A hairy situation

We can all agree, there were many things we took for granted before the lockdown, among them, being able to pop to the hairdressers or barbers to have your mane tamed.

Salons have been closed for nearly two months now, and in that time greys have begun to appear and tresses have become unruly.

Sure, by and large in the current situation it’s a small issue, but all the same, it’s in our nature to want to look good. So, if shaping up your hair gives you a boost, it’s a good thing, right?

One man who agrees with this sentiment is hairdresser Patrick Gildea. Readers from the northwest may be familiar with Patrick, who owns Patrick Gildea Hairdressing & Beauty in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

Patrick has been in business in the town for 32 years. Having won numerous awards down through the years, he is very well known in the hairdressing industry.

Since the salon temporarily closed, Patrick has started putting up hair colouring and cutting video tutorials on his Facebook page Patrick Gildea Hairdressing.

As hairdressers can’t offer their normal services, and won’t be able to open until 20 July, all going well, Patrick felt the approach of telling people not to touch their hair was wrong, that you had to give people alternatives to going to the salon.

“Whether they’re in lockdown or not, when people look in the mirror they still want to feel reasonable.

“They still want to try and make an effort to look their best. If we can assist them in any way to do that a little, then we have achieved a lot for people’s wellbeing.

They’re not going to achieve that salon experience, but they can feel their hair is out of their eyes, that it’s not irritating them and that there’s a wee bit of shape

“That’s why we need to recommend a few tips and things that people can do at home.

“They’re not going to achieve that salon experience, but they can feel their hair is out of their eyes, that it’s not irritating them and that there’s a wee bit of shape. Again, if we can achieve that, there’s a lot being achieved.”

Patrick is practicing what he preaches. After speaking with Irish Country Living he has to video call a customer, a lady with short hair, to give some advice on tidying up her hair with a clippers.

The team at Patrick Gildea is also offering video consultations to send out a refresh colour to customers, which will help reduce greys until they can get to the salon again.

The thing to remember is, if you use a colour that’s not permanent, it’s going to wash out

It’s often thought there is a special therapeutic bond between a hairdresser and their client, and while face-to-face meetings will have to wait a little longer, Patricks hopes these tips will help bridge the gap until then.

“The thing to remember is, if you use a colour that’s not permanent, it’s going to wash out. If you are going to snip your hair, it’s going to grow. Different times require different options.”

Colours

“We find a lot of people at home are looking for answers around grey hair, they want to find a way of softening it down.

“As one lady says to me, she is living with a man for 20 years and he’s never seen her grey hair. For ladies with a colour there are a couple of options at the minute.

1 “They can contact their own hairdresser and their hairdresser can direct them.

2 “They can opt for a refresh service that maybe some hairdressers like ourselves are supplying.

3 “We don’t recommend this as an industry, but we have to be realistic and we have to be honest, these are unusual and different times. As a last resort, if people do feel they need to purchase a colour in the chemist, if that is their only avenue, then we are just pleading with them not to pick a permanent colour and to opt for a semi-permanent colour.

“If they are applying it at home, be careful and apply it just to the root area, don’t apply it all over. Use the time that’s recommended and massage it into the ends just for the last five minutes.

“Please stay away from strong, chemical, on-the-shelf permanent colours.”

Styling short hair

“What we are finding for ladies who have shorter hairstyles, they maybe find that it’s getting a bit long and heavy. So let’s think, Aubrey Hepburn done casually.

It mightn’t be perfect, but psychologically, the hair looks slightly dressed

“Wash the hair, towel dry it really well and put in a bit of moose or a bit of moisturiser. Run this through with the hands and just comb the hair back off the face.

“It mightn’t be perfect, but psychologically, the hair looks slightly dressed, it looks slightly polished and it looks controlled.

“It mightn’t be the look they like on an everyday basis, but at least it’s giving them something so that they don’t feel unruly and dishevelled.”

Cutting

Patrick has tutorials for cutting a full head of long hair, including a fringe and cutting short hair with a clippers on his Facebook page. His first piece of advice on cutting is to do your homework and watch a reputable tutorial.

Long hair with scissors:

“I always think a half an inch is a great line if you’re snipping anywhere, because it’s an easy measurement, you won’t go past it and you won’t do any major damage. If you do feel you need a bit more off, you can always snip another half an inch.

Just that wee half an inch is the difference between people feeling a little bit fresher

“Don’t worry about the back, that’s not a problem, maybe if there’s somebody at home, get them to take a bit off the bottom at the back.

“Whether the hair is short, medium or long; the important part for someone when they look in the mirror when they get up in the morning, is the fringe, the top and the sides.

“Just that wee half an inch is the difference between people feeling a little bit fresher and a little bit less grumpy.

Short hair with a clippers:

“If guys want to do the full buzz cut, by all means go ahead and do that, but what I did in the tutorial online was I created a V section on the crown and left it.

“They can shave up to that point. It keeps the tidiness around the sides and back. Then they can leave the top long, where they can put in a bit of gel, either lift it up or just brush it back.

“It mightn’t give them the ideal haircut they’re used to, but they’re tidy, they feel a bit styled and they feel as if it’s some kind of shape for now.”

To watch Patrick’s tutorials, search Patrick Gildea Hairdressing on Facebook.

Patrick Gildea grew up in Glagow to Irish parents. It was in Scotland he first took a notion go hairdressing and for quite an interesting reason too.

“I’m only being honest with you here now. A friend of mine’s brother was a hairdresser. He was one of these cool guys and he used to get all the women. We used to admire him and I thought if I become a hairdresser, I’ll get all the women,” laughs Patrick.

Irish Country Living enquires how that worked out for him.

“I got my wife anyway,” he replies good-naturedly.

When he went into hairdressing, Patrick says he fell in love with it. However, when he moved to Ireland first he came away from it.

“When I moved to Ireland I was working on the sites for a while and I realised that hairdressing was for me. I went back into hairdressing and followed that career path.”

At just 18 years of age, Patrick opened a salon in Letterkenny and has been in business there ever since. Five years ago, Patrick had three salons in the town and amalgamated them into a “super salon”.

Currently Patrick and his team are preparing new systems for the safety of staff and customers when they can reopen. Overall, he is looking forward to getting back behind the scissors.