Hair Development UK

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Founded by pioneering hairdresser founding father Stanley Levy MTTS, Hair Development is the UK’s longest established human hair extension and replacement experts. Famed for its heritage and innovative approach, the company has worked alongside key figures within TV, film and theatre and maintains family links with its founder to this day. Stanley’s daughter and Hair Development’s Creative Director Janis Levy explains more about how the company is evolving.

In the late 1950s, there was a hair salon called René of Knightsbridge, where royalty and film stars went to be impeccably groomed. One of the salon’s stylists was our founder Stanley: a boy from Hackney who began his career in SW1 and was then sent by René to Paris to complete his apprenticeship. Sixty years later, we honour the late Stanley Levy and thank him for being a fundamental part of the industry that we all know and love.

Our origins

In 1960, Stanley, newly married to Irene, paid the equivalent of £5 to buy the wigmaking equipment from a shop in Aldgate called Adolph Cohen, that was closing down. Armed with that equipment and the 1932 tome The Art and Craft of Hairdressing, which he had bought from an antique shop, Stanley opened his first hair salon on Mile End Road in east London. Stanley bought up other shops along Mile End Road, and he steadfastly remained in east London when other businesses moved away because he would not take employment away from the locals.

There’s no business like show business

We have been behind the most impressive hair creations in British theatre, TV and Hollywood movies. Stanley designed and supplied the hair for feature films including Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings, and his work can also be found in the original Spitting Image, Strictly Come Dancing and Miss Piggy, to name but a few.

Stylists would order hair from Stanley for artists, pop stars and film stars, as well as countless TV and theatrical shows. Hair Development has always provided what is needed for people who suffer hair loss through chemotherapy or alopecia. For every person, male, female or transitioning, Hair Development has always been here to care for everybody, wholesaling and retailing across the globe.

Hair Development has seen and been through it all, from the bombedout buildings after the war, through the lean years, to the resurgence of life in the area as a result of the 2012 Olympics. With the current regeneration, east London has undoubtedly become the hub of London life.

Over the decades, Stanley’s company Hair Development remained in the wings, all the while creating, designing and manufacturing for the industry, wholesale and retail. This included his Miracle Graft range of undetectable hair replacement, which consists of a completely transparent superfine skin-like membrane, into which ethically sourced human hairs are embedded one at a time, resulting in a creation that replicates hair growing from the scalp and is absolutely undetectable even to the naked eye.

Undetectable non-surgical hair replacement is the only 100 per cent safe route to restore hair loss.

“ Hair Development has seen and been through it all, from the bombed-out buildings after the war, through the lean years, to the resurgence of life in the area as a result of the 2012 Olympics “

The way ahead

Stanley was forever generous with his advice to both start-ups and individuals, advising them to cover all bases by including every aspect of barbering, styling and hair replacement. His advice enabled barbers and stylists to keep their clients for life. Hair Development believes that once you have trained with us in the art of hair replacement, your clients won’t have to look elsewhere when the inevitable happens and their hair begins to recede.

Stanley had a wealth of knowledge and made a point of helping anyone and everyone who came to him for advice. Throughout his career, he remained aware of the transformative power of hair, a belief transferred to all who work in the company to this day. Our brand-new Life After the Beard training programme was recently launched at ExCeL and the nEC. Hair Development is the longest established and most highly respected hair replacement company in the UK and recommended by the Trichological Society.

Managing Director Mark Burns MTTS and I have headed up a new management structure, with both of us having spent many years of training under Stanley’s supervision and expertise. Stanley did not work alone and believed in the importance of surrounding himself with a highly skilled team who love their work. Having learnt from the most knowledgeable of men – one who was so respected, respectful, fair, kind, generous, honest and ethical – our outstanding team is well equipped to provide the unparalleled service.

Stan the Man

Hair is empowering and transformative. Life enhancing. The pioneering work of Stanley Levy served to change people’s lives, and his company, led by cousins and Directors Mark and Janis, continues to do so. Stanley always said that whether you are contemplating this industry or already working in the exciting, creative world of hair, to have chosen this career path is not only specialised, but satisfying – knowing that you are contributing to the wellbeing and positive mental health of your clients. Thank you to our beloved Stan the Man, whose pursuit of perfection made this industry such a wonderful environment in which to work and thrive.

As the UK emerges from the abyss of the pandemic, Hair Development thankfully remains steadfast and strong in always providing the ultimate nonsurgical hair replacement. Together with the rest of our beloved UK, we look to the future with hope, with security, and with glory.

“We are proud to launch the Legend SL, a bespoke and instantly available system, designed with fine French lace and 100 per cent Indian Remy hair, that was created and named by Mark in honour of Stanley “