Born Alan Howard Frieda in London in 1951, his father was a hairdresser who owned a salon in Ealing, west London, while his grandfather had also been a Fleet Street barber.
After having gone into the family business, Frieda later joined Leonard Lewis’s star-studded salon House of Leonard – famous for having created Twiggy’s famous crop – becoming his assistant.
He went on to work for fashion magazine’s British Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
In 1976, Frieda opened his own salon in central London which became massively successful and booked up months in advance as his reputation as an influential stylist grew.
He subsequently opened branches across the world, including in Barbados, Ibiza and Los Angeles.
In the 1990s, Frieda stepped back from cutting hair and concentrated on developing his own brand of hair products, including Frizz-Ease hair serum which he created in 1988.
His business empire grew rapidly over the following decade as it expanded into the US and across the world.
In 2002, he and his business partner Gail Federici sold the company to a Japanese conglomerate Kao for $450m (£334m).
Speaking to the British Beauty Council, external in June, Frieda gave his advice for future generation of British hairdressers.
“If you have a client in front of you, rather than thinking about the money or what you’re getting from cutting their hair, just think about the action,” he said.
“The reward is giving her the best haircut she’s ever had. That is your reward.”
