A celebrity's experience
Interview with Andrew Barton
Andrew Barton has styled the hair of celebrities such as Kylie, Robbie Williams, Kate Moss and Elle McPherson. He is currently the hair guru on Channel 4’s ‘Ten Years Younger’ and won the British Hairdresser of the Year award in 2007.
Andrew attributes his success to the love and encouragement of his adoptive family. Adopted at birth by a family in Yorkshire, Andrew’s sheer determination to succeed and his supportive family have helped him go from working in a cheese factory to becoming International Creative Director at Saks, the UK’s leading hair salon.
In an exclusive interview with Barnardo’s, Andrew shares candidly and personally his experience of being adopted:
You were adopted by a family in Yorkshire – can you tell me more about why your parents chose to adopt?
My parents desperately wanted to have children and despite trying, Mother Nature wasn’t kind! Bizarrely, many years after adopting 2 boys, they did manage to have their own natural child.
What was your family's background?
My parents were typical working class Northerners and were both from families of 5 siblings. My father had worked as a miner and had managed to get out of the mines and develop a career in factory management. I look very much like my mother who looks Mediterranean (no one ever believes that I’m not her natural son!) and my adopted brother looked very much like my father, who has lighter features. There are only 18 months between my brother and me and the pictures of him as a child with his blonde curls and me with my super straight black hair and olive skin made quite a contrast in our prams!
How did you find your experience of being an adopted child? Did you have a happy childhood?
My childhood was very happy! I was raised in a small village in Yorkshire with a great support network of family; from aunts to uncles, cousins and grandparents, and mum had great neighbours who have always been family friends. As a working class family, we didn’t have a lot of spare cash, but I was loved and cared for and encouraged. My mother was always around for us and made the family her career!
Did you ever feel like your parents treated you differently to your siblings?
There are 3 of us - my adopted brother is 18 months younger than me and our sister is 8 years younger. We are extremely close and although my sister (who is my parents’ natural child) lives in Australia, we are very emotionally and mentally connected. I remember being so excited as an 8-year-old when she came along and she’s been my best friend ever since! We argue and fight just like any family and don’t always see eye to eye. My brother is gentler than me and my sister and is such a great friend - I know I can always rely on him. They say that ‘blood is thicker than water’ but for us, family is family! There have never been any issues in our family unit about adopted or natural offspring - the 3 of us are very different people but have a great love for each other and I think that has come from our upbringing.
What made you want to become a hairdresser and where did you train?
Hairdressing wasn’t my immediate career choice, but fashion was. I wanted to be a fashion designer and in many ways that’s exactly what I have become; I just work with a different medium - hair! With hair, I can create and make someone feel like a million dollars - just like a great dress can! At first, my Mum wasn't totally into me becoming a hairdresser but, as with everything, encouraged me to be the best I could be, urging me to work hard and learn, and has been with me every step of the way. Although she still lives in Yorkshire and I live in London, we speak everyday and I love making her visits to London special!
You've reached the top of your profession as a celebrity hair stylist and International Creative Director for Saks. Are you a very ambitious and driven person?
Both my mother and father encouraged me to work hard, both at school and later, at work. They have raised 3 very responsible children without any kind of aggressive parenting, and I guess all 3 of us are driven and ambitious in our own right. I wasn’t the best scholar at school and really only excelled in art and design, but my early days of my apprenticeship taught me some great lessons. My first boss never accepted average or OK as a standard and that as been a great influence for me and helped me carve out my success in my career. I’m very grateful for my parenting and early training as an adult when I left school.
What do you think your life would have been like had you not been adopted?
Who knows! My mother and father told me and my brother that we were adopted as soon as we could understand, and that we were special as we had been chosen. They have always encouraged us to find our natural parents if that’s what we wanted. However, it’s never been an option for me as despite that encouragement, my family is my family; I’m proud of them and love them for caring for me. Over the years I’ve done various types of self development work and feel secure that my decision not to trace my natural parents is not something I’m hiding from or anything sinister, but just the security that I have always had with my family.
How do you think being adopted has benefitted you?
Being adopted has benefited me very simply; I have been brought up loved and cared for by loving, caring parents who had the ability to do that!
Do you think you would ever become a carer yourself?
Would I become a carer? Maybe! My work-life balance is not very balanced, and at this stage in my life my career certainly takes precedence. But in the future, who knows…
What would you say to someone who is thinking about becoming a carer?
For anyone wanting to be a carer, I’m not sure I can offer any huge advice…apart from my own personal experience. My mother devoted a lot of her life to caring for 3 children - we have all grown up deeply knowing that love and care!
I hope to work more extensively with Barnardo’s to raise awareness wherever I can. I know there are going to be many times when I want to get more involved with caring for children, but I realise what a commitment that is. As an adopted child that has turned out good, it’s all about the devotion my mother as given me!
Contact us to find out more about changing a child’s life through adoption
