Top hair styling and colouring in relaxed surroundings at BaDu

Locks Stock & two smokin’ hairdressers

The bond that builds between you and your hairdresser can become a very special one. There is a level of intimacy even that creates a feeling of comfort and trust. Finding that perfect tonsorial titivator (hair stylist) is not always easy, but when you do, then you hang on to them for dear life.



It is also why the best salons work so hard to hang on to their top stylists and in turn why the best stylists tend to stay with the same salon for years and years. But there comes a point when an ambitious hair stylist will want to break away and create their own business, which is exactly what has happened to Andrew Duffy and business partner and best friend Ella Bashford.

Together they have set up BaDu in Brighton’s Lanes, a small salon where they care for a discerning number of existing clients and a rapidly growing list of new ones who, by word of mouth, have discovered what they do.

So what makes BaDu unique? Andrew and Ella have a clear idea that they wanted a casual and relaxed boutique whilst at the same time maintaining total professionalism. “We think of each of our clients as an individual and create a bespoke and personal plan, discussing their needs so that we can build a strong ongoing relationship. I have been hairdressing for nearly 20 years now. For a year I worked on the cruise ships and then in Australia for three years. For the last two years I was teaching hairdressing at Melbourne University. When I returned to the UK I worked for Trevor Sorbie, both in London and then here in Brighton where I headed up the colour department.

I am well known now for my work with hair colour and have a huge colour clientele. I really enjoy the creativity that I can explore through my work and love to do photoshoots, weddings and hair for special occasions.”

Ella Bashford has been hairdressing for 25 years. In the past she worked for Rainbow Rooms in Scotland and has managed another salon in Brighton. It is Ella’s gentle and relaxed approach and her great eye for detail that has made her a successful and popular hairdresser and manager of that busy North Laine salon for many years. It is a style and approach
that she maintains in their new joint venture.

At BaDu Andrew and Ella have chosen to use Kevin Murphy products and they also recommend them as a home care system that will help you to maintain the look and feel of your hair.

BaDu has much to recommend it, it is warm and cosy and yet feels pretty cool and exclusive. The ancient Lanes building is small but there is none of that sense of being on public display that you can feel in some larger salons, and you certainly get a real one-to-one experience. There’s also the presence of one of the prettiest dogs in Brighton, Deefer, a Tibetan terrier, who will calmly greet you before settling down for another relaxing snooze. Relaxing is a key word at BaDu and a visit there is a total pleasure.

BaDu, 3 Nile Street, BN1 1HW, Brighton, 01273 329371, www.baduhair.co.uk