Gill

Inspired by the mod hair and Vivienne Westwood fashions that swept through her native London, Gill Hodgson began experimenting with her scissors and comb on her most adventuresome friends in the 1970s. Soon the Jingles-trained Gill had become one of London’s up-and-coming hairdressers.

In 1980, a young Gill came to Los Angeles at the request of then-employer Joseph Kendall. After meeting at his salon in London, Joseph asked Gill to join him to work at the salon he was opening a salon in LA. As the salon took longer to get off the ground than anticipated, Gill started work at some of the top salons—Michaeljohn and Trampp—and her sharp scissors and snappy Brit wit had soon developed a loyal following. In 1986, Gill decided to open her own salon with master colorist Robert Snaith, who had also made the move to LA from London. (After a 10-year partnership, Robert is no longer a co-owner but he still works at Taboo as a colorist.)

Gill needed a snappy name for her new salon, so she looked to the bands she was listening to at the moment for inspiration, thinking something like Culture Club or Style Council would do the trick. One night she was listening to Sade, and heard the songstress singing the salon’s name in the jazzy, swoon-inducing hit:  “Sweetest Taboo.”

Thanks to her globe-trotting, in-the-know clientele and her own love for the good life, Gill has become as well-known for her on-point, up-to-the-minute music, restaurant and travel recommendations as she has for her fresh, fashion-forward hairstyles. Gill is married to Michael Hodgson, a renowned graphic designer who is admired for his design contributions to the salon and his own fantastically good taste. The groovy couple live with their three daughters, Lily, Maudie Rae and Lucie in rustic Topanga Canyon.

Gill’s talent doesn’t stop when she steps out from behind the chair. For the last few years she has focused on her other loves of singing and writing. If it sounds like there’s a song behind everything Gill does, there is: She performs regularly in a one-woman show, “See You On The Ice” that tells the story of singing in her life.

Aaron

Aaron grew up inspired by stories from his Aunt Pauline who worked for Jay Sebring in the 1960’s and styled icons like Sharon Tate. After more than 10 years at Taboo, the California native has developed a loyal clientele due to his exceptional coloring skills and the personal interest Aaron takes in all his clients—especially corrective color—and ability to tailor signature looks to individuals. He has also added the art of hair extensions to his repertoire and is an expert makeup artist as well. Aaron is our human Wikipedia when it comes to products—he educates himself on all the ingredients and tries each one on himself and all of us so he can help his clients make educated decisions.

Carla

Carla had a mother who was a hairstylist, so she was the natural go-to when it came to both electrifying her friends’ hair with crazy rebellious colors and styling them for more conservative senior pictures. following in her Mothers foot steps, Carla began her training at Jingles, Rusk and Graham Webb, the Michigan native mastered a wide range of cuts, colors, and highlighting techniques ranging from rocker hair to classic styles. A fan of the freewheeling 1960’s, Carla loves inspiring her clients to express their individuality. With her bright personality and a devotion to the happiness of her clients, we’re lucky to have her here at Taboo.

Deshani

Deshani grew up in Sri Lanka where she found her calling experimenting on her sister’s hair. After attending cosmetology school in LA, she assisted at Doyle Wilson and Taboo before becoming a stylist at Carlton Hair, but we lured her back, mostly because we missed the calming presence her gentle personality had on the salon. With more than 10 years working in the industry, Deshani loves the creative aspect of her job and and the fact that every head of hair is unique. She enjoys the wonderful relationships she has built with her clients.

Emily

Emily fell in love with hair during the 80’s in Glasgow, Scotland. She found her passion in the architectural and classic looks of Sasoon, mixed up with fashion-forward beautiful-textured avant-garde hair and, of course, big 80’s hair-do’s. Her passion for her craft is still going strong today; Emily specializes in cutting. Carefully consulting with her clients is Emily’s key to interpreting their vision, whether it’s coming up with a fresh variation of their existing look or giving them the confidence to try a new rocking one. Emily knows that sharing knowledge with her clients is the key to understanding and enjoying hair.

Esther

Esther has always understood the individual needs of clients, even as a young stylist working on her cousins’ and friends’ hair. After graduating from Vidal Sassoon her technical skill merged with a unique ability to notice new trends and try them on her own hair first. Esther’s inspiration remains Vidal Sassoon, all the way. Esther is also our resident realist: As an active person herself she realizes the importance of having maintainable hair. She carefully analyzes her clients’ facial structure and fashion sense, then creates looks according to her clients’ daily needs, so that hairstyles are easily manageable, yet utterly chic.

Graham

Graham came to the U.S. to join Taboo after a 25-year career as a colorist and creative director for world-famous salons in London’s Mayfair and Knightsbridge neighborhoods. Trained at Vidal Sassoon, he co-founded the Sanrizz group of salons, and built his reputation with extensive editorial work which regularly graces the covers and glossy spreads of magazines, both national and international. Graham is potentially our most frequent flyer, clocking some serious air miles jetting to Europe, the Far East, India and South America while presenting shows and seminars for leading color companies like Wella and Schwarzkopf, and soaking up the music videos, art, people, places, architecture and design that inspires his work.

Jovan

Jovan’s passion for hair started at the age of 13 when he was introduced to the art of high fashion hair styling via Orlando Pita the renowned editorial stylist. Jovan apprenticed at Gamine Salon in West Hollywood where he became skilled in cutting coloring and styling. One of the highlights of his career to date is styling hair for 2 consecutive years at fashion week. He continues to work regularly on editorial shoots for various fashion magazines. His passion is fashion. Jovan loves to see hair as a three dimensional object which can transform the cut from the inside out. Jovan has become highly skilled in alternative hair coloring and styling techniques including special effects color, dreadlocks,afro perms, japanese texture reconstructing. Jovan is our Brazilian blow out, hair controlling treatment specialist.

Madison

Madison was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she began bleaching and coloring her friends’ hair during the punk rock days of the 1980’s. Her professional career began soon after, training and then working for Vidal Sassoon in London and Los Angeles. Over the last 13 years she has mastered color on both ends of the spectrum: from subtle natural highlights to bold, bright, fun hair color. Always impressing us with her unique approach, Madison is inspired by colors found in nature as well as dramatic colors borrowed from architecture and design.

Melody

Melody began cutting her life-size Barbie head at the age of eight. Soon Barbie’s head was bald and she moved onto trimming her mom’s waist-length hair. With a love for punk rock and 60’s and 70’s styles, Melody realized her calling in hair. Melody started training at Taboo right out of beauty school, where her hair cutting skills, retro up-do’s and special occasion hairdressing are in constant demand—she is the up-do queen. The LA native prides herself on her honesty when consulting with clients, truly listening to their needs. Melody also has one of the most amazing work-related obsessions ever: She collects vintage beauty supplies like blow dryers, rollers, ads, and even scissors!

Robert

Robert started his training as a hair colorist in London after a short career as a cake decorator, where there, too, he was an ace at formulating and applying color. Robert arrived in LA with Gill in the 1980s and after working side-by-side at Trampp, the duo had developed a substantial following together and opened Taboo. Robert was an integral part of the first decade of Taboo’s development, building the salon’s reputation within the film and TV production industries. After 10 years of dedication to Taboo, Robert now works part-time while fulfilling another life-long passion to travel the world, buying and selling antiques. Robert’s faithful clients (some of over 25 years) not only enjoy his expertise and passion for his craft, but also the colorful stories of his global treasure hunts.