After celebrating fifty fabulous, fantastic and flamboyant years in the industry, two of hairdressing’s most colourful protagonists, Royston Blythe and Nick Malenko, have decided to leave salon life behind and take some time out.
Royston Blythe and Nick Malenko recently celebrated an incredible career with both having worked in hairdressing for 50 years, spending 34 of these years as salon owners with salons in Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, and The Dorchester in London’s exclusive Park Lane.
Global Ambassadors
For five decades the duo has tended to the tresses of celebrities and royalty alike, their work has graced front covers of Vogue, Hello, OK and countless other magazines including regular hair columns in national publications. The cover of OK which featured the hair they created for Katie Price’s wedding was the best-selling issue of OK for many years. Royston and Nick travelled the world for L’Oréal as Global Ambassadors for the brand, presenting shows and demonstrating to hairdressers from India to Dubai, Paris and throughout the UK, whilst regularly appearing on TV shows including Katie Price & Peter Andre’s Wedding, Tamara Ecclestone’s Tamara’s World, Coleen’s Real Women with Coleen Rooney, Lorraine, Real Housewives of Cheshire and most recently Britain’s Top Takeaway with Sara Cox.
An incredible journey
For the duo, known affectionately as the ‘Dream Queens’, their career has been an incredible journey. In Thailand they created a national incident! When presenting to the Thai Crown Princess at a Command Performance, Royston turned his back to the Princess. Unaware of protocol, he was quickly put right, which the Princess found funny. The incident made all the Thai TV stations and newspapers that evening. One day they could be standing on the lawn shipping champagne with Shirley Bassey and Diana Ross at Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara event and the next they are collecting a takeaway from their local fish and chip shop. Nothing phases Royston and Nick – they take everything in their stride and treat everyone the same.
Their salon in The Dorchester in London provided them with opportunities to work with Royal households, celebrities and fashion designers including Christian Lacroix who presented a show at the Victoria & Albert Museum. They also took part in a five-day event for Royal Warranty holders. This was attended by the Queen and was held in Buckingham Palace.
Outstanding skills
Their hairdressing skills opened so many doors for Nick and Royston. They have global recognition for their creativity. They have recceived awards from all corners of the world along with four British Hairdressing Awards. As Global Ambassadors they represented L’Oréal on an international level. They worked on product launches, shows and seminars. They have also received acclaim from their peers for their stunning photographic work and hairdressing skills. During lockdown they rallied salons to support the NHS by instigating a National Hair Sunday. This gave NHS workers free haircuts. Hollywood stars including Melanie Griffiths, Mickey Rourke, Ursula Andress and Katie Perry have also experienced Royston and Nick’s magic.
Grounded attutude
Royston and Nick have always had their feet planted very firmly on the ground. That’s why celebrities, royalty and their clients all have a special place in their heart for Nick and Royston. The late Hillary Alexander worked with them for many years on the Bridal Show at the NEC in Birmingham and said she had never seen anyone change hair so quickly and effortlessly.
With a clientele from billionaires to bingo players, the duo is to this day two of the most grounded, warm, and friendly people you could meet. A huge part of their success is that they treat everyone the same, no matter who you are, what you do or where you live. Who knows what the next chapter of their lives will bring them. One thing’s for sure it won’t be dull and boring.