Darrel Starkey began hairdressing 17 years ago. Here, he shares his journey, achievements, and best advice
“I was 17, sat outside a salon – they were putting up an advertisement for apprentices, and I just got lost looking into this salon,” Darrel Starkey tells us, as we ask him about the start of his career. “The salon owner clocked me and told me to come in and have a chat. I was in jogging bottoms and a top because I’d been dancing at college, but she said, I don’t care about what you’re wearing, I care about who you are.” This is where Darrel’s hairdressing career began – a week later, he started in the salon.
From performing arts and musical theatre, he went on to start his training and had just finished his Level 2 when the salon unexpectedly went bankrupt. “Trying to find an apprenticeship was near on impossible,” he tells us. “Nobody wanted to pay for someone who was partly qualified.” After a few years, he fell out of love with hairdressing. “Because I was only a Level 2, I was always devalued – I didn’t necessarily have the full technical knowledge of colour corrections and other things, so I left the industry for a while.”
It was when he adopted his son that he completed his Level 3 and opened his own salon after an opportunity came forward that he couldn’t turn down. “I entered a local competition called the Skegness Business Awards. During my interview, they asked me what I hoped for. I said I’d love to have a salon one day,” he reflects. “I wanted to showcase to my son that there are always opportunities if you go out and find them. The lady who owned my salon before me, saw this interview, contacted me and asked me if I would like to take the lease on, so it was a perfect opportunity.”
Darrel rebranded the salon into Taylor’s Salon (his son’s name), and started working on building his clientele. “There had been many salon owners over the past couple of years, so I had a lot of work to do in terms of building trust with customers,” he explains. “I went out into the industy and became a member of the FAME Team, attended industry awards, and I got my clients interested.”
Other opportunities such as a brand ambassador role for milk_shake, became available, and Darrel soon branched out into education too. “During lockdown, I wanted to try something different that nobody had seen from me before and I got into wigs,” he tells us. “I saw the opportunity to turn it into an education platform.” Starting out online to begin with, Darrel soon developed his education into a day course, teaching in areas such as Scotland, Ireland and even Germany, but he was looking to turn his education into something different. “The Wig-Torship Weekender was born, which is a three-day course,” he says. “I wanted to give exposure and opportunities to people who don't normally get it.”
A big challenge throughout his career has always been self-doubt. “You always look at the people above you and think, how can I get there? But you have to focus on the direction that works for you, not for someone else,” he says. His proudest moment? “I’ve had my salon for 10 years now, and it’s still thriving. We’re recognised within the community as one of the leading salons.”
And it’s Darrel’s positive attitude that keeps him going. “I set myself goals and I need to achieve them no matter what. It’s about putting things into place to make sure you can achieve those aims.” One of which, was winning at the British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional, and in November, Darrel finally did it! “Winning at #BHA25 for the first time was more than just an award, it was a moment of celebration for never giving up, even after six years, and it finally paid off,” he says. “So many people want that next step straight away that they’re worried about going backwards. I’ve realised, you have to be humble enough to go backwards, if it means you get to go forwards.”
Which leads us to ask, what’s next? “My wedding!” he laughs, excitedly. “I’m also continuing the Wig-Torship Weekend, offering day courses, and my salon is going through a 10-year revamp!” 17 years later, and it seems Darrel’s still lost in the salon…
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