History of Freelance Hairdressing
The History
No one seems to remember exactly how freelance hairdressing
began. Could it have been the aristocratic households of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where ladies' maids and
valets were engaged? The best class of maid, it was generally
agreed, was French. Best at dressing hair in most up-to-date
Parisian styles. That was until the Napoleonic wars !
Moving on to the very early 1900's the average pay for a ladies maid was £16.00 per year. However. The principal reward of the ladies maid was cast-off finery. In return she would work hard on her employers every detail of appearance. Amongst the wealthy it was considered polite if you had a particularly talented ladies maid to send her to visit your friends especially for the skill of hairdressing. She would then pack up her dressing-case, complete with looking glass brushes, boxes of pins and combs. Thus creating the freelance (or mobile) hairdresser.
A century on freelance hairdressers charge the same and sometimes more for a cut and blow dry, in comparison to the amount earned in a year by the ladies maid. Today they travel in cars, on bikes, or on public transport to reach their clientele. The changing face of society means that people move around much faster and have less time available to spend at the shops, in a time when groceries can be delivered to the door via an order on the Internet. Perhaps the service and retail industry is going back to basics. Only time will tell what effects all of this will have on hairdressing in the 21st century.
Fit for a Queen
Some of the most powerful and influential women in the world
today have their hair dressed in the privacy and convenience
of their own home. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother known
for distinctive rather than exciting, safe rather than adventurous,
dress sense opted for years to remain with her usual arrangement:
First Mr. Maurice, and then after his death Mr. Robert dressed
the Queen Mother's hair at home and never in the salon. Approximately
thirty five years ago Steiner first offered Hair and Beauty
services on board cruise ships, in 1992 the company received
the Royal warrant from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth as "Hairdressers"
.Along with the security that the various Palaces and Castles
provide, the home visiting hairdressing service is an absolute
necessity for Her Majesty as it wouldn't be appropriate to
dress Her Majesty's hair in public. As the Head of State,
Her Majesty is photographed and attends functions on an almost
daily basis, it is important her hairdressers are constantly
on call to provide this vital service.
The Thatcher Years
The Thatcher years hold memories for most of us both good
and bad with the encouragement of small businesses. However,
many small businesses including hairdressing salons suffered
when the Poll Tax arrived pushing business costs of running
a retail outlet sky high. Eventually the recession hit these
small businesses the hardest. This was a time when 'Being
Mobile' became fashionable. It is interesting to note that
during her years in office as Prime Minister The Rt. Hon Thatcher
(now The Rt. Hon the Baroness Thatcher) elected to have her
hair dressed at home in No: 10. Famous for requiring very
little sleep, every minute was accounted for within her busy
schedule. On a very regular basis her hairdresser would attend
early in the morning to style the hair of our political ambassador.
The Future
A growth market hairdressing in general offers the opportunity
for a career in one of our largest and most respected industries,
combining job satisfaction with financial stability In particular
freelance hairdressing is a good way to run your business
and have the freedom to work at your own pace and convenience,
without having to invest in a large financial outlay You will
continually be rewarded, not only financially, but also in
a social and spiritual sense providing an essential service
to members of the public who, for whatever reason, can not
make it to a salon.