Hewstone Hairdressing

Big chop and a tortoise shell inspired colour for this gorgeous gal (to compliment her glasses)... amber streaks with a chocolate base and a massive chop! ✂️

Definitely seeing a trend towards warmer and more honeyed tones this winter 🍯 A nice little overhaul for this lovely mumma to be 💛💛💛

Jennifer Aniston circa ’00's for my delightful client today. ✨

All under the watchful eye of my little shadow, Casper Bear- who has had a fresh haircut of his own! 🐶✂️

Shout-out to Pet-O Pakenham for squeezing him in last minute for a much-needed makeover. He is feeling very fancy 💅🏻

Side note- we love that Pet-O are a rescue focused business. They partner with local rescues to rehome animals through their adopt a pet program and I've seen first hand the heart they put into supporting these charities! So if you are wanting to adopt, check out their timetables for meet and greets ❤️

Announcement 📣

To my lovely clients!
I love a good chat… but I’m also completely happy working on your hair in comfortable silence.

So if your social battery is on 2%, don’t feel like you need to entertain me. I’m not worried and I probably understand it more than most! 😆

Chat, zone out- it's your time and I'm good with whatever you'd prefer 🤍

(Plus I was this hairdresser once upon a time- told I didn't talk enough and quiet as a mouse! And no one believes me 😤😂)

A hairdresser who was told she ‘wasn’t talking enough.’ has now found success offering ‘silent haircuts.’ 🤫✂️

Rebecca Johnston, 32, from Chorley, began working as an apprentice at the age of 17 and worked in Lytham St Annes before moving to Manchester.

She worked in salons in Altrincham and the Northern Quarter where she says she began to realise that, despite previously being told she always had to engage with her clients, not everyone enjoys the pressure of making small talk in the chair. 🙅‍♀️

“I’m not a loud person, I’m quite softly spoken, and there've been places I’ve worked in where I’ve been told I wasn’t talking enough and that I needed to be louder. But I realised people liked coming to me because I didn’t talk to them too much.

“I also found there are a lot of people with anxiety, people who just wanted to relax, or who for other reasons found it was a better option for them to come to me as I didn’t make them feel as nervous. 😟

“I can still be a good hairdresser without being really loud and the class clown.”

After going freelance two years ago and building up her own client base, Rebecca, who is now based at the Whitworth Street Creative Studio in the city centre, said she decided to go further and began offering silent haircuts.

“When I first put it out there I got lots of new clients,” she said.

“Not everyone is the same and a lot of the time you attract clients who are similar to you. And I think they appreciated having that safe space where they knew they didn’t have to make that small talk.”

She says that just two years into her freelance career she now has over 300 clients.

She said the silent haircuts side of her business had ‘grown significantly’ and it's ‘the thing clients mention most.’

Rebecca says that during a silent haircut she will greet her client, introduce herself and speak to them in a brief consultation beforehand, but then tells them once they are in the chair she will not speak to them unless she has any specific questions about their haircut.

She says she has also had clients who have booked silent haircuts but once they have ‘felt a bit more comfortable’ have prompted some conversation themselves. 👏

“I can speak to one client and then the next client can be completely silent and that’s fine,” she says, adding it is nice to be able to ‘build up trust’ with clients over time.

Soft blends on brunette hair ✨✨✨

Taking decent photos is my Achilles heel...

Time to put the phone down for the weekend! If you message and don't hear from me, I promise I'll get back to you when I am in back in the salon and in front of my laptop on Tuesday.

For now, have a wonderful weekend everyone! Xx

Offering a helping paw or gently reminding me that I didn't warm up his breakfast? 💁

The right haircut can make all the difference! ✂️

After relocating and struggling to find a hairdresser willing to commit to enough layers for a s**g, this lovely client found her way back to me ✨

Raw lift on a natural level 8… a blonde specialist’s dream canvas, am I right? 🤩

Still learning the best lighting and angles in my new salon. 📸✨
Inside vs outside- and better in real life.

💇‍♀️ What are you really paying for when you get a haircut?

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on local noticeboards questioning the cost of a haircut, so I thought I’d shed some light on what you’re actually paying for.

Firstly, this isn’t about one particular person or conversation. It’s simply something I’ve noticed being discussed more and more lately, and I wanted to offer a hairdresser’s perspective. It’s also a conversation many others in the hairdressing industry have found themselves having recently.

✨ What you’re actually paying for

While I no longer have the rent of a shopfront, the majority of the costs involved in running a professional salon are still there, and they increase EVERY year.

There is significant investment just to create a salon in the first place. Renovations, plumbing, electrical work, furniture, equipment, council approval, and even hiring an arborist to make the space safe and suitable all formed part of setting up a professional home salon.

Ongoing costs include (and not limited to):
• Professional colour and products
• Tools, equipment and maintenance
• Public liability insurance
• Power costs and water
• Booking software, and EFTPOS fees
• Ongoing education and training
• Accounting and bookkeeping fees
• Registration fees and taxes
• Superannuation, annual leave and sick leave and workcover
• Stock ordering, laundry, cleaning, and all the behind-the-scenes hours and admin that keep a salon running

Most importantly, you’re paying for over two decades of experience, education, and the care, skill and attention put into every appointment.

✂️ Hairdressing is a qualified trade

It was once a four-year apprenticeship and is now a three-year apprenticeship, just like many other skilled trades.

Hairdressing is not just emotionally demanding, it is physically demanding. We spend long days on our feet, often with our arms raised and our bodies leaning in awkward positions. Like many trades, it takes a significant toll on the body over time.

Despite being a qualified, skilled and physically demanding trade, I often find hairdressers having to justify their pricing.
We don’t often see other trades constantly having to justify their pricing. If a plumber, electrician or mechanic raises their rates, is booked out for weeks, or charges a call-out fee, it’s generally accepted as part of doing business.

But when a hairdresser is booked out, increases their prices, or charges a cancellation fee, it’s sometimes treated as though we’re being unreasonable.

The value of a trade shouldn’t be measured by whether it builds a house or colours hair. It should be measured by the skill, training, experience, responsibility and care involved.

✂️Running a business

Opening a small business comes with financial risk, long hours and a significant investment. It's reasonable to expect a fair return for that.

💛 My advice

Not every salon is the right fit for every person, and that’s okay. Find one that suits your budget and move on.

These conversations used to be avoided, but I think they’re worth having. Not to justify our prices, but to help people better understand the experience, time and costs behind the service ❤️