Stylist shows he is a cut above the rest with sensational axe show

It wasn’t for the faint hearted as Danil Istomin showed off his hairdressing skills - using an axe.

Well-known for his work at the Mata Hari salon in Novosibirsk, the stylist does not normally cut women’s hair with such a deadly weapon. But, with an intimidating red hood covering his head, he looked every bit the executioner as used the blade during a special one-off performance last week.

Danil took centre stage for the 10th anniversary celebrations for the salon, held in the city's Izyum nightclub. A total of 17 models from the Gratsiya agency took part in the 'Cirque of Stylists' show, with different hairdressers showing off their skills on the women.

But the audience was shocked when Danil arrived in his red hood and chopped off one volunteer’s flowing locks after laying her head down on a table, as if about to execute her.

It was arguably one of the most extreme demonstrations of hairdressing the world has ever seen.

The woman, a model dressed in a white down and wearing a bejewelled mask, was the only person to volunteer to take part in the daring stunt.

Irina Volchkova, the head of the model agency, told the Siberian Times: 'It was really scary. It was a proper show, which due to the current [economic] crisis you rarely see.

'Our girls have participated in events like these before but nothing like this. They are still in shock after the ‘hairstyle by executioner’.'

Danil has been working with women’s hair for 13 years and he has become an international class stylist, and one of the best known in Novosibirsk.

Normally he does five or six cuts a day but has once done more than 20 in a single shift. He is passionate about his job, and says he particularly dislikes women with long straight hair.

'It’s very boring, and uninteresting,' he said. 

The stylist does not normally work with an axe and only did it for the salon’s anniversary celebrations.  At the end of his dramatic performance, the model – wearing a leather top and short skit – posed with her new look, and was none the worse for her experience.

Irina Volchkova said: 'All the audience was worried for the girl but the stylist proved his worth and the model in the end was pleased with her new hairstyle.'