Whair To?

Join us today as we chat with top-tier barber Chaddy (Dixon) Masangi! We cover everything from his unconventional path to opening his first shop at 23 to his high-profile work with Liverpool FC. Chaddy opens up about the business hurdles he’s faced, why he uses psychology in the barber chair, and how he’s innovating with new hair-loss treatments and his 121 Therapy Movement. A must lis...

Todays guest Louise Upson reflects on building a career that began with a late apprenticeship in Oxford and took her through London, Manchester, TV work, and back to Brighton, where she now runs Studio 7 from a home studio. She talks about the hard training that gave her confidence, and the change in plans during COVID that led her to step away from a salon lease and start her own space inste...

From leaving school at 16 and starting as a plasterer to finding hairdressing by chance, Mustafa Hassan maps a career built through apprenticeship, London training, and a Vidal Sassoon diploma. He talks about the people and moments that raised his standards, including mentors at John Frieda and a turning point in Kent that showed him he could build his own brand. Plus: opening his first salon in R...

Cherise Davies—an award-winning salon owner in North Wales—shares her journey from YTS apprentice and cruise-liner stylist to educator, salon owner, and now tech founder. After leaving education when her standards were challenged, she opened her salon as a single parent with very little money, and today that business supports her next venture: ZigStock, an AI-powered, voice-controlled...

Carla Kirkpatrick—founder of Hello You Studio and known as Carla the Curl Coach—shares how discovering a gap in her training pushed her to specialise in curls. After investing in curl education, her confidence (and business) took off: more ideal clients, stronger rebooking, and eventually her own studio. In this episode, Carla breaks down her curl-first approach—next-level consul...

In this episode, Maria Evangelou shares her journey through the hair industry—from high-end salons to opening and running her own salon and going on to create a holistic business that helps other salon owners. She explains how a recession, combined with health challenges, left her overwhelmed and led to burnout—prompting her to rethink what “success” looks like behind...

In this episode, Rob Howse introduces his path through the hair industry, from college and cruise ship work to salon chains in the UK, and his current role as Digital Platforms and Data Manager at Wella Professionals UKI. He explains how the Wella Color Expert course shifted his view of education and led him into teaching, while international Wella TrendVision work widened his network and influenc...

In this episode, we welcome Samantha Blues—a Scotland-based hairdresser, colour specialist, and educator—whose work now centres on colour science, cosmetic chemistry, and tackling misinformation in the industry. She shares why she created Colour Science & Investigation (CSI), a membership platform that breaks down the “why” behind formulas, how toners behave, and how to...

This week on Whair to? Podcast , Midlands stylist and Never Just Hair founder Jax Hirst shares the real story behind her career journey—from the UK to Canada and back again—and what it took to rebuild her business once she returned home. She talks about how posting dolly heads on Instagram helped her become known for short hair and smart colour placement , opening doors into education,...

From cutting specialist to salon owner and team leader—what changed the path? Hit play. Lawson Bliss, director of Bliss and Bliss Hair in Stourbridge, West Midlands talks through starting in hair at 19, opening a salon with his mother, and building a business with a stronger focus on cutting, team leadership, and the business side of the industry. He also explains how becoming a parent chang...

From apprentice to education director—how do you get there without a straight line? Hit play. 10 quick questions, zero fluff with Paul Corbett, Director of Advanced Education at Francesco Hair Group . We map his path—apprentice → cutting specialist → educator → mentor → salon owner → education lead—and the moves that mattered: industry events, mentorship,...