From drug habits and STDs to affairs, hairdressers reveal shocking secrets from the salon
Davina McCall isn't the only one to confide in her stylist . . .
IF you’ve ever revealed a secret to your hairdresser while sat in the chair, you are in good – and plentiful – company.
A recent study revealed that more than half of women tell their stylist a secret they would not tell another living soul, with one in 20 even confessing to cheating on their partners.
The research by Regis hair salons also found 15 per cent of women have made a monumental life-changing decision after talking to their crimper.
For TV host Davina McCall, the chat flowed so freely with her hairdresser Michael Douglas that she has now found love with him.
So what is it like for a stylist to have such responsibility when they are trained in crimping rather than counselling?
Here, five hairdressers share shocking secrets from the salon.
‘She hasn’t told her family about her cancer. She offloads it on me’
STYLIST Shaquira Love, 24, from Stratford, East London, has been working in salons since she was 14.
Now the owner of her own salon, Ms Love Hair, she gets advice from her clients as well as giving it out. Shaquira says:
"I had a client a few years ago who had been married for 30 years to a man who continually lied to her.
She could never prove he was having an affair but he’d lie and gamble, spend all their money and wasn’t a decent bloke – not to mention the fact that she continually told me he only lasted a few seconds in bed.
She had low confidence so we worked on building it up.
She ended up leaving him and finding the most amazing new man. Seeing her flourish and have the guts to change the house locks was so amazing. It was a real journey but she’s so happy now.
I have another client who has cancer, but she hasn’t told any of her family. She’s in her 30s and doesn’t want to worry them until she has a firm prognosis.
I do her wigs for her and it’s only me, her boss at work and her clinical team that know what she’s dealing with.
We talk a lot about it when she comes in because she doesn’t have that many people she can offload to.
It can be tough hearing stories that break your heart but it does prioritise some of the things in my own life.
I learn so much from all my clients. It’s definitely a two-way relationship with advice when you come and sit in my chair."
‘One client is a recovering addict. I’m so proud of them’
KRISTINE Cimbule, 29, of KC Studios in Notting Hill, West London, has even helped clients find love. She says:
"I’ve got a lot of empathy and my clients know they can talk to me. I even helped one client write their online dating profile and he is still in a happy relationship with someone he met because of it.
I’ve been the first to know about pregnancies, miscarriages and all kinds of huge news.
One of my clients works with one of the biggest rock bands in the world and tells me lots about them, but I’d never break their trust and they know that.
There is something about being in a hair-stylist’s chair that makes you want to talk. I want them to leave my salon looking better – and feeling better too.
It can be draining for me too, though. You build a strong relationship with your clients and when they go through troubles it affects you as well.
One of my clients, who I absolutely adore, has been a recovering addict for the last five years.
They’ve done their 12 steps recovery programme and, seeing them come through addiction has been incredible.
I’m very proud of them. I can’t imagine doing any other job. I’m in such a privileged position."
‘Son propped up dead mum as I did her hair for funeral’
DAD of two Daniel Benson, 45, from Twickenham, West London, owns Mint Hair And Beauty.
Having been a stylist for 25 years, he reckons he has heard it all. He says:
"Someone once told me that if you find a job you love, you’ll never do a day’s work in your life – and it’s true.
Sometimes all people need is an ear to offload to.
We’re a unisex salon so I’ve had plenty of men and women unloading their secrets over the years, including a husband and wife who came in separately within weeks and they both confessed to affairs.
I kept my counsel and they ended up splitting.
I also had a long-term elderly client who came in for her weekly blow dry. When she died, her son came in and asked if I’d do her hair for the funeral.
I went to her house and he propped her up while I gave her a blow dry – that was pretty surreal.
It’s not all odd stories, though. Just last week I was with a lady who had just miscarried.
All I could do was give her a big hug and listen. I’m a dad myself, so I really felt for her.
That’s the other thing that’s great about the job – hearing other people’s problems and life issues really helps to prioritise your own.
I treat all of my clients like I treat my friends, and I’m lucky that they are all so diverse."
‘Woman told of hubby’s fling...with another of my customers’
CARLY Price, 32, from Newton Abbot, Devon, works at the salon Muse Of London.
Having been a stylist for 16 years, she believes impartiality is an important part of the job. She says:
"When I was just starting out, a client told me she had found out her husband of ten years was having an affair.
In a fit of anger she’d gone to the other woman’s workplace and had it out with her.
When she told me her name, I realised the other woman was a client of mine too. I don’t have a very good poker face but I kept silent and listened without giving my other client away.
I’ve known some clients so long that we have become friends but a lot of the time people don’t want judgement.
A lovely client I’d had for years – I’d even done her wedding day – came in a little while ago and told me she’d had a miscarriage. I was completely heartbroken for her.
I’m lucky that I work with one of my best friends so sometimes after work if we’ve had a particularly tough day we’ll go for a glass of wine and a chat.
I have one client whose life seems to echo mine.
We were both in relationships, both cheated on at roughly the same time, both ended the relationships and then went on to meet new people totally in sync with each other.
It’s become a running joke for us both."
‘She wanted to put STD cure in her fella’s food’
MARRIED mum of two Dawn Atiba, 32, from Plymouth, Devon, runs her own salon, Rapture Hair And Beauty Lounge.
She has been a hairdresser for 18 years and has been privy to plenty of confessions. She says:
"I’ve had thousands of people sit in my chair and tell me their deepest secrets.
One lady a few years ago was seeing a guy casually but ended up with chlamydia from someone else she’d been seeing.
She was scared she’d passed it on to him, but didn’t want to confess.
She spent a two-hour appointment trying to come up with a plan on how she could trick him into taking the medication for it, from spiking his drink to sprinkling it on his food.
I advised her he could be allergic to the medication so it was best not to do it in secret, so she eventually confessed to him – and he ended it.
Giving advice is a responsibility, and when I was starting out I wasn’t comfortable doing it.
But I’ve seen so many stories play out, I’m often able to advise a client based on the outcome of someone else’s similar experience.
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I also don’t give any advice I wouldn’t follow myself. If someone tells me they’re having an affair, they won’t get sympathy from me.
I’ll always advise them to end the existing relationship if they’re unhappy. I do have to bite my tongue sometimes, though.
Being a hairdresser is like being a counsellor, confidante and best friend all wrapped in one."
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