My Saturday with hairstylist Dylan Bradshaw: 'This business is all about looking after people'

Dylan Bradshaw is an award-winning hairstylist with a boutique salon in Dublin city centre. His clients include U2, the Corrs and Victoria Beckham, but it's his three sons that are the boss of him now.

Dylan Bradshaw My Saturday

5:20

I usually wake very early in the mornings.

I started getting up this early about four years ago. I just find it’s a brilliant way to get everything done.

During the week, I do weights and my Peloton . I’ve also been going to a HIIT class as much as I can. 

I was injured recently, so since Christmas, I’ve turned into a bit of a slug!

On a Saturday, it might be more like 6am when I get up. The first thing I do is have a swim in the Forty Foot, in Dublin, with a few friends. 

We’ll grab a coffee and hang around for a chat. It’s the new middle-aged pub scene! 

I’m usually home before everyone else is up, so I have my shower and get ready.

8:00

I’ll usually have breakfast on the go, because the kids usually have sports on the weekend. 

I have three boys, and our youngest is 11, so there’s a lot of searching for the gumshields and finding the rugby gear. 

It often takes both me and my wife to bring the boys to their various activities on a Saturday.

12:00

We live near Delgany, so on a Saturday afternoon, we love going to the Pigeon House for a meal. It’s a really easy and delicious brunch with the kids. 

They do a full roast too and it’s a cosy spot we can bring the boys, even if they are still manky dirty from rugby. We’ve always placed an emphasis on sport with the children.

14:00

Throughout the day I’ll check in with the team in the salon. I’ve been involved in hairdressing for many years, and I still really love it. 

I wasn’t great in school. I was in getting my hair cut one day and my mum asked the manager would he give me a job sweeping hair or whatever.

I always wonder about that “sliding doors” moment. What if he didn’t say yes that day? God knows what I’d be doing. 

I remember as a 15-year-old boy seeing all the gorgeous girls coming in to get their hair done and I was like “absolutely, I’ll give it a go”.

I lived in New York for a few years and then went to work at Reds, a salon in Dublin. 

Once I started winning awards, I began being put on shoots and then being trusted with celebrity looks. That’s when things really started to take off for me.

Dylan Bradshaw, using the Dyson Supersonic r styler

I was looking after The Corrs, and they trusted me to completely change their look. 

I was also lucky enough to work with U2 and Hozier. This business is really all about looking after people. All people.

To me, it doesn’t matter if you are a celebrity or if you saved up all year to come into the salon to get your hair done, we will do our best for you, no matter what.

I have so many fantastic clients who come to Dylan Bradshaw from all 32 counties.

I’d never push my children into the business. If they want to get involved, they can. 

They’ve all worked there as a summer job, just to give them a work ethic, so they know what a sore back feels like.

If anything, they get a lot out of how to talk to people.

15:00

My boys usually have golf lessons on Saturday afternoons and, being a taxi for hire, I’ll bring them to that. 

Then I’ll wait, like a kerb crawler, for the boys to come back out. My eldest is 17, so we try to do things that cater for all their ages. 

We went to Host, in Ranelagh, for dinner recently and had the best meal we’ve had in ages. I love going out, especially now that the children are bigger.

17:00

We don’t spend a lot of time as a family during the week, because everyone is coming and going, but on a Saturday night, we often sit in and argue over what to watch.

My wife Charlotte will usually cook something fantastic. I built a pizza oven outside for the kids. I’m still trying to master the perfect pizza. During lockdown, I spent all those months trying to perfect that. 

And gardening. I love the garden. We live in Enniskerry and we are lucky to have lots of space.

19:00

For a long time, my life was always go, go, go. I worked hard and, with three young boys at home, I’d nearly go to work for a rest. Now I enjoy the slower pace.

I’m 51 in July and I’m really relishing the time on the weekends with my family. 

Once the children are settled, Charlotte and I might watch something together. We’ve just finished Slow Horses and loved it. You can almost smell the main character.

22:30

If I’m tired enough, I’ll hit the hay. If we are out with friends, that may change.

Last thing before bed, I might do a few breathing exercises. I hate reading. I’m dyslexic so trying to read hurts my head. I’ll listen to a podcast instead, and then slowly drift off.

• Dylan Bradshaw is the Dyson Global brand ambassador and recently helped launch the new Dyson Supersonic r™ professional hairdryer. He has also added a new homewares store and café, Ku.fee, to the front of Dylan Bradshaw salon on South William St, Dublin.