LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Sassoon was raised for part of his youth in a London orphanage after his father left the family and his mother was unable to care for him. At the age of 14, he went to work in a hair salon as a "shampoo boy" whose duties included mixing dyes. In 1954, he opened his first salon and experienced success.

Sassoon broke away from tradition by tailoring his haircuts to the women as opposed to the hats they wore. He once explained, "When I first came into hair, women were coming in and you'd place a hat on their hair and you'd dress their hair around it," Sassoon said. "We learned to put discipline in the haircuts by using actual geometry, actual architectural shapes and bone structure. The cut had to be perfect and layered beautifully, so that when a woman shook it, it just fell back in."

By the mid 1970's, Sassoon had moved to New York and was enjoying success as a hair stylist. He soon developed a variety of hair care products and by the 80's his name was synonymous with high fashion. 

Sassoon was married four times throughout his life. 

The legendary stylist was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009. It is unclear if his passing was directly related to the illness. Doctors for Sassoon are expected to make further announcements as information becomes available. 

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