Raymond Bessone

Britain’s first celebrity hairstylist was Raymond Bessone, also known as Mr Teasy-Weasy. Born Raimondo Pietro Carlo Bessone to an Italian father and a French mother, Raymond started work in his father’s barber shop. He eventually opened his own salon in Mayfair, which featured elaborate gilt mirrors, chandeliers and champagne fountains.

His own persona was over-the-top and flamboyant: he usually wore brightly coloured custom suits, sported a pencil-thin moustache and adopted a thick faux-French accent.

Beneath this facade, however, was a calculating business mind that allowed him to make a fortune through his various ventures.

Raymond was famous for his elaborate updos – he is credited with inventing the modern bouffant hairstyle of the 1950s – and had many celebrity clients.

He was a regular TV performer who made British hairdressing glamorous for millions of viewers and trips to the salon a theatrical experience. He also went on to train many other prominent hairdressers, including Vidal Sassoon.

Image: Raymond Bessone styles actor Diana Dors’ hair in 1956 (Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo)