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No local shopping centre is complete without a hair salon, and fitting the bill in Millwater Central is Evoke Hair and Beauty, which opened three months ago.
Owner Rhiannon Clark is an experienced hair stylist, who has been in the profession since leaving school 27 years ago.
She says it’s more than a career. “I have been hairdressing since I was 16 and I would miss it if I had to stop – it’s part of who I am,” she says.
The salon has a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with natural light flooding in through the north facing windows.
Rhiannon heads a team of two full time and one part time stylist, as well as an apprentice. Evoke’s part-time beauty therapist offers a full range of beauty treatments, from luxury facials to waxing.
Rhiannon says that finding good staff was one of the key challenges to setting up her business.
“To be a successful stylist you have to have a strong work ethic, and a real passion for hairdressing,” she says. “Hairdressing has a glamorous image, but it’s demanding as well as creative.”
A key appointment was Sarah McKenzie, who she calls “the colour queen”. One of the latest colour techniques to be offered at Evoke Hair and Beauty is Ecaille (which translates as ‘tortoiseshell’), which allows multi-tonal colour to be applied without foils. Also Bayalage and Ombre continue to be hugely popular.
However, Rhiannon says while she enjoys colouring hair, it is cutting that holds the most appeal for her.
She says a good cut is one that sits nicely for a full six weeks, rather than failing to sit correctly as soon as the client washes her hair. Getting it right involves consideration not only of a person’s hair type and the shape of their face, but also their lifestyle, profession and personality.
With so many young families moving to Millwater, Rhiannon is keen to bring more children in as clients and offers special prices for young people.
This is the second salon that Rhiannon has owned, and she has honed her success down to a simple philosophy: “I just want to make people walk out feeling as though they’ve been transformed,” she says.
