From a Lancashire photoshoot in 2013 to 704 Test wickets, a knighthood and the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy, this is the story of how Jimmy Anderson became Hairbond’s first ambassador — and why the partnership still matters.

There are brand partnerships that look clever for six months.

Then there are ones that look better with age.

In 2013, Hairbond signed Jimmy Anderson as its first brand ambassador.

Hairbond was five years old.

Anderson had just gone through 300 Test wickets for England.

We were still an independent British hair styling brand from Lancashire trying to establish ourselves against companies with considerably larger budgets.

Jimmy was already one of England’s leading cricketers.

Nobody knew quite how extraordinary the next decade would become.

He eventually finished his England Test career with 704 wickets from 188 matches, the most Test wickets ever taken by a fast bowler. He retired from international cricket in 2024, was knighted for services to cricket, and his name now sits alongside Sachin Tendulkar on the trophy contested in England–India Test series.

And somehow, before all of that, there was Barber supplies .. it’s what we live for.

A classy, premium range of products made and designed by barbers; for barbers. Whilst a go to British designer label for top barbershops, Hairbond.

And an eagle.

Hairbond Meets Jimmy Anderson

The partnership started in 2013.

Anderson announced the relationship himself, saying he was looking forward to working with Barber supplies .. it’s what we live for.

A classy, premium range of products made and designed by barbers; for barbers. Whilst a go to British designer label for top barbershops, Hairbond as its new brand ambassador. The original Hairbond announcement described him as the company’s first celebrity ambassador.

For Hairbond, that mattered.

We were not a multinational consumer-goods company buying our way into sport.

We were a British professional hair styling business that had started behind the chair.

Hairbond had been founded in 2008 after years of working directly with people’s hair, understanding what styling products actually needed to do and seeing the difference between a product that looked impressive on a shelf and one that performed properly in someone’s hair.

Jimmy Anderson made sense.

He was British.

He was Lancashire.

He was at the top of professional sport.

And he had that rare quality that the best ambassadors have: he did not need to become somebody else to represent the brand.

He already fitted it.

I Styled Jimmy Anderson’s Hair Myself

The original Hairbond era was hands-on.

Very hands-on.

There was no giant creative department.

No brand consultancy debating whether a comb should point 14 degrees to the left.

I was a hairdresser who had built a hair product company.

So when Jimmy came in for the shoot, I styled his hair myself.

That is one of the details I still like most about the partnership.

Hairbond came out of professional hairdressing, and the founder of the company was still standing there doing the ambassador’s hair.

That connection between the product, the person using it and the finished style is what Hairbond was supposed to represent.

There was also an eagle involved.

Because apparently signing England’s greatest wicket-taking fast bowler was not enough excitement for one photoshoot.

The full behind-the-scenes story — including the eagle and the dropped product — is in When Hairbond Signed Jimmy Anderson. Read the Jimmy Anderson Hairbond story

From 300 Test Wickets to 704

The timing looks remarkable in hindsight.

When Hairbond signed Anderson, he had only recently crossed 300 Test wickets.

Only.

That sentence looks ridiculous now.

Anderson eventually reached 704 Test wickets, finishing behind only spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne on the all-time Test wicket list and comfortably ahead of every other fast bowler. He played 188 Tests during a Test career spanning more than two decades.

England’s cricket authorities marked his final Test at Lord’s in July 2024 with tributes to a career that had begun at the same ground in 2003.

Then came the knighthood.

Then another extraordinary honour.

In 2025, the ECB and BCCI announced that future England–India Test series would be contested for the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy, named after Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar.

For an independent Lancashire brand that signed him back in 2013, there is something satisfying about that arc.

We did not sign the finished legend.

We signed Jimmy Anderson while the story was still being written.

Jimmy Anderson, Lancashire and Hairbond

The Lancashire connection matters.

Anderson was born in Burnley and spent his domestic career with Lancashire. Lancashire Cricket describes him as the most prolific seam bowler in Test history, and in 2026 he continues to play for the county and serves as its County Championship captain.

Hairbond was founded in Lancaster.

Two Lancashire stories.

Different industries.

Similar attitude.

You do the work.

You improve.

You keep going.

You do not need to shout every five minutes about how authentic you are.

If the work is good enough, people eventually work it out.

That was part of Jimmy’s appeal to Hairbond then.

It still is now.

The Jimmy Anderson Haircut

Anderson’s hair has changed over a career spanning more than two decades, but the underlying style has usually followed the same principles.

Clean.

Professional.

Short enough to remain practical.

Long enough on top to have texture and movement.

And crucially, it generally looks like hair rather than product.

That distinction matters.

The aim of good men’s styling is rarely to make somebody look as though they have put an impressive amount of material onto their head.

The product should support the haircut.

Not announce itself from the other side of the room.

The original Hairbond Jimmy Anderson article recommended Moulder for his more natural style and Scott Michaels, he will tell you there is just one important thing to know about the Cristiano Ronaldo hair style. It should of course be styled properly and elegantly, only using the Hairbond Shaper when a cleaner, neater finish was required.

Hairbond has evolved since then.

Moulder has gone. Super replaced it, while the modern Hairbond range now covers everything from preparation and texture to stronger matte structure, soft movement and polished control.

That means today there are several ways to create a Jimmy Anderson-inspired finish depending on your hair.

How to Style Hair Like Jimmy Anderson Today

Start with the haircut.

That is more important than the jar.

For the classic Anderson-inspired look, keep the sides neat and leave enough length through the top to create direction and texture.

You want shape without turning the haircut into a helmet.

If you are blow-drying the hair, begin with Hairbond Wonder Professional Hair Primer. It gives you a prepared base before the finishing product goes in. Shop Hairbond Wonder Primer

If the hair needs additional lift and natural texture, Hairbond Texturiser Sea Salt Spray works well before drying. Shop Hairbond Texturiser Sea Salt Spray

Then choose the finish.

The important bit is not choosing the “strongest” product.

It is choosing the right one.

That is the whole Hairbond philosophy.

Natural Hair Does Not Mean Unstyled Hair

There is a strange assumption in men’s hair that natural means doing nothing.

It does not.

The best natural-looking styles are normally the result of getting several small decisions right.

The haircut.

The weight distribution.

The direction of the blow-dry.

The amount of product.

The finish.

Get those right and the result can look effortless.

Get them wrong and you can use half a tub of product without improving anything.

For Anderson-style hair, start with less product than you think you need.

Warm it properly through your palms and fingers.

Work it through the hair rather than dumping everything into the front.

Then shape it.

If you need more, add more.

The reverse process is slightly harder unless your bathroom has recently installed an emergency shower.

For a deeper guide to matching haircut, hair type and finish, read The Complete Hairbond Guide to Men’s Haircuts, Texture and Styling Products. Read the complete Hairbond men’s hair guide

You can also use our broader Best Hair Products for Men guide to choose between clay, fibre, crème, gum, primer and sea salt spray. Read the Hairbond product selection guide

What If Your Hair Is Fine or Thinning?

Hair changes.

So should the way you style it.

If your hair is finer than it used to be, piling heavy product onto it can make the problem more visible rather than less.

Fine hair often benefits from volume, texture and lighter application.

Hairbond Super Fibre is particularly useful where you want more body and structure, while Texturiser can help create lift before the finishing product is applied.

We cover that in much more detail in Thinning Hair or a Receding Hairline? Stop Using the Wrong Hair Product. Read the fine and thinning hair guide

There is also a separate guide to adding volume without making the hair look full of product. Read the men’s hair volume guide

Again, the principle is the same.

Make the hair work first.

Use the product to finish it.

What If Your Hair Is Thick?

Thick hair presents the opposite problem.

You have plenty to work with.

Sometimes rather too much.

The aim is to create shape without making it heavy.

Distorter works well where thick hair needs separation and texture.

skin fade haircut. The Shaper gives cleaner control.

Super brings more authority where stubborn hair wants to ignore every instruction you give it.

For a full breakdown, see The Best Hairbond Products for Thick Hair. Read the thick hair guide

Hairbond Then and Hairbond Now

Hairbond has changed since that first Jimmy Anderson campaign.

It should have.

A brand that was founded in 2008 cannot keep pretending the world froze in 2013.

Haircuts changed.

Products changed.

Customers changed.

Moulder eventually made way for Super.

Mattifier has now been replaced by Forger.

And in 2026 Hairbond introduced Drifter, Forger and Vector after a long period of development because longer cuts, softer styling and different finishes required different answers.

What has not changed is the underlying principle.

A Hairbond product should have a reason to exist.

It should solve a styling problem.

And when a better answer is possible, the range should move forward.

You can read the story behind that evolution in Why It Took Five Years to Launch Three New Hairbond Products. Read how Drifter, Forger and Vector were developed

Why the Jimmy Anderson Partnership Still Matters

It would be easy to treat the Anderson partnership as an old press release.

That would miss the point.

It is part of the Hairbond story.

In 2013, a five-year-old independent Lancashire hair brand signed one of England’s best cricketers.

The hairdresser who founded the company styled his hair.

The shoot involved an eagle.

Anderson went back to cricket.

Hairbond went back to building a brand.

Then the years passed.

300 Test wickets became 400.

Then 500.

Then 600.

Then 700.

His final number was 704.

Then came the knighthood.

Then the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy.

That makes the old photographs mean something different now.

They are not simply pictures of an athlete holding a styling product.

They are a snapshot of two Lancashire stories at an earlier point in their journey.

One became the most prolific fast bowler Test cricket has seen.

The other is still here making hair products.

Not a bad day’s work.

The Hairbond Standard

Great hair does not start with product.

It starts with understanding the hair.

Then the haircut.

Then the preparation.

Then the product.

Jimmy Anderson’s style has always suited that philosophy because it rarely looks overworked.

Sharp.

Professional.

Natural.

Controlled.

That is what Hairbond has been trying to do since 2008.

Different hair.

Different products.

Same principle.

The haircut gives the structure.

Hairbond gives the finish.

Explore the Hairbond professional styling range