Hairdressers just keep giving

HJ News Editor Matthew Batham looks at how the art of giving is alive and well in the hairdressing  - and even, it seems, in the banking industry.

Giving something back is commonplace in the hairdressing industry.

On a day-to-day basis all good hairdressers give by making clients feel better about themselves, but for some it goes beyond the job of hairdressing and into the community and the world at large.

Spreading the word

The story of how staff members at Rainbow Room International's Buchanan Street salon in Glasgow are going beyond the normal boundaries of their jobs and helping to stamp out misconceptions relating to drugs is one example of this.

Their efforts are in support of the Scottish government's Know the Score Informing Parents campaign with staff helping raise awareness of the campaign's website and literature.

It's not about preaching, but the scheme does tap into the close relationship between hairdressers and their clients, to pass on information - which just goes to show how respected the hairdresser/client bond is, and how hairdressers are normally prepared to go the extra mile for customers and their community.

Going that extra 26 miles

Jill Watkins, owner of the Watkins-Wright salon chain in North Yorkshire took the concept of  going the extra mile literally when she ran the Paris Marathon for the New Day New Life charity, which provides children in Ghana with an education.

Jill managed to fit in an extensive training programme around running her business and looking after her two children.

Don't bank on it, but...

With giving definitely on the agenda for hairdressers, it's encouraging to hear that it might increasingly be back on the agenda for banks too!

It's not exactly time to crack open the bubbly and celebrate the end of the recession, but there are small signs that the recent deterioration in credit availability is slowing.

In January this year 62% of respondents to a CBI survey said that availability of terms from banks had deteriorated. This figure had dropped to 36% in March and 20% in May.

 

If such signs of recovery continue, the giving nature of hairdressing can only continue to flourish!