The Man with the Crystal Ball – Jim Shaw By Rex A.C. Silver

Multi award winning men’s hairdresser and owner of Toni&Guy, Billericay, UK, Jim Shaw has hair in his blood, as you will soon hear about, so it’s no wonder he has excelled in the field of men’s grooming.

I am so glad my style of interviewing our guests includes going right back to their upbringing step by step to where they are today.

My technique has paid off big time here with Jim, as we can truly see how his passion, knowledge, and vision formed, as Jim witnessed men’s grooming as an industry spawn, develop and grow to what it is today. By following the timeline of his career and travels with all thing men’s hair, grooming and men’s hair fashion, we can see all the parts fall into place and get a picture of what our industry has in store for us next in terms of men’s hair fashion, services trends, and the skills we will need to provide these and bring to the table to our clients, what they will want and expect from us. Men are developing too and wanting more themselves and more from us.

Jim Shaw

He is not a genie, but he can predict the future, because from his viewpoint he has watched it morph and actually help make it happen for the last 20 years.

MEET JIM SHAW:

Jim, please tell us about your upbringing and background.

All my family are hairdressers, I am half Greek Cypriot, and the Greek side all have salons and barber shops. I was brought up around it all my life. My mother was a hairdresser too and when my older sister started doing hair that’s when I started getting involved helping her shampoo etc. with the clients. From a young age I would always be in barbers or salons helping my family and that’s where my interest first sparked.

Tell us all about your entry into the hair world and your training years.

I started my hairdressing career when I was 16 and I couldn’t have been where I am now without my family always encouraging and supporting me. I have now been in the industry for over 30 years, and I am thrilled that many people now see me as an influencer/expert in all things men’s hair! When I started training, I always wanted to be at the top of my game. I always had to be the junior to sell the most product and have the most clients, I was very competitive. When I left school, I decided to go to London and do my training at John Frieda, this is when it got serious, and I absolutely loved my work. I was helping with a very high-profile clientele and really got the taste of this. After a few years I built up a big clientele and people were travelling from all over to visit me for their hair appointment.

When did you realise you may actually be exceptionally good at this and what drove you to really excel in this field to level you have achieved?

I started to realise then when I started to build up a big clientele and had people visiting me from all over the country to do their hair at John Frieda but also afterwards with all the opportunities that came my way. Whilst I was on holiday visiting my friend in Hong Kong, I was given a contract to work for MTV doing hair. For 6 weeks I took this and ended up staying there 5 years. I built up a salon from scratch and did a lot of training for other salons, I became a consultant for people opening new salons and I also was going into salons and helping with training and business ideas to improve the salon. Whilst in Hong Kong I realized there was a massive gap in the market, and it was for 5 star male grooming salons. This was

needed in Hong Kong as it is a business center full of city boys who didn’t just want a barber cut, they wanted luxury and the full works – massage, facials, etc. almost like a gentleman’s club. Me and my close friend Beverly set this concept up in hotels and offices around Hong Kong. It was amazing and this was when I started to get really known for men’s.

When did you enter business for yourself?

When I returned to London in 2003, I joined the Essensuals family and opened my first Essensuals salon in Billericay, Essex, which became one of the most successful in the group. From my experience travelling, I understood a men’s grooming centre was needed within the UK and I decided to open up EssensualsMEN across the road. With the unisex salon doing well, opening EssensualsMEN was a logical step for me. My aim was to create a complete grooming experience in an exclusive, luxury environment for the style-conscious male in search of more than a quick trim. When I opened the male grooming salon, I was a little worried at first but it turned out to be the best decision I had ever made, as I cut my costs in half and the revenue doubled as the salon got busier and busier. The salon was also one of the first of its kind, the whole industry was really interested in it and all eyes were on it watching to see what we were offering that was different from any other barbers – but we weren’t barbers, we were a men’s hairdressers.

We were doing things that other salons where not doing at that time. We had a bar, treatment rooms, manicure and pedicure stations, facials, shoeshine, iPads, signature scents, logo condoms - it was a gentleman’s environment and it worked. 10 years later commercial rents went up and I made a big decision to consolidate my business with my salon across the road and bring the men’s salon into the unisex salon. I love having the men’s section in the salon, as it allows men to feel comfortable to discuss their hair and skin and any problems or concerns that they have in a separate environment from the main salon. Many men do get self-conscious to speak about issues such as hair thinning and hair loss, and this provides a relaxed and private area away from the main room where they can comfortably discuss these problems. I’ve now had the salon 20 years and many of the staff that started with me originally are still here today. I’ve also helped many of the team move on and start their own salons.

Are you trained in Female hairdressing as well and can you tell us a little about your appeal to men’s hair grooming over women’s?

Yes, I am trained in women’s hair too. I’ve always had a huge passion for men’s hair and how it stands out from barbering, and I quickly realised there was going to be a big demand for men’s hairdressing and decided to open a male grooming concept hair salon, EssensualsMEN. I wanted to be ahead of the game, and I believed that men’s hairdressing and the grooming market was going to grow rapidly. I opened the male grooming salon before men’s grooming became extremely popular and it was a great success and encouraged many other men’s grooming salons to open. Men were and are continuing to become more fashion conscious and I saw there was a need for more hair salons to cater towards men and to offer men’s grooming services. I do still love working on women’s hair, but my real passion is with men’s hair – there is so much skill and knowledge involved, and I love working with the different range of tools.

You have won many awards with your men’s hair work, which has opened many more doors for you; can you elaborate on your role as a a Men’s Hair Educator and influencer in men’s hair grooming?

I’m so lucky that I’ve had some incredible experiences throughout my career. I’ve had a really fantastic journey, travelling around the world in America and Hong Kong teaching male grooming and cutting techniques to other hairdressers and helping them to develop their skills and knowledge in regard to men’s hairdressing and grooming and helping my friend set up a male grooming floor in the biggest salon in Hong Kong when I lived there. I had one job where I travelled around America for 6 weeks training barbers’ new techniques, which was fantastic. I’ve also worked at so many fantastic events including V Festival, The Urban Music Awards, The Brits and more. I was asked to do the hair for 4 different festivals for all the artists and guests and I did this every year for 9 years, putting teams together to help work and do the hair at the festivals. I also headed London Fashion Week for Men’s Fashion Week and again, helped put the teams together to do the hair. I’ve also worked with Top Man heading up their shows and campaigns and have worked on the Essensuals men’s window campaign every year. As well as my creative work working backstage and on campaigns, I have also of course been helping with the managing of the salon and developing an incredible team and working on the salon floor myself. I feel privileged to now have some incredible celebrity clients. It’s incredibly rewarding to see all of my clients leaving happy and to see my staff after years of training now progressing themselves within the industry and opening their own businesses.

I think this is why I wanted to delve into education further. Before the pandemic I decided to start my own educational and mentoring programme whereby salons, salon owners and stylists could book in for training with myself. I want to help other hairdressers unleash their potential in regard to men’s hairdressing and also teach people the difference between men’s hairdressing and barbering. I now offer in-salon bespoke education, art direction, photoshoots, mentoring and one to one tuition and days that can be personalized and tailored to the person’s requirements. Education has changed so much over the past 10 years. There are so many more skills and techniques to learn, and men’s hairdressing in particular has grown vastly, so much skill goes into men’s hairdressing and that’s something I really want to educate others on. It’s about putting away the clippers and bringing out the scissors to create more precise and on-trend looks.

Let’s talk shoots and collections. The imagery of your work is just immaculate and perfectly balanced in its composition. Can you walk us through the process of conceptualising a collection and executing it from start to finish?

Thank you! One of my signature styles is precision and creating hairstyles that showcase sharp and clean lines. For me, it’s all about putting away the clippers and using the scissors to get up super close to the hair to help create a seamless hair look. So much time and effort goes into my collection work and to have won and finalised for a number of awards with my creative work is unbelievable. When I started entering men’s competitions, I entered the British Hairdressing Awards for Men’s Hairdresser of the year and won it first time! I’ve now won this category twice now. I have also won several other awards including the International Hairdressing Awards Best Men’s Commercial category twice, Colour Trophy, Redken’s Men’s Image and the NHBF Best Men’s Collection to name a few. I think in one year I won almost 10 awards! When it comes to the process of creating a collection, I always work with photographer, Tony Le Britton. We have a great relationship and bounce off of one another. I think it’s so important to choose a photographer that understands you and your vision. For models, I love to street cast. Street casting is something we are seeing stylists do more of for their shoots and it’s something that I personally love to do. You can see the model and their hair up close, and you also have a prime view of the model, their demeanour and how they portray themselves and if they will be a good fit for your shoot.

There are so many great faces out there and many people are not signed to agencies. Street casting is a great way to get some fantastic looking models that have not been ‘scouted’ as you will and that may have a unique and quirky look about them. I always spend time researching before my shoots, looking at fashion weeks and at current trends and creating mood boards with the looks I want to create. In regard to this year’s trends, we have noticed men stepping away from polished hair looks and instead, opting for more textured cuts like mullets and shags. I love that these haircuts are coming back in fashion, as when done correctly, they give men an incredibly cool and trendy look. They’re also great haircut choices for those who prefer a low maintenance haircut and style, as they look best when worn messy and effortless in appearance and can be easily styled at home with the help of a texturizing product like a salt spray or a matte paste to add further texture into the hair. For men who don’t want a haircut that’s long in length, strong shaped haircut and prominent fades will also be on trend. Prominent hair fades should be very short at the sides with length on the top but should still look clean and seamless. It’s definitely about standing out from the crowd in 2022 with your hair look and choosing a haircut that’s more adventurous and that makes a statement! One haircut that was popular in 2021 that we will have seen the return of in 2022 is the buzz cut but with a modern approach.

Men have started to add colour into their cut such as vivid, punk inspired hair colours that give the look a grungy appearance – think neon greens, pinks, oranges, and yellows. These looks are definitely not for the faint hearted and are a fantastic choice for men who really want to stand out from the crowd. Bleaching has also been another popular colour choice for men this year and looks great with these shorter hair looks and teamed with hair fades to create a statement look.

You have snuck a beautiful image teasing us with hair colour in new seasons predictions, please expand on adding colour to the mix of men’s hair and how that has influenced and broadened your creative pallet with men’s grooming.

I love adding colour into men’s hair. Men are becoming a lot more experimental with colour and starting to opt for bright, bold colours, as well as pastels to change up their look. Bleaching, highlights and colour panels and flashes have also become super on trend and colour panels and flashes in particular are great for men who just want to experiment with adding an initial small amount of colour to their look. Colour can really help to enhance a haircut and by teaming colour with a strong haircut, it can help to create a standout look. The haircut can also make the colour look better and healthier and shiny in appearance.

How is your Toni&Guy Salon set up in terms of catering for both men and women?

Within the salon there is a main salon area and a men’s salon area and that allows us to cater to both our male and female clients equally, which is so unique. I am still very much in the salon as I think it’s important to stay on top of it, I think the key is to always stay as a member of staff , not to step back and this is where a lot of people go wrong. I love what I do and I’m now in a stage where I want to help and advise people in the industry how to be successful. I now do 4 days in the salon. I absolutely love my industry and to be honest I’m more the creative of the business where I’m lucky my sister helps with the business side of things. My team are very much my family and I’m always there to support them in and out of work. We are very aware of wellbeing and mental health in the salon and always ensure staff know that me and my sister Maria are always here to help and support them. Regarding appointments in the salon, we provide all of our male clients with longer consultations and full 45-minute appointment times. This allows us to have time to really listen to the client, to talk to them about what they want to achieve in the appointment and to allow for an incredible client experience where our male client’s do not just feel rushed out the doo

Lastly, some words to inspire young creatives here in Australia to embrace the discipline of Men’s hairdressing (precision cutting and hair colouring) to compliment their barbering skills and why the future of our craft will demand it?

Men are becoming more and more aware of their appearance and now don’t want to visit their men’s hairdresser/barber for a quick haircut, they want the full pampering experience. With that in mind, it’s so important that men’s hairdressers/barbers are able to offer their male clients all hair and beauty services, not only cutting and styling but all colour services and beauty treatments including wet shaves, facials, eyebrows, and manicures too. This will not only allow you to stand out from your competitors who don’t offer these additional services and allow you to attract more clients into your salon/barbershop, but it will also help you to build a loyal clientele with some of your male clients coming to the salon/ barbershop more regularly to try out new treatments and also with your male clients coming to you to have all their hair and beauty services/treatments done at once before their nights out, special occasions and holidays. With current men’s hairdressing trends including a lot of longer haired cuts that require the use of scissors and also more fashion led colours, barbers should also be sure to delve into as much training as possible to ensure they can cater towards clients looking for these services. Colour is only going to continue to boom! and longer haired cuts will come back on trend year after year, and you don’t want to lose out on new clients or profits! Should you want to be the master of your men’s hairdressing craft, being able to work on all hair lengths, type sand textures and being knowledgeable on all aspects of colour and the different techniques is vital.