To quote that scene from Fleabag, “Hair. Is. Everything.” Life’s too short to go through it with boring hair. Enter TuttiiFruiitti, queer hair extraordinaires with enough hair dye to make the rainbow look lacking in colour.
Both a barber and hairdressing salon, TuttiiFruittii caters for all genders and sexualities, and puts on the emphasis on expressive hair in a judgement-free, welcoming salon. We spoke to a few of the stylists to find out a bit about what it’s like working at Tutti Fruittii, and get a peek at some of their awesome, super colourful hairdos.
Name: Sara (she/her)
Superpower: Barber, bleach & colour specialist: fantasy in your hair!
Originally from: Madrid, Spain
Time at Tuttii Fruittii: 3 years
Started hairdressing: “My mother is a hairdresser and she taught me what a passion for hair is. As a teenager I hated it – I didn’t want to be a hairdresser for anything in the world!
But while I was studying, I started washing heads in my mother’s salon – I needed money to pay for my parties and trips [laughs]. After two years I started to be curious about colours and cuts…. and 15 years later I can say that I am still passionate and in love with what I do.”
What do you love about working at Tuttii Fruitti? “The whole team has an incredible energy, it’s a space where you can be yourself without any mask. Working at Tuttii Fruittii, you feel like yourself. I am doing what I love, enjoying it and grateful to all the people who work with me and around me.”
Most memorable moment: “How I got here! 7 years ago I was working in Malaga, and I came across Tuttii Fruitti’s Instagram. I fell in love when I saw so much colour and fantasy, all the customers and the happy faces they had! I thought ‘I will work there one day’, but the fear of English has always paralysed me.
Because of some other stuff, I moved to Bournemouth to learn English, and then to London. And now here I am. It’s a nice story, isn’t it?”
Name: Elle (they/them)
Superpower: Burping the alphabet, and being a “non-binary, pansexual, manic pixie dream goblin”
Originally from: Portsmouth (“shoutout P-Town!”), UK
Time at Tuttii Fruittii: 8 months
Started hairdressing: “I first got into hair after dropping out of college, doing retail for a year and realising I needed to do something creative or I was going to go insane. I knew I’d always enjoyed doing hair for friends and family so I trained to get my qualification and the rest is history!”
Specialty: “I work largely with medium to long hair when cutting and all colouring. I love creating painting and sculptures on peoples’ heads and helping them express themselves.”
What do you love about working at Tuttii? “I really love how expressive and themselves our clients are and how there’s a such a good atmosphere to cultivate that feeling here. Every day at Tuttii’s varies so much, so it’s always kept interesting. I can go from mullet to sharp classic bob to a bright, fantasy colour all in one day!”
Favourite cuts: “I think my favourite cut I’ve done is a kinda horned scullet type situation. And also, when I’d only been here a couple weeks, it was Halloween so we all dressed up – I’d never had the chance to do hair dressed as Mary Queen of Scots before so that was pretty sick.”
Name: Fabien (he/they)
Superpower: Hair and music
Originally from: Toulouse, France
Time At Tuttii Fruittii: 10 months
Started Hairdressing: “Since I discovered what a pair of scissors was as a child, I’ve been cutting my Barbies’ and teddy bears’ hair, and chasing my family around practising ponytails since I was a toddler. It was while living in Toulouse that I also discovered my passion for colouring hair.”
Other than hair, music is also a passion of mine. Both hair and music affect me on a spiritual level and allow me to grow into myself more and more every day.”
Way Of Working: “My favourite thing to do is come up with exciting new ways for people to express themselves through their hair. After getting to know the client a bit, I take their style and create new shapes and colours to allow them to express themselves.”
Why do you love working at Tuttii Fruitti? “Tuttii Fruitti feels like home to me because everyone is welcome. The atmosphere is like being in a fairy cloud, full of colours, where everyone has space to explore new ways of being themselves.”
Any thoughts for our readers? “There are a million different versions of you inside, just waiting to burst through. Come see us and we’ll help you realise you can be anything you want. From hell, to paradise, and everything in between, we can make your hairy dreams come true.”
