Born in Melbourne, Murphy made his mark in the Australian hair industry in the early 1990s, with his Chapel Street salon immediately becoming an institution. The Kusco-Murphy haircare collection soon followed, among which was Beach Hair. Inspired by a cover shoot for Swimsuit Illustrated, when sand blew into Murphy’s styling products, Beach Hair was arguably the product that started the salty surfer hair trend that is still so strong these days. After a successful stint as a session stylist in New York, Murphy moved into the professional haircare market, launching Kevin.Murphy. He remains an in-demand stylist for editorial and advertising shoots, and was recently in Australia working at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week.

What’s your signature style?

Long, usually parted in the middle, with wavy mid-lengths and straight ends. I don’t do curly ends as it can look a little too debutante. And I don’t over-curl hair as it can sacrifice length.

What’s an easy way to get the look?

With butterfly clips. Put some blow-dry lotion into towel-dried hair, and dry off almost completely. Then take a few clips and pinch them down a large section of hair. Do this all around your head. Grab your dryer and dry off your hair. Wait ten minutes, take the clips out and you’ll have these sort of soft bumps throughout hair that give the illusion of wave.

Ed’s Note: For more fabulous styling tricks and techniques, check out the podcast section of Kevin.Murphy

Tell us about your range.

It’s mainly about antioxidants, because every process that a hairdresser does is oxidising. I’ve used a number of essential oils, which are antioxidants that work really well on their own, without added help from manmade substances. The difference between my range and others is that the others are usually trying to weigh the hair down, whereas I’ve always wanted to elevate the hair and give it lots of volume. So I’ve used really lightweight molecules, which makes the product feel weightless and be invisible. These light molecules are usually only found in skincare, so I ended up using a lot of skincare ingredients. There are a lot of esters, which is the smallest part of the molecular structure - for instance, you can have olive oil ester. It’s the most absorbing part. It can reach right into the cortex of the hair rather than sit on the outside of the hair.

What’s your favourite product in the range?

Anti.Gravity. It’s a multi-purpose product, whether you’re going curly or straight or messy or wavy or scrunchy. It puts shine on the hair without putting any oil in the hair. It’s the product I most reach for.

Any other essentials in your kit?

A boar bristle brush. It massages the hair rather than brushes the hair, smoothing hair and closing the cuticle down to make it really shiny, but keeping body in the hair.

What’s your best hair bargain?

I use a wide-toothed comb that cost about $2 from a chemist. Even though I like texture in hair, it’s an organised texture. With this comb you can control the movement in hair a lot more and deal easily with flyaways.

Any other top tools?

I love a hairdryer that is about 2800 watt. It should always have a nozzle. A nozzle does all the work for you - it gives a smoother look.

What about your top tips?

Firstly, stay away from silicone products. They’re just very heavy and oily and tend to take the life out of hair. Secondly, never dry your hair when it’s too wet. Towel it off and let it air dry to about 60% before getting to heat-styling it. Otherwise you’ll just end up damaging hair and it will look thin and lifeless.

What’s the biggest hair crime you see?

Too much ironing, especially on an older woman. As you get older, you need more hair to frame the face. Thin hair can just make you look gaunt.

What about the biggest hair myth?

That hair gets used to shampoo – that old chestnut! Hair can’t get used to it because hair doesn’t have a brain. The problem is if you’re using a low-grade product or you’re using silicone, which builds up on hair, weighs hair down and eventually becomes brittle.

What question are you most commonly asked?

A lot of women want to know how to do 1940s hair. The thing is, those women spent a whole day getting that hair. And the photos we see are so hand-retouched. If you actually watch movies from that era, where the women are moving, their hair actually looks strange and quite clunky.

What’s happening in hair for this winter?

I’m actually working on a lot of smoother looks. For some reason, Elizabeth Montgomery keeps popping into my head.

What about for next summer?

Back to the beach. It’s the same story almost every year. But it’s not a crunchy beachy hair – more movie star at the beach. You know, like those photos of Marilyn Monroe with a sort of wayward windswept look.

What was your favourite summer style from Fashion Week?

Flamingo Sands. I don’t think girls will start wearing baubles in their hair but it’s more about being playful. It’s summer, after all. I also gave the illusion of coloured clip-in extensions by rubbing bright eyeshadow onto the models’ hair. It’s an easy way to get the look and you don’t have to worry about hair falling out. Pink and coloured extensions have been every hairdresser’s nightmare for about 16 years. But for some reason they look really current now.

Which celebrity has the hair of the moment?

Jessica Alba in that Revlon commercial, with the loose relaxed curls and the colour that isn’t quite blonde, but isn’t quite brown.

Who’s your hair icon?

Brigitte Bardot. In every photo, her hair looks amazing.

How would we get a classic Bardot do?

Apply volumiser and blow-dry hair with a round brush, so you get some bounce in hair. Then take a boar bristle brush and tease all of your hair so you look like a freak. Wait fifteen minutes and brush out 60% of the teasing. You get that fullness and an almost flyway look - but one that’s contained. For a modern take on the look, don’t tease about the first two inches of roots. For the finishing touch, I like to add a little nesty, bouffant-y thing at the back. You simply leave the front bits out, grab a section of hair from just behind each ear and clip them up at the back.

Any final words of hair wisdom?

Don’t do too much. Don’t stray too much from your natural colour. If you’re going grey, go with it. Grey is a really lovely colour. And the perception that when you’re grey you’re old is so passé. I know so many amazing women who are grey and look incredibly stylish. And, you know, a lot of them have much younger husbands.