Beyond the barber service – an industry masterclass
The power of the client-barber relationship and its ability to flag up mental health problems was discussed by a local entrepreneur during a Walsall College masterclass. Hannah McKnight, owner of Nu Era Salon in Great Wyrley, Walsall hosted an industry-led session that emphasised to student barbers the importance of reaching out to clients experiencing mental health difficulties.
Hannah is an ambassador of The Lions Barbers Collective; an international collection of barbers who help raise awareness of suicide prevention.
“Barbers don’t just cut hair,” said Hannah. “We’re instigators and mediators for deeply personal and in-depth conversations that reveal how a person is really feeling.
“I wanted to make the students aware that if one of their clients said something or behaved in a way that suggested all was not well then they could reach out to them in a vital way.”
The Lions Barbers Collective uses four pillars of BarberTalk – RECOGNISE, ASK, LISTEN and HELP to enable barbers to build on the trust and safety that their client experiences when sitting in their chair. With these pillars, they can encourage the client to share, open up and/or offload.
“We each have the potential to save a life,” Hannah added.
Hannah also demonstrated a fade cut to the Level 2 and 3 students. She described each stage of the process and explained her choice of clippers and styling products.
Following the masterclass, the students were completing Barber TalkLite online training in order to continue exploring the benefits of a proactive barber-client relationship.