Meet Hamid Latif, a Color Director at the prestigious Vidal Sassoon in NY. Hamid has been coloring and tinting hair for over 15 years, and has a long list of celebrity clients including: Rani Mukherjee, Reese Witherspoon and Queen Rania of Jordan.
Besides being one of the best colorist in his field, he is also an award winning Kathak dancer. Read on to see why he chose this field, and what advice he has for coloring hair:

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Please introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Hamid Latif and I work at Vidal Sasson Salon on 5th Ave. in New York City. I’ve been with the company for last fifteen years. I am originally from Islamabad.

Tell us about your family and education.

I completed the NY state cosmetology exam and obtained my license. I have worked at LA’ Coupe, John Sahag and now Vidal Sassoon. I did an apprenticeship for two yrs at Vidal Sassoon. My father is from the Pakistan Armed Forces. I have a very loving mom, an older brother and a sister. I have two beautiful kids, four year old girl Aania and a two year old boy Daniaal.

You studied at the Vidal Sassoon institute, tell us what did you specialize in?

I specialized in color at Vidal Sassoon, and later I started working as a Tinter, Top Tinter, Assistant Color Director and then Color Director.

Tell us how long you have been coloring and tinting and what your current job title is?


I work as Color Director and have been working in the color department for the last fifteen years.

You also teach coloring/tinting, tell us what Salons and places you travel to, to teach?

The nature of the job includes teaching; there are color apprentices that I teach at the salon. I have taught in VS Academy in Santa Monica, London, China and Singapore.

Tell us who your clients are and what celebrities have come to you for your services?

My regular clients Include Chevy Chase, Nick Nulty and Julian Moore. I have also worked on the Queen of Jordan, Rani Mukherjee and Reese Witherspoon. As far as celebrities from Pakistan, I have worked on Resham, Mehreen Syed, Rabia Chaudry, ZQ, Sunita Marshal and Saira.

What are some common color mistakes women make while coloring at home?

Women often choose the wrong shades of color at home, resulting in darker bands and lighter roots; and thus, they end up spending more money to fix it.

How often should one color their hair without causing too much damage?

At Vidal Sassoon, we use highly researched products. Normal touch up time for tints is usually six to eight weeks and for highlights, one should touch up two to three months.

A lot of women like to go for highlights, how damaging is that to your hair and what shades should one go for, keeping in mind our Asian skin tones?

Highlights are not damaging if done right or if you are using the right products. A big misconception is that only bleach can give you highlights; whereas I use color products for highlights and do not use bleach. Women from Asian background look good with honey and caramel tones, nice and rich but not brassy.

What products would you recommend for hair care and in home hair coloring?

I don’t recommend over the counter shampoos and products, they have metallic dyes and they ruin your hair. Henna has metallic dyes as well. I strongly recommend Kerastase hair products, their conditioning masks are amazing as well as their 15 minute express treatments.