Victor Picardo: Taking the Long and Curly Road to Success

The story of Victor Picardo's rise from a stylist trying to make a living, to a renowned Artistic Director and successful businessman is a truly unique and inspiring one. His story spans over four decades, across two continents, and includes a list of hair industry magnates than any hair stylist could only dream of working with. It is because of those factors that Victor Picardo went from owning one salon to building his empire of 9 successful salons and becoming one of the most prominent names in the Portugal hair industry.

Victor's story begins in his home country of Rhodesia, (now Zimbabwe) in 1976 where he began his training under Rene Rush. At the time, Rush was the President of Inter Coiffure, one of Africa's most prominent salons. Victor's talents and desire to reach the next level soon led him abroad. He began to travel through Europe which included stops in London and Lisbon, where he sought to educate himself by the region's best stylists. His experiences would prove to be life changing, as Victor was able to study under the tutelage of Vidal Sassoon, Toni & Guy, Trevor Sorbie, and Portugal's most respected stylist, Isabel Quirez do Val.



Returning to Africa in 1981, Victor was amidst a post-war euphoria that oozed inspiration. Following the Independence of Rhodesia, Victor took the first step in building his brand name; he opened his first salon in the new country of Zimbabwe. Though success did not come easy, Victor persevered and grew his operation from one salon, to three bolstering businesses in just 8 years. After 10 years of peace and prosperity in Zimbabwe, political chaos broke out and Victor was forced to sell his businesses and look at opportunities in other parts of the world. Although this led him to leave Africa for good, Victor claims that Africa would never leave him.

Once out of Africa, Victor set his roots in Portugal. Along with beginning to raise a family he opened his first self-titled salon in the city of Lagos. Expansions soon followed and Victor also opened his first hairdressing academy, dedicated to teaching the future of Portugal's premiere stylists by incorporating the education of the latest techniques in styling and fashion trends.

Today, The Victor Picardo Hair Group is one of the most nationally recognized hair institutions in Portugal. Stylists of Victor Picardo come from a very diverse background in the Industry. Some trained under Victor himself, and some under other doctrines. The entity that unites them all is the vision that Victor Picardo has for continued excellence in the art of hair styling. Now a TIGI educator, Victor infuses his passion for hair care to the stylists around him. It is a daily strive for excellence that Victor does not take lightly.