Respected celebrity hairdresser inspires Limavady students

Internationally acclaimed celebrity hair stylist and hair expert Andrew Barton was in County Derry last week, bringing with him hope, creativity, confidence, and giving young people opportunities to believe in themselves.

Known throughout the UK as one of the most respected names in hairdressing, Andrew has styled some of the world’s most recognisable faces and has become a trusted television hair expert, educator, entrepreneur, and mentor.

Many television viewers will also recognise him as the resident hair expert from 10 Years Younger, where he became known for transforming confidence as much as hair.

During his visit to North West Regional College’s Limavady campus, the award-winning hairdresser spent time with students and staff sharing his expertise, industry insight and creative techniques.

He also spoke about his own personal story with apprentices, encouraging them to embrace their individuality and understand the incredible opportunities available within the hair industry.

“It was an absolute pleasure to visit Limavady,” Andrew told the County Derry Post.

“For the students, it was very much about them seeing where they could take their careers in the future.

“In terms of my own background, I come from a deprived area at the wrong end of the council estate. I left school with no qualifications, I was told I wasn't good at school and then rose to the dizzying heights of what my career has been.

“I often work with young people who sometimes have not had a great start in life, those who come from two or three generations of families that have not really worked, so there's not really a work ethic in the family. The Limavady visit was all about kind of encouraging those students to look ahead to a bright future, to employment, to an exciting career for themselves. It was about raising their aspirations of how they can contribute to society. So although it was a kind of demonstration of haircutting techniques, there were lots of other softer kinds of skills and life skills built around the coaching session.”

Andrew was ‘very badly bullied’ as a child and attempted to take his own life several times as a teenager however he found a love for hairdressing which he says became his ‘salvation’.

“I found a safe space and I found a place where I could bloom and become who I really am,” he said.

Andrew said the feedback from NWRC students and staff has been ‘amazing’.

“I'm helping people to achieve their goals and ambitions, but also to help them understand what goals and ambitions can look like as well. I'm very keen that along with the great lecturers in colleges who care passionately about what they do, that we're helping young people to understand that there are other options than just charging £10 for a haircut in somebody's kitchen.

“It’s about helping those young people to understand that a professional career as a hairdresser can give an interesting career, but also kind of opportunities and a good lifestyle because, ultimately it's a place of work where you go to earn an income and have a good income from that. But, you know what, the hairdressing salon has always been the centre of the community, whether it's a village, town centre or city centre. The salon is a place where people come together, get cared for, it's about customer service and transforming how they look and feel and so a lot of that when I was with the students was kind of sharing that psychology of what hairdressing is to people, what it means to people.”

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For anyone contemplating a career in the hairdressing industry, Andrew has this message:

“I think it's about doing research - you might have to travel beyond the end of your street to get good training - but there is fantastic regional training wherever you’re based. Further education colleges like NWRC in Limavady have an amazing team of people there who are very focused on helping support that learning and skill building for their students. And ultimately, their ambition every day is to help young people become successful at what they do, become confident, gain a high level of skill and get a rewarding job and career for themselves. And, you know, let's not forget as well that hairdressing, apprenticeships, training in a college, that might just be the start. That foundation can often lead people to creating their own business in the community, being part of the community, and employing other people as well further down the road. A 16 year-old kid coming into college probably doesn't see that at the beginning but those foundations will help them to see the opportunity that they might have.”