifically address the needs of Asian tresses and was rigorously tested on a long list of his VIP clients over the years.
Australian-born Robinson opened his first Hong Kong salon in 2002, after honing his skills under the tutelage of mentors such as Vidal Sassoon and Alexandre de Paris. His hair care line has been a long time coming, and is the result of decades of listening to his clients.
For an hour, we sit in a private room in his salon as he speaks with absolute candour about his life, how women should do more for themselves, and the inspiration behind HRF.
Read more in the candid exchange with Kim Robinson below.
How did you become the Kim Robinson?
To become anything, whether it’s a hairstylist, fashion designer, or journalist, you need to have passion for what you do. After 50 years of being in this industry, I still love it because I get to meet incredible women. If you ask me how I got here, it’s hard work, perseverance, passion and talent.
I’ve worked on so many incredibly famous women. I’ve been all over the world to incredible places with them. I never get caught up in it and take it for granted because it all can disappear tomorrow. We’re only here for such a short time. You’ve got to enjoy the moment.
But how did this ambition kick off?
I started when I was 14. I went to the salon with my Mum and I loved the atmosphere. The guy that owned the salon gave me a job on Saturdays. I loved it so much and eventually he offered me an apprenticeship. My father got mad and said I had to go to university first and try out other things like being a doctor, lawyer, dentist before I can become a hairstylist. My boss took pity on me and my Mum nagged my dad until he let me leave school and become a hairstylist.
But he was very bitterly disappointed because he’d never had all these opportunities that he wanted to give me. Since I had that pressure from my dad, I always felt that I had to prove myself.
How so?
Success comes with its pressure.
Climbing up is one thing. But once you get up there, and have been in this position for so many years, how do you retain it? There are so many talented people out there from a new generation. People like me become the old generation.
But I’m still interested in how we communicate with people and what the new generation is looking for. So many problems we have in the world today is lack of communication. It’s the same in hairdressing. People go to the salon with an expectation and leave disappointment so many times and end up giving up. That’s why so many girls on the street don’t have any style with their hair. They’re too scared to try something new, so they’ve all got similar length – long as possible – that’s maybe a bit lighter or wavier but there’s no special look that a lot of girls have. This is something that hairdressers need to learn how to communicate.
What brought you to Hong Kong years back?
I was brought to Hong Kong with a group of salons that were new in the Asian market. They wanted to bring on young hair stylists and I had just finished my apprenticeship. I was 19 years old. I came to Hong Kong and hated it. It was so British. I’d come from Australia and I was young. I wanted to be with other young people. There were no young Westerners. The people were snobbish. I didn’t like it at all so I left and went to London. I stayed a year and finished my contract. Somehow, I came back Hong Kong and realised that it is an up-and-coming place. I decided to stay and open a salon.
There were no gorgeous salons at the time. I wanted to bring all those things they had in Europe: Someone who could do solid makeup, facials and someone else who could bring you lunch. We were very successful from then on. I had a vision. I had a dream and I wanted to live it. I don’t want to accept second best. I don’t want to accept the bronze medal. The gold medal is my character.
Tell us more about HRF.
I realised that we have a problem here in Asia.
We have different needs with our diet, our lifestyle, and the weather. So many products were designed in the West. We’ve been trying to achieve a look with products that were never designed for us in the first place. Most of them are great on fine, soft Western hair. But when you’ve got coarser or stronger Asian hair, a lot of the products just don’t work. It may look nice when your hair is wet ,but when your hair is dry or when you style it at home, it doesn’t look any different. So you keep buying products. You try it all and you just don’t know what works for you.
I thought that since I have all this experience, I should work with research chemists. I found the best in the world in Italy. When I met them, and they explained to me about the products, I told them that the Kim Robinson customer is not looking for a deal. They’re looking for something that’s unique or special. They want the best that money can buy and they’re not stupid. I don’t want to put my name on the same thing that you can buy at a drugstore and just claim it as mine. I want something that’s different.
But this was a process, and it happened five years ago. I started on this project even longer than that, but I couldn’t get anyone to produce small amounts. Eventually, I found someone that can do small quantities, although it was more expensive. I also wanted all these ingredients that are going to make a difference to hair.
What is the main thing that HRF targets?
I discovered through my experience that most women have sticky or have oily scalps quite quickly in humidity. Most of the products out there can make your hair feel good when you wash it, but they also coat the scalp so you’re never really getting it clean. Many Kim Robinson clients have skin irritation and are itchy all the time because of how these products coat their skin.
My doctors and my research chemists said that we should treat the hair and the scalp differently. We have to make sure the scalp is clean. This first range is for somebody who wants to have a clean scalp.
I originally wanted this hair care line to be for hair loss. It happens because of hormones when you age but there’s nothing that a shampoo can do. Brands sell lies and dreams. Shampoos will not grow more hair or stop your hair from falling. But a healthy scalp will help and that’s something we can prove. If you haven’t got a healthy scalp, you’re more likely to have hair loss or have issues with hair. Our scalp cleansers properly balances the pH balance .
We tested on our celebrities and VIP clients in Singapore and in Hong Kong. When we got negative feedback, we restarted and reformulated new formulas. It was a process of elimination until we got something that ticked all the boxes. The clients love it. It’s our house shampoo that we’ve been using for quite a while here in Singapore. It’s a luxury product with the best ingredients that money can buy. It’s called HRF hair reducing rejuvenation formula because what I want to do is rejuvenate our clients here on a regular basis
Tell us more about the Vitamin Plus Conditioning Treatment.
This one is a hair treatment that doesn’t wear your hair down. It doesn’t contain silicones and comes with a brush you use in the shower. You can use it as a mask and leave on for longer but no one’s got time. Everyone wants something fast. Apply it in the shower, brush it through with this brush and rinse it off after three minutes.
How often should we use the HRF products?
It’s up to the individual. But I would think you could do with a cleanse everyday. If you have long hair, you want it to smell fresh and clean. With some products, it’s very heavy on the hair and can build up. That coating leaves an odour, and I can smell it when I blow dry the hair. You don’t want to have that issue. Our scalp cleanser helps make sure you are cleansing properly.
What are your hopes for the range?
I’m not the chemist or the doctor. I just know about the formulations from lots of testing and I listen to what people tell me. That’s how I’ve learned so many things from some of the world’s most discerning women. I listen, and I learn. Everything we do from the way we cut and colour, is for a discerning woman. Hopefully, we can make a difference with this product. Since we are already using it on our Kim Robinson clients, I want it to be available to more people.
So what do you think Asian women are not doing enough for their hair?
I don’t want to say Asian women but women in general. I think women tend to put themselves on sale. They prioritise everything else but themselves. Let’s say they’re married and they’ve got kids. They’ll buy the kids a new phone, and whatever the husband needs too. But she won’t buy that for herself because she wants to. She’ll buy it because it’s on sale.
I know this for a fact, because I’m with women everyday in my life. I think it’s sad. I think women should have a balance. You need your ‘me time’. Don’t disrespect yourself. Don’t buy something because it’s on sale. Buy it because you need it or you want it. Have a better focus. Take some time off and go have a facial or a massage. I think women are out of balance completely. It’s not just cultural. It’s worldwide.
I’ve been in this industry for so many years and have heard so many heartbreaking stories from women about their husbands fooling around. These women have golden handcuffs because they’ve got kids and can’t leave. They’re stuck. They’ve lost themselves. They put everything into everything else except themselves. One day, the kids grow up and what will you have? So you need to invest in yourself, whether it’s education, meditation, or getting a great haircut that you look good with everyday.
What is the one thing women need to have?
Get a great haircut so you look good all the time. So that when you wake up in the morning, you’ve got a style with your hair. Something that makes you feel empowered and confident.
If you feel that confidence, people will notice you. You need to respect yourself and always have your own priorities right and you need ‘me time’.
You should feel beautiful. Every day. When I speak to my clients, this is what they tell me. They get stopped on the street all over the world by strangers asking who does their hair. They’ve got a style. But a lot of women don’t and have plain-looking hair. They look very tired or like they don’t try. They’ll say they’ve got kids, a husband and a full-time job. They don’t have time to do anything. I think it’s sad, really. It’s a thinking passed on through generations and it’s making them feel powerless.
I remember Princess Diana said to me, “Oh, my God, I wish you were with me always. Can you come tomorrow?”. I asked her if anyone ever says no to her. She said to me, “Yes, my husband.”
I felt horrible. She was a princess but she was so vulnerable. I felt for her. As I feel for every woman. When I talk to women, I always ask when’s the last time you felt beautiful. They always say they’ve got time and they’ve got to go to work or look after the kids.
What do you suggest they do?
Find a hairdresser that will listen discuss your issues with you and make you feel empowered. Make sure they ask you questions such as how and when you wash your hair. Questions like do you style it or what type of face shape you have. Be sure they offer recommendations based on that.
At Kim Robinson, we cut hair dry because that’s how your hair is normally. It’s always about making sure there is a style to it. That’s what you’re paying for and that’s what lasts long after leaving the salon. When I cut my clients’ hair, they tell me all the time that they can manage their hair afterwards.
What’s behind the HRF line are all these things. All hairdressers want to put their names on things and want to be famous. But it’s to do with everything that we do. It’s called listening, asking questions and finding out what works for the client.
What do you dream of doing next at Kim Robinson?
I’m living my dream. I’m doing this product range because it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for so long and it was difficult to do. I had to try and see what happens. If I don’t do it now, it’ll never happen. Otherwise, I’ll always look back and think I should have, would have, could have. I don’t want to ever have regrets. If it works really well, then I’m lucky. And if it doesn’t, then that’s it.
You get to a point in your life that you will look back and not always too far away in the future, because you don’t have the energy. I can’t be traveling on private jets my whole life and flying to wealthy people or celebrities all the time. You get to a point where you want to stay home. I don’t want to go travelling so much. COVID has really changed my thinking a lot. We all have different issues now. You prioritise what’s important to you.
The Kim Robinson Hair Rejuvenation Formula range is available at Kim Robinson, 391 Orchard Road, #02 – 12, Singapore 238872
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