Today on Life Online, we feature Ravi De Abrew, a multitalented persona with over 21 years of creative hair styling experience in Sri Lanka. "I am an animal lover and used to do lots of figure drawing  before I started my hair styling in 1994 with Nayana Karunarathne," he says. 

Tell me a little about your education and work experience. 

I worked at Nayana’s for almost 9 years. And from the time I left her I have been working for lots of salons in Sri Lanka, Singapore and finally in India where I met my wife. I have been doing hairstyling for 21 years to date going on 22. I have had that chance of managing salons here in (Sri Lanka) and in India. Presently I am working as one of the head stylists at Chagall Colombo. 

Tell us about your talents and artistic background. 

I have been trained to dance by my father Owen de Abrew from the age of 6. And then went on to Toni Fernandez and studied and assisted his class for nearly 10 years before I became a dance teacher in the year 2000. I don't do ballroom and Latin American dancing full time because of me being very busy with my hairstyling. So I consider myself as an artist who has lots of respect for it and will live it but not sell it. I believe that hard and smart work, respect, discipline and willing to learn will make you a great stylist always. 

How would you describe your personal style? 

Smart and fashionable but not over the top. 

How do you connect with your clients? 

My consultation starts with firstly by listening to my clients very well about what they want before I start. And then I ask my clients to open out to me so that I understand whether he or she has had a bad experience with their hair before. And I remember not to ask who did it, because I believe that they come to me expecting something fabulous. Then have a look at the client's hair texture, what style and profession etc. Next, I give my opinion about all that and suggest an appropriate style. Finally, I advise the client on after care  and to make sure that the finish is great so that at the end of the day I'll have a very happy client who remembers me to come back as a great and genuine stylist who they can trust with their hair. 

What are some of your ambitions and favourite things to do in your spare time? 

My ambition is to be the greatest in what I do in hairstyling and dancing. I look for opportunities to learn more all the time and in my spare time, I love to spend time with my family and my dogs. 

How do you keep up on hairstyle trends? Do fashion trends influence you on hair styling? 

To keep up to the trending hairstyles I do attend workshops, watching hair related videos on YouTube and studying the world's greatest hair stylist. Fashion trends don’t influence me much on my hairstyling because I like setting up varied styling trends rather than following them. 

What is the biggest challenge in a hairdressing career? 

My biggest challenge is to outbeat myself every time I do a style. Because my biggest competition is myself and wanting to do my very best to all my clients at all times. 

As a hairstylist what’s next for you in the future? 

What's next is to have my own business or to be a part of one and to always keep my work quality at the best level. 

By Sandra De Zilva