If you ever wanted good hairdressing advice, you'd be hard pushed to beat finding a hairdresser with more than 40 years experience!

Denise Kennedy followed her passion from a young age, by first serving her 5 year apprenticeship at (what was then) Mayfair Hairdressers in Church Street, Market Harborough, and in 1978 she proudly opened her own salon - Denise Hair Fashions, in The Square.

When I spoke to her this week, she recalled the early days of her career, the days of traditional 'shampoos, sets and perms', and remembered how 'cuts' were generally more sophisticated than they are today.

Then Denise thought of the 80's "when ladies went for more blow dries" and a softer cut with curly perms and big hair.

And then in the late 80s and 90s, she told me how hairdressing, like many industries, changed to accommodate new trending fashions with more colours, and exciting fashion shades to create a more natural look.

And as more products inevitably became available on the High Street, ladies gradually grew in confidence to try different looks from home - styling, and sculpturing their own hair for volume and bounce.

Of course, as changes occurred, the hairdressing industry had to adapt their service, learning new skills to meet popular demand, otherwise they would  seriously risk quickly going out of business.

Denise Hair Fashions is thriving today because Denise embraced those changes and as a result is very knowledgeable about every hair style, product and fashion. But, she also knows and understands how to look after her clients' hair, whatever their age, and she is passionate about passing on her knowledge and skills through apprenticeships to all the new enthusiastic hairdressers she engages.

Her worst fear is that these skills will be lost in time and the art of hairdressing will consequently decline.

She enjoys regularly taking on young people/school leavers for 2 weeks of work experience in the summer (eg. from Robert Smyth Academy), and offers apprenticeships in partnership with Tresham College and Heart of England to enthusiastic and ambitious candidates, taking them through NVQ level 2 and 3.

It's apparent that Denise is just as proud, dedicated and passionate today about her profession as she ever was. Several of her loyal ladies have been coming for years, many still weekly, because they know they are in the best hands and enjoy the friendly and personal service they always receive.

And as for the future, Denise says, "If you give the right service and genuinely look after your clients as we do, you'll always be busy!"

To find out more about Denise Hair Fashions, you can read their feature page here.

Best regards

Simon

The Bestof Market Harborough