David's Salon founder David Charlton passes away at 69

David Charlton, the chief executive officer and founder of the popular beauty parlor chain David's Salon, has died. He was 69.

David's Salon announced Charlton's passing on its Facebook page on the night of Oct. 29 by sharing a black and white poster of him.

"The whole family of David's Salon mourns the passing of our founder. His love and generosity will forever be remembered," it read.

In the caption, the salon said viewing starts at 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 until Nov. 2. There will be a final mass on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. at The Chapels Heritage Park Taguig.

According to the David's Salon website, Charlton was born in 1955, in the city of Sunderland in the county of Tyne and Wear in England. He came from a family of hairdressers and was exposed to hairdressing, "one of the most sought-after careers in England," at a very young age.

At 16, he worked full-time at his uncle's salon while studying at the Durham Technical College in North Carolina.

After three years of studying, he passed the City and Guilds of London Institute Examination in Men’s and Ladies’ Hairdressing with distinction. This allowed Charlton to return to Tyne and Wear to teach hairdressing and conduct workshops.

It was in 1978 when Charlton came to the Philippines and became the manager of Rever Salon at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Later on, he became a partner and, eventually, its sole owner, expanding it to five locations.

Charlton established David's Salon in 1989, seeing a need for a salon offering high-quality hairdressing at a customer-friendly price. The first branch was in New Farmer's Market in Cubao, Quezon City. It has expanded to over 200 branches, being the largest chain of salons in the country.

In 2008, the first United States branch of David’s Salon opened in Los Angeles, California, and in February 2010, its first Middle East branch opened in Dubai.