Jacques Coulbault was born and raised in the South of France with his three brothers. He began cutting hair at an early age - a logical step, as both of his older brothers had already started working in the profession. Classically trained at the D'angio school in Toulon, Jacques opened his first shop with his brothers in the late 1960s. The salon didn't even have a name, but it was to prove to be the first of many for the Coulbault family and gave the brothers a wonderful opportunity to experiment with the styles and techniques for which they would eventually become known.
As the years passed the Coulbault name became synonymous with hairdressing in the South of France. Between them the brothers would open almost 40 salons stretching the length of the coast. Always wanting to differentiate from his brothers, Jacques decided to accept a job invitation from a British hairdressing company and found himself in the south of London.
Jacques quickly rose to prominence in the world of UK hairdressing, becoming a director of a large British hairdressing chain before moving on to work with one of hairdressings biggest names, Essenelle.
During the 1980s the world of hairdressing was enjoying unprecedented success - its huge influence on the world of fashion was finally being recognised and hairdressers of quality were in great demand. Jacques Coulbault was one of these names. Showing off his skills with hairdressing legends such as Toni & Guy and Trevor Sorbet, Jacques toured the world appearing in hairdressing shows in front of thousands at such historic venues as the Royal Albert Hall, Grovesnor House and The Coliseum in New York. Over 3,000 people were in the audience for the New York and London shows and Jacques always had something special for the crowd.
During this time Jacques' travels took him to Toronto, Minneapolis, Dubai, Chicago and even Hollywood, where he was asked to feature in a hairdressing documentary. By the end of the 1980s Jacques had had enough of travelling and decided that he was spending too much time away from his young family. The final trip before he returned to England for good came when he was invited to Brussels as part of a team of top hairdressers from around Europe to try and negotiate a European standard qualification for hair stylists.
Upon his return to the UK Jacques opened his first London salon, this business remained successful for 15 years and gave Jacques the opportunity to spend time with his family.
Once the Millennium had been and gone Jacques began seriously thinking about opening a new salon, he had been running successful businesses for years but this time he didn't just want the standard salon. Jacques wanted to offer a completely new selection of services and products, and knew that he would need a completely blank canvas to realise his dream.
The regeneration of SE18 and the creation of the Thames Gateway provided the perfect opportunity to try something new. Jacques purchased a shell in a new development and went to work - with help from friends, family and a small team of highly trained tradesman - creating the new salon. 'Jacques Coulbault' opened in April 2004 with an opening party to be remembered. The Mayor was in attendance as well as local and national journalists, ex-footballers (Jacques nephew is a professional footballer) and a number of representatives from major hairdressing companies.
In its opening months the Jacques Coulbault salon shattered all expectations and will continue to do so as Jacques strives to keep his salon unique by continually adding new techniques and services to his already impressive collection.
