Lloyd Hughes

Lloyd Hughes is Creative Director of male grooming brand men-ü and a multi salon owner. He has been working in the industry for 30 years with 15 of those spent in education. He has been with the men-ü team for around seven years and is also its Lead Educator. Lloyd grew up in Manchester during the 70’s and 80’s. It was a very dark, industrial and grey City back then, not the centre of the music and football world it has become today. The first time he encountered a salon he was blown away by the vibrancy and the hustle and bustle of the industry. He found himself in that very same salon when he got his first job as a 16 year old junior (1984) and so began his passion for hairdressing. After spending his formative years solely as a Ladies Hairdresser, Lloyd became disillusioned with his day to day routine. Apart from early entries into the then, only live, L’Oreal Colour Trophy he was disappointed with the lack of opportunities to be more creative. The salon chain he worked at had a Men’s salon in the city and when he was asked to cover one day, he found the direction and diversity he craved. From day one he found men were more eager to change their hairstyle on a regular basis and were looking for inspiration from their stylist, they were not afraid to push the boundaries and this still holds true today. Lloyd relocated to the South Coast of England where he opened his first salon in 1994. This provided an environment where men could visit stylists who had the skills and knowledge to advise, create and deliver quality haircuts. Lloyd’s team prided themselves on their product knowledge and exposed the male public to all the possibilities that men’s hairdressing had to offer. At a time when most men’s hairdressing was cut to order the early years were more challenging. Men couldn’t quite work out why they should pay more, male product companies were in their infancy and all that was readily available were female products made to look a bit appealing to men. But this changed and Lloyd is now involved in 4 salons as well as creating the training courses for the men-ü academy. Lloyd still goes on courses himself, his passion and thirst for knowledge has never left him. Central to everything he does is the men-ü philosophy: different to make a difference. If a stylist’s work isn’t making a difference to the client, then it shouldn’t be done. Lloyd lives by this rule every day.