Award-winning Wolverhampton hairdresser's skills are a cut above
Award-winning stylist Chantelle Garrison was still at school when she got her first taste of hairdressing.
Her friends and family were queuing up to have their hair braided after she discovered she had a talent for styling.
And it wasn't long before her skills were in high demand and she was inspired to pursue her passion further.
"I've been styling hair since I was 10 or 11. I was braiding hair for family and friends. I became quite popular in my community and built up a large following," explains Chantelle.
After leaving school, she decided to study for her hairdressing qualifications at City of Wolverhampton College.
Chantelle, who is from Wolverhampton, went on to work in a number of salons around the region before branching out on her own.
Over the following years she built up a large customer base as a mobile hair stylist working across the West Midlands and Staffordshire.
In 2015, she decided the time was right to make her dream of opening her own salon a reality and she opened the doors of Addictions Hair & Beauty, in Stafford Street, Wolverhampton.
Catering for all hair types and textures, it went from strength to strength and saw Chantelle named Hair Stylist of the Year – West Midlands and the salon recognised as a Marketing Trailblazer.
The 38-year-old also created her own product range, Addictions Hair Cosmetics, specialising in items such as shampoo, glossing serum, protein spray and hair extensions.
During the national lockdowns when she was unable to open the salon, Chantelle kept in touch with her customers via social media and ran education courses in hairdressing.
In June last year, Chantelle decided to close the salon ahead of the birth of her first child and begin the next chapter of her career.
She wanted to focus on continuing to build her reputation as a freelance stylist, which she said would enable her to have a "positive work/life balance".
After announcing her decision she said she received a lot of support from her customers, many of whom had been with her since the beginning and felt more like "friends and extended family", rather than clients.
Chantelle continues to work with her long-standing salon customers across the West Midlands and Staffordshire as well as dedicating time to working on film and TV productions and with top brands on editorial campaigns.
She also likes to "give back" to the industry by sharing her business and hair knowledge by delivering workshops and one-to-one training, which would include a focus on afro hair, to up and coming hairdressers and salon owners.
Over the years Chantelle has won a number of awards and her most recent accolade saw her named Hair Stylist of the Year - West Midlands in the 2022 Salon Awards, which took place in London in November.
“I’m so honoured and grateful to win this prestigious award. It makes all my hard work so much more worth it," says Chantelle, who specialises in all hair types and colours as well as extensions.
She has been enjoying working back scenes on film and television productions and says she is grateful to have received the opportunities.
At the moment she is unable to name the sets she has been working on as she needs to remain tight-lipped about the details until after the projects have been released.
"It's very different to salon life. I'm still finding my feet. I love the fact that my career can change in any direction. Nothing stays the same with hairdressing. It's always constantly evolving, trends are always changing and there is always something new to learn. It's an industry that's constantly evolving and that's what makes it exciting," Chantelle tells the Express & Star.
Prioritising time in her diary for her loyal salon customers is something that remains very important to Chantelle, who takes great pride in her professionalism and attention to detail.
"I love working with my clients, it keeps me down to earth. My clients have helped to get me to where I am now," she explains.
Hair industry experts have been predicting the trends that will be popular in 2023, from box bobs to side partings.
And Chantelle is expecting styles popular during the early 2000s to be making a return over the next 12 months.
"I think there will be more simplified styles, the 'girl next door' type of look," she adds.
The coming months will also see her working as a stylist for the catwalk shows at London Fashion Week. "I've got so much on. I'm really looking forward to it," says Chantelle.
For more information, visit chantellenataliehair.com or follow Chantelle @chantelle_natalie_hair on Facebook and Instagram.
