16
Presenting the RAT PACK
ELAINE SULLIVAN-CHILD: Elaine Sullivan-Child Hair & Beauty, Dunstable
“ I’ ve been cutting hair for 17 years. My salon and spa is in the heart of Dunstable and I run the business with my mum, Angie Atkins. I’ m the crazy creative and she’ s the shrewd business woman – an awesome partnership! My team is expert in European, Afro and Asian hair so the salon attracts a multi-cultural clientele and we use our experience and technical prowess to knock out some truly hot locks.
“ I love the instant makeover extensions provide, they make your work more interesting, offer limitless boundaries. You can quickly take a person from low energy 1 to high energy 10 – you literally see clients change from low to glowing in a couple of hours. I’ ve been in the RAT Pack from the beginning and working with my peers has been an amazing experience, giving me the chance to express my own ability at a higher level and seeing the results published in the press does wonders for your credibility.”
AMY DONALDSON: Profile Salon, Aberdeen
“ My stylish, contemporary salon specialises in Racoon extensions, bridal and Afro- Caribbean hair and our clientele is mixed, fashionable types, 16 to 60-ish. About 30 to 40 percent of my clients have, or have had, extensions, mostly to thicken fine hair. Being in the RAT Pack gives me an opportunity to work with positive, creative people who fire business ideas and explore how extensions allow experimentation with hair to give you greater creative flexibility.
“ The diversity of what you can create is the best thing about extensions. For example, they are brilliant to blend through if you’ re doing a colour correction, to balance the colour, make it look more natural. From a business point of view, once a client has extensions they become part of their lives and you get a client for life. They visibly boost a client’ s confidence, you can see it immediately, and the level of trust this creates between you and your client is huge. I have 10 clients who’ ve never had a day off from extensions in eight years – how about that for loyalty.”
16