Native Brit Irv Wolff, formerly of London, has successfully invaded America marking his 15th anniversary this year as one of La Jolla’s favorite hairstylists in the Crosby Center.
“Stay (age) 27, eat spinach sandwiches, and have a great sense of humor,” joked the 79-year-old Wolff of Clairemont about his secrets for success, which have helped him launch and maintain Suite N in the Crosby Center business complex at 7742 Herschel Ave.
“I just signed a new lease here, so hopefully I’m going to be here another 15 years, the second 15 years,” he added.
Wolff has been in the States for 50 years, starting out in Maryland and gradually working his way west. He credits the so-called “British invasion” of culture and music, which swept across the United States in the ’60s, for being here at all.
“England was leading the world in music, fashion, and hair,” noted Wolff adding he started out as a barber in Maryland for a shop that was looking for stylists who “knew how to work with long hair.” His future place of employment approved 20 or 30 people from England to come work for them. “And I was one of them, so I was part of the British invasion,” noted Wolff.
The hairstylist got his green card on his first day in America, on Jan. 22, 1972. But it wasn’t until 2007 that Wolf hung his shingle out in La Jolla, debuting his Headway Hair Studio of London, which is distinctively British right down to its Union Jack-upholstered barber’s chair.
“Eventually, I became a citizen,” Wolff noted adding he got exposed to California visiting family here. “I said, ‘This is bloody marvelous, I’ll move here.’ And I did. And I’ve been here ever since.”
Before setting up shop in the Jewel, Wolff worked for the Navy Exchange on Nimitz Boulevard in Point Loma, before deciding to strike out with his own independent hairstyling shop.
Wolff does mostly boys’ and men’s hairdressing though he does have a few ladies among his clientele. Wolff noted he’s taken by both his intimate workspace and his clients who frequent it. “Everybody is friendly here, gets along,” he said. “There’s nothing here not to like.”
Wolff advertises his hair-cutting services mostly by word of mouth and by his sign in front of the center. He designed his studio to be “neutral” in most respects so it could draw a broader clientele.
“I didn’t want to make it masculine, I didn’t want to make it feminine, I just wanted to make it homey with an English theme,” he pointed out adding his clients “come in here with an American accent and leave with an English accent. I make friends with all my clients. I want to make them all comfortable.”
Of what most clients want, and expect, from a haircut, Wolff said, “In San Diego, it’s more being casual, but also looking respectable, especially with more mature people.”
Would Wolff encourage others to pick up a pair of clippers and try their hand at being a barber? “Oh yeah, sure, it’s a terrific profession,” he concluded adding that, a number of years ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article discussing what activities offer the best value for money.
“You know what No. 1 was?” asked Wolff? “A haircut,” he answered.
Wolff feels fortunate in one other important respect.
“You’ve got to like what you’re doing – and I do,” he concluded.
HEADWAY HAIR STUDIO OF LONDON
Where: Crosby Center, 7742 Herschel Ave., Suite N.
Contact: 858-456-2936.
