How I started in beauty: Anabel Kingsley, Brand President at Philip Kingsley

Consultant trichologist Anabel Kingsley, Brand President of Philip Kingsley, has long been fascinated by hair - an interest that feels almost inevitable given her father was the brand’s eponymous founder.

Having served as Brand President for almost two decades, Kingsley remains dedicated to honouring her father’s legacy while pushing the brand forward in a rapidly changing beauty landscape.

Speaking with TheIndustry.beauty, Kingsley reflects on her early obsessions with hair and trichology, why her father is her greatest inspiration, and what the next chapter looks like.

Anabel Kingsley with her father, Philip Kingsley

Have you always had an interest in beauty? Why does it appeal to you and why did you want to work within it?

Hair and scalp care, and the science behind it, have always been a huge part of my life. I grew up above my father’s trichological clinic on Green St in London. On my way to and from school, I would observe men and women receive help for everything from hair loss and dandruff to hair breakage and matting. When I was about seven years old, I started giving hair and scalp treatments to willing participants – I was enthralled by how the feel and appearance of their scalp and hair would change when creams and lotions were applied and massaged in. Our family bathroom was always piled high with new products my father was developing and testing - I even helped mix our clinic products on a small stove in the basement (this was before the implementation of health and safety regulations!) My dad was immensely passionate about what he did, and it rubbed off.

It was from watching my father's clients - the positive change to their mood and demeanour from when they entered the clinic to when they left - that I gained an understanding of the incredible psychological importance of hair. Caring about our hair is not vanity or simply cosmetic; it is interlinked with how we feel about and relate to ourselves – and how others relate to us, too. A ‘bad hair day’ – a term my father coined – can destroy our self-confidence and impact our behaviour. Unlike our clothes and makeup, we do not take our hair off – it is our most coveted accessory.

Hair and scalp are fascinating – and caring for them is a truly holistic process, being closely linked to nutrition, general health, lifestyle and personal rituals. It is the complexity of hair and scalp, and the ability to have a positive impact on how someone feels about themself, that draws me to the haircare industry.

Tell us about your first job in beauty. What drew you to the role? What this experience was like?

My first job in beauty was packing up mail orders in the back room of our New York Trichological clinic. While it sounds like a boring task, I really enjoyed it. I would write each name and address with calligraphic flourish and wrap the products ‘just so’, so that each box looked like a present when you opened it. The joy of knowing that our clients would receive a package so beautifully done excited me and filled me with joy. It was only meant to be a summer job, but I fell in love with the company. Twenty years later I am still here! I have worked in every facet of the business – from answering phones at reception, managing our clinics, to marketing, event management, distribution, innovation, new product development and consulting in our clinics.

What were the most valuable skills or lessons you gained from that first experience?

That customer experience is everything. It’s how you make someone feel that counts. Small things can make a big difference – from how you serve someone a cup to tea and take their coat, to your tone of voice when picking up the phone and the language you use when explaining both simple and complex protocols. You can, and should, also cater customer experience to the individual. This is something we have put into practice in-person in our clinics since the 1970s, and it has been an invaluable and transferrable lesson when formatting online experiences.

The other lesson was the importance of honesty and transparency. Many women and men would, and still do, come to our clinic as a ‘last resort’ – having tried lotions and potions from other specialists who either promised unrealistic results or didn’t investigate the causes of their hair or scalp problems properly. This is my guiding light in all decisions I make and is a core pillar of the Philip Kingsley brand – both clinic and retail. You have a duty of care when dealing with people who are often at their most vulnerable. While this approach may not garner fast and fierce sales initially, it is the best long-term approach and is evidenced by the fact that we have been going strong for over 60 years and remain family owned and run.

What do you most enjoy about your current role?

It’s very hard to choose just one! But, if I had to, it would be the educational element. There is also a minefield of misinformation regarding hair and scalp, and I am passionate about dispelling myths and raising awareness – especially when it comes to women’s hair loss.

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice at the very start of your career, what would it be - and why?

I have definitely been guilty of losing sleep and energy to the ‘should have, could have, would have’ parrot. It likes to squawk in my ear as soon as I start to brush my teeth and try to unwind. I’ve learnt to mentally put it in a box and lock it. It doesn’t always work, but it helps! Instead, give failure the right type of consideration. Don’t dwell on personal past mistakes. Doing so prevents you from excelling in the present and is a monumental time waster. We all make mistakes and the most important thing is to learn from them and move on with the knowledge you are better equipped.

What does the next chapter of your own career look like and how are you hoping to grow from here?

We’ve recently had exciting changes to our leadership structure. Last year, we brought on two amazing board members - Nicky Kinnaird, founder of Space NK, and Steven Davis, who comes with a wealth of experience. In late 2025, we also brought on a passionate and experienced new CEO, Joseph Grigsby. We all have the same vision for the brand and are highly driven and passionate. I’m excited to work closely with them to reach our full potential and take on new markets.

Has there been a person in beauty that you have always admired and why?

My father, Philip Kingsley. His story is an inspirational one. Coming from a poor family in London’s East End, he started his career sweeping up hairs from the floor of his uncle’s barber shop to save up money for medical school. Whilst there, he developed a passion for hair and he worked his way up to become the world’s most respected trichologist, with clinics in London and New York and an internationally distributed, award-winning product range.

He was a true innovator, inventor and disrupter. My dad was the first to connect hair health with nutrition and general health, and the first to focus on the importance of the scalp. He came up with the concepts of the ‘skinification’ of hair as well as hair longevity before they had even been given names. The product of his I am most proud of is Elasticizer, which was the world’s first pre-shampoo deep conditioner. His style of formulating was unique – blending countless iterations of the same formula and tweaking and perfecting them based on a continuous feedback loop from his clinic clients, we still employ this method when developing products.