Month: June 2022

OK LET’S take a CLOSER look at the HRT crisis: 

Earlier this week, the government announced it was rationing supplies so women would only be able to get three months’ worth of certain HRT products at a time. It has also appointed a new HRT tsar to help solve the crisis. 

HRT is the hormones your doctor prescribes to replace, or supplement, the ones your body doesn’t make anymore. Most women who use it take a combination of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is what helps most with symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness; progesterone is added to protect against uterine cancer and bone loss (osteoporosis).

What does it feel like to be off your HRT?

For many women they are unable to work. Women are suffering from exhaustion, anxiety, night sweats, joint ache, mood swings. Some are saying that they are suffering from  PHYSICAL breakdowns. 

We will keep you updated, but this is heartbreaking. 

Need more information? Here are a few links:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61290934

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61243520

UK-based Black female-owned hair care brand Nylah’s Naturals has won Best Afro Shampoo in the 2021 Women’s Health Awards Hair Care category. Announced on November 23rd, Nylah’s Naturals Strength and Shine Thickening Shampoo was chosen as top in the category after assessment by the expert judging panel.  Their website says ‘FOR KINKS, COILS AND CURLS’ and we love their energy – NO TOXINS, AWARD WINNING.   AND we’ve taken a look at their blog too which offers excellent guidance and creates conversations! How about taking a look at it here… 

By Sophia Collins

We are all aware of the crisis occurring with apprenticeships, but we really wanted to delve into WHY this is happening? We previously discussed neurodiversity being a necessity within apprentice programs, but how about we talk about the other factors creating this crisis:

SO LET’S LOOK AT THE FACTS.  

The National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) is calling on the entire hair and beauty industry to pull together to tackle the skills and recruitment crisis in our industry.  

These threats to the future of the hair world have been identified in a new report titled, Careers at the cutting edge: tackling the skills shortage in the hair and beauty sector, commissioned by the NHBF from Pragmatix Advisory.

The report highlights multiple interlinked factors that have been steadily growing over time:

• Many are familiar with the fall in the number of apprentices coming into the industry over the last five years due to 16-17 year-olds having to stay at school, the rise in self-employment (meaning fewer employers to take on apprentices) and lower levels of funding. Worryingly, if current trends continue, the report forecasts that there will be fewer than 3,400 hair and beauty apprentices in the UK by 2025.
• Employers are concerned that college leavers lack ‘salon ready’ skills and that the knowledge of some tutors is out of date.
• The report shows that 57% of hair and beauty businesses have unfilled vacancies, and more than half of vacancies have taken businesses over 16 weeks to fill. Some experienced staff are leaving the sector, in some cases, to go to better paid roles elsewhere including other parts of retail.
• Financial pressures on businesses are still high following the pandemic. Rising business costs such as National Insurance contributions, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, as well as the huge increase in energy costs, means employers are cutting other costs wherever they can. Almost half of those who took part in the survey think that it can take two to three years in the salon before a college graduate covers their costs, and so are unwilling to take any on at this present time 

SO these are just some clear STATS – let’s take a look at some quotes from those in the industry: 

Jo Hall states how she navigates apprentices: ‘When taking on an apprentice, you will gain a lot as you see their growth while you help this young person fall in love with the hair and beauty industry. It is a very fulfilling thing to do!I like my apprentices, I concentrate on the clients’ happiness and I give them bullet points to use in the consultation, at the shampoo basin or during a manicure. Then, I take time to praise them when they use these bullet points and we evaluate the level of happiness they have created with the salon clientele. We have team huddles and 1:2:1 meetings to offer pointers and give them role play opportunities if they need them.’

Linda Stewart, owner and founder of Rainbow Room International: ‘Social media is a key platform for us to speak to young people and engage with them on a daily basis. When we are looking to recruit apprentices, we always make sure we promote this on all our social media platforms, posting great visual content on how to apply for our apprenticeship programmes. Our social media platforms are also a great way for us to show young people how we are a great company to work for, what events we get involved with and the awards we win.’ 

&, KIT CLIENT Conor James Doyle

‘I’ve been talking to people who work with young people are so aware and have such a higher standard of what they want their work-life to be that the first few years of an apprenticeship don’t seem appealing to them both financially and satisfactory. So it really does come down to then, you know, only the people that really, really want to be hairdressers.  I think the like hyperinflation that we’re facing and the uncertainty in the future and present means that people don’t have time to go onto apprentice wages, even though they are higher than what they were before. I think people don’t have the time or tolerance to go into those because they are like, well, I won’t be able to afford to have an apartment. The standard of which people are looking to work in of that generation, I think is higher. And ultimately it just is a bit of a turn-off when they think, I will not be able to maybe afford an apartment in years if I’m not that good at this.’

We would love to hear your thoughts on this, drop us a DM on Instagram if you are open to chat.

By Sophia Collins

THOM derived its name from a 2016 film project produced by Akinola Davies Jr, which celebrates the African diaspora and creates a conversation around the deep ancestral connection to Black hair and identity. 

THIS IS HUGE. 

A little bit more info:  Cyndia Harvey co-founded THOM along with artist Remi Ajani out of the need and desire to celebrate Black hair in all of its glory. The brand launched with the Scalp Serum, the single hero starter product that caters specifically to texture-rich hair. 

“Scalp care has long been part of the Black experience. A ritual enjoyed between mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers,” Harvey states in a press release. “Using the latest advances in science, we are reinventing this ritual with a more effective solution designed to deliver exceptional results.”

We could keep on writing about how amazing this all is but quite frankly they have put it so beautifully on their website, elaborating on this serious positive shift in the industry. Take a look here.

By Sophia Collins

We’ve discussed BURN OUT, we’ve discussed 7 WAYS TO REST. And we stick by all of this… What can we do though when we are working flat out? What can we do to give ourselves a worthwhile rest in either the evening or 20 minutes at work when we are so stressed? We are going at 100mph and actually have forgotten how to be still, and calm during our day; we’ve even forgotten how to activate our relaxation response. Dead serious – there is actual neuroscience behind this and a super amazing breathing technique that’s tried and tested. 

Let’s take this powerful idea: just as we have a stress response, we have a relaxation response. We can learn to trigger this response and facilitate the human mind to bring forth the emotions that open us to the positive influences in life. We’re wired to react in a manner that probably won’t help. We are capable of learning alternate responses. This, perhaps, is the reason emotional intelligence is so important today: increasing complexity puts social and emotional skills at a premium.

That’s probably why leaders with more emotional intelligence skills create stronger business value. Salespeople trained in these skills outsell others (in one study, 40% better). 

Also, here is a simple breathing exercise: anulom vilom pranayam, or alternate nostril breathing. It is an ancient yogic technique that starts the relaxation response by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system. 

Performing anulom vilom is similar to box breathing with the added element of switching nostrils. Switching the nostrils provides a point of focus to calm the mind.

• Sit in a comfortable seated position and close your eyes. Fold the middle three fingers of your right hand so that only the thumb and pinky are pointed outwards.
• Place the thumb of your right hand on your right nostril. Inhale through the left nostril for a count of four. Hold the breath for four.
• Release the right nostril and cover the left with the pinky. Inhale through the right nostril for a count of four. Hold for four.
• Close the right nostril, open the left, and exhale.
• Repeat, alternating open and closed nostrils.

Alternate nostril breathing doesn’t just trigger our relaxation response, it also sets clear foundations for a more resilient and energetic day. 💛

Want to learn more in activating this side of your brain, take a listen to this Ted Talk here.

By Sophia Collins