How To Cut It in the Hairdressing Industry – Details, episodes & analysis

August is National Hair Loss Awareness Month, so for this episode we dive deep with Mark Blake — a globally recognised Harley Street trichologist advising celebrities, media & everyday people in the intricate world of hair loss and scalp care. In collaboration with Wella Professionals UKI and Nioxin, Mark will take us on an engaging conversation about differential diagnosis—how to pinpoint the root causes of hair thinning and loss. Intriguingly, he'll also discuss how the scent of our hair and scalp can unveil vital clues about scalp health. Mark is passionate that hairdressers should be knowledgeable about trichology, which will help you serve your clients more effectively. He also shares strategies for preventing hair loss with the aid of Nioxin. Moreover, Mark underscores the significance of scalp health, advocating for treating the scalp with as much care as any other body part, and discusses the indispensable role us hairdressers play in early detection of scalp cancer. Highlighting Nioxin's forthcoming innovative Anti Hair Loss Serum and Night Density Rescue  products for scalp and hair care, Mark advocates for proactive discussions about hair loss between hairdressers and clients. He also shares about the 'The Fascinating World of Trichology' course offered by Wella Professionals, Mark says, "It's  like a two-year course in a day." This episode isn't just a conversation; it's a step forward in the crusade against hair loss, illuminating the path for professionals and sufferers alike towards healthier hair and scalp. Join Mark with his unwavering dedication, inspiring a new wave of awareness and hope in the landscape of hair loss and scalp health.   If the follicle opening is still open, there is hope. – Mark Blake

Today, we're jumping in the time machine to revisit an epic episode from April 2017 with the legendary Lee Stafford. In this throwback, we uncover Lee's transformation from humble beginnings in his mother's living room to becoming an icon in hairdressing. "I've always believed that to be the best, you’ve got to learn from the best," Lee shares, revealing his passion for mentorship and the art of honing your craft alongside the crème de la crème. Diving into Lee's passion for educational, we explored the Lee Stafford Education (LSE), his game-changing initiative to elevate hairdressing training in partnership with colleges. He breaks down his 'recipe' approach – a foolproof formula to ensure every student gets a standardised, top-notch education. "It's all about consistency and clarity," he asserts, sharing his journey from ideation to flawless execution in partnership with college principals. Recounting tales with industry icons and his stint on "Celebrity Scissorhands," Lee's anecdotes come peppered with wit and wisdom. "You've got to have a laugh, but remember the work you put in is what you get out," he says, reflecting on his grounded personality and the humour  that helped shape his colourful career. As we wrap up, Lee's ambition shines bright as he talked about the future. He dreams of stretching the LSE network and continuing to revolutionise hairdressing pedagogy. Emphasising "passion, commitment, and relentless pursuit of excellence," he leaves us armed with motivation and the powerful message that mentorship is the key to spectacular success. In this classic episode, Lee Stafford doesn't just share his story; he's here to ignite a fire in the heart of every aspiring hairdressers. Get ready to be inspired, folks – this is one for the books!

In today episode we're joined by Adam Thomas, the innovative founder behind salonspy. In our conversation we're to discover the critical role of client reviews in the salon industry and uncover why they are more than just feedback—they are the cornerstone for building trust and driving business growth. According to Qualtrics, 96% of consumers read a review before purchasing – with 86% of those consumers specifically seeking out reviews with responses. With over 2000 salons currently using salonspy the easy-to-love (and even easier to use) review software, salonspy takes real-time insights from client feedback and provides the insight needed to help grow your business and enhance the customer experience. Adam is to walks us through how salonspy, a verified review platform, is revolutionising review management by integrating directly with salon software systems. This allows for the automatic collection of genuine reviews, making the process seamless for salon owners. Adam also delves into salonspy's journey since 2012, shedding light on the challenges faced and the evolution of their offerings to enhance user experiences with features like review moderation and Google review integration. If you're looking to leverage positive reviews to gain a competitive edge, attract more customers, and improve your services based on client feedback, this episode is laden with insights. By the end of our chat, you will appreciate how vital reviews are in building a reputable online presence and how salonspy is a valuable partner in this journey. Plus, Adam has a listeners—a one-month free trial of salonspy to see firsthand how it can enhance your salon business. Tune in to learn from Adam Thomas why nurturing client reviews is not just necessary but essential in scaling your salon business and staying ahead in the digital age.

How to recruit and retain staff for salon businesses is the biggest challenge that our industry faces! I'm regularly hearing from salon owners who are saying to me, 'It's a crisis out there, 'We're having to go down the rent-a-chair model,' and most worryingly, 'We won't be able to keep our salon business open for much longer!' It's scary stuff that potentially could see many of these salons closing soon and with it, the reduction of future hair talent coming through. In this episode we will be addressing how to deal with the challenges of recruiting and retaining staff. To help me with this, I'm to be joined by Raymond Martin, a salon consultant with over 40 years salon ownership and training provider behind him. He now gives the tools for salons to succeed and be profitable. Today he's here to share with us his proven recipe method to help your salon business recruit and retain staff. Raymond owned one of the leading and salons and academies for over 4 successful decades in my hometown where I grew up and worked as a salon owner myself. I very much looked up to and admired Raymond as a respected businessman and hairdresser. He always seemed to have the knack of recruiting and retaining the very best hairdressers in our area. I'm keen to find out how he created a salon environment that hairdressers wanted to be a part of and grow with. I believe theres a lot that we can take from past thinkings and how we can adapt them to todays changing hair industry landscape. And this certainly rings true from this conversation.     A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you to Raymond Martin for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time Howtocutter's, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.

Today, you're going to learn how husband and wife duo, Lara Johnson and Dom Capel of Lara Johnson Lifestyle, have built a successful salon business around their team and family. Social proof of this success is celebrating 27 years of being in business this year. Now, you might be thinking, "This all sounds great, but I don't own a salon business, let alone having a team. What's this podcast got to do with me?" Well, think again! Let me explain. By listening to this conversation today,  Lara and Dom share their experiences that could be your trigger to exploring the idea of opening up your very own salon business. And if so, Im certain their insights will help you on your way to doing just this. Like most successful salon business owners, it starts with a dream of one day owning their own salon business. That dream became a reality for Lara and Dom, when after working at Charles Worthington in London, Lara moved back to her native Swansea to open Lara Johnson Lifestyle. Then followed later with Dom joining her in the business. They're going to share how they brought a piece of London fashion to Swansea, South Wales, and along the way the importance of education and their team – an industrious family of like minded professionals. They will also give you some sound advice to why brand association matters to the success, plus learn about their daughter, Tilly, becoming a part of the business. Whether a current salon owner or future one in the making, this is an insightful episode from two of my favourite people in the hair industry. Let's dive in!     A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you to Lara Johnson and Dom Capel for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.

Today I'm joined by multi Salon Owner and one of the UK's biggest YouTube hairdressing educators, Paul Watts of Paul Watts Hair. Paul is proof that anything is possible if you just follow your dreams and passions. But here's the disclaimer; you've to go above and beyond to making it happen! Its busy for Paul. Working 7 days a week that includes running his two salon businesses in partnership with his dad, working behind the chair, ambassador roles for both Joico Europe and Alfa Italia, educator for Lee Stafford Education, plus creating free hair education content for his fast growing YouTube channel and social media channels. It's a fair comment to say that Paul's hair industry profile has grown twofold since I first got to know him back in 2013.  Paul tells me about how he went from a possible career as a professional footballer to becoming a multiple salon owner of his boutique salon brands, Paul Watts Hair. And then why in 2019 it was a year of big changes for him. We’re gonna dive into so much today and learn exactly how Paul manages all the rad stuff going on with his salon businesses, ambassador roles  and his fast-growing YouTube channel with over 66K subscribers. I’ve known Paul for quite some time, and its great to finally have him here on the show. I believe this conversation is going to inspire a lot of you on whats possible, no matter where you are located!     A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you to Paul Watts for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.

It's a pleasure to bring back on to the How To Cut It podcast, Alan Beak, co-owner of Ruger Barber. Theres some big changes afoot for the Ruger Barber business, and today we're learning what's dropping soon for it. It's exciting stuff! In Part 2 of our collaborative podcast series with Denman Professional, we get to hear from Alan on how and why Ruger Barber is moving to a new site location along with a new pioneering concept for it. A big slice of this is centred around re-branding the business to hair that has no genders. Alan also gives us a lot of things that are happening for him as Ambassador for Denman Professional. This includes the tools he loves using, and a big exclusive on how he will be working on the forthcoming Denman's Global Ambassador Collection. You must stick around for this, it's a super cool idea! With his successful co-owned business, product company and ambassadorial roles, I just love the approach Alan has to continually developing and growing. It's his never-stand-still-approach that inspires so many in the hair and barbering industry. And thats why I'm really excited to bring Alan back on this episode today in collaboration with Denman Professional.       A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you to Alan Beak for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.          

Today's show is a masterclass lesson for all hair and beauty professionals wanting to survive and outsmart the Instagram Algorithm in 2022. If you're serious about keeping up to speed with the quick changing face of Instagram, then this is one podcast you cant afford to miss. I'm very happy to have Vivienne Johns back on the show. Vivienne is the Founder of The Hairdressers Social Club, working as an Instagram Coach for hair and beauty professionals. If you haven't heard of The Hairdressers Social Club, it's all about helping hair and beauty professionals to understand the Instagram techniques needed when it comes to branding, content and engagement on it's platform that will bring results that really matter to hairdressing and beauty businesses. Getting more guests through your business doors! Over 1000 people have gone through courses with Vivienne at The Hairdressers Social Club. And today you have the opportunity to get some of these valuable Instagram Lessons that Vivienne shares. I know Instagram can be minefield for many, but Vivienne has a beautiful way of simplifying it for us all to easily understand. You're going to be excited and more confident on using Instagram after listening in on this conversation.       A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you to Vivienne Johns for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.

Let's be honest here! What does your brand say about you and your business? This is something that I've been asking myself a lot recently. In this episode today I will be sharing with you some of the questions that I have been asked by the branding agency currently rebranding the undertaking for How To Cut It. I think you'll find it very helpful resource in understanding what your brand says about you and your business in 2022. Now celebrating 5 years since we launched the 'How To Cut It in the Hairdressing Industry' podcast, it's fair to say that the brand has come a long way in that time. A vibrant community, live events, collaborations and much much more to come, I saw that How To Cut It has naturally grown into much more than just our podcast. So I needed a new brand look to reflect this era going forward for How To Cut It –– something I cant wait to share with you all very soon. So if 2022 is the year that you want to unlock who and what your brand is, then Im sure you'll find answering these question very helpful. So come join me as we all go on a journey together discovering our new brand identitities. Enjoy!     A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.    

Today we're learning how The Chapel hairdressing salons was founded on a vision to help the hairdressing industry evolve. By listening to what women universally disliked about visiting the salon, The Chapel has set out to create a different type of experience where each individual receives the care and attention they deserve. Joining me for this conversation is The Chapel's Co-founder, Amanda Faith and two members of The Chapel team, Colour Specialist from the Tunbridge Wells salon, Symon May, and Stylist George Oughton, based in the Marlow salon. Each of our guests shares their own personal experience on how and why the salons is a unique destination, a natural gathering place, with its own individual atmosphere that benefits both guests and stylists. Plus we get some great knowledge on why The Chapel instead of being restricted to booking a specific style, treatment or hair colour for guests, each stylists works by time. It's refreshing and inspiring to hear, especially if you're looking to explore a new approach to how we work as a hair professionals in 2022. So sit back, listen in and make sure to take notes. It could change the way you work forever!     A podcast produced by Hairy Media Productions  Thanks for Listening To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Ask a question by emailing me HERE Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes. Follow on Spotify. Subscribe by Email. Thank you to Amanda Faith, Symon May and George Oughton for joining me on todays podcast. Until next time, Peace, Love and Smiles all the way… Goodbye.