MEET THE TEAM

MICHELLE

Divas owner and Manager Michelle Sadler has been working as a hairdresser since 1995, and founded Divas Salon in 2003. ‘I opened Divas because I was passionate about hairdressing, styling, fashion, and most importantly the salon experience I wanted to create,’ says Michelle. ‘Eight years on and I still feel the same; I’m really proud of what we offer here. Divas is often the first salon in the area to introduce new products and services and our stylists are exceptionally well qualified, talented and friendly.

Many of our clients have been with us for years and I believe we work really hard every day to earn our place as the best salon in Colchester. The value of what we do is in how well we look after our clients, from the moment they step through the door to leaving looking happy and fantastic.

’Michelle has done advanced training courses with some of the top names in the hairdressing industry, these include Toni & Guy cutting, TIGI cutting and Vidal Sassoon creative cutting and has also been involved in colour training with L’Oreal and Goldwell colour products. Michelle has been lucky enough to receive training from the famous ‘fantastic’ Alan Austin-Smith, a credible figure in the industry.

STEVE

A hairdresser for almost 30 years, Steve has completed advanced training with TIGI, L’Oreal and the famous London-based Jingles Hair Academy. Steve has been at Divas for more than five years and says he has seen almost every hair trend during the last three decades.

‘Everything is continually updated,’ says Steve. ‘Fashion goes in full circles but there are variations every time round and it is great fun working with changing trends. Working with so many new products there is a lot of technical knowledge with the job but it’s so rewarding to see the end results and that “wow” mirror moment. 2012 should be interesting as curls are coming back now there is a trend towards perms that we haven't seen for some years.’

AMY-LOUISE

Having studied at Catten College Amy-Louise is now NVQ level 2 qualified, Divas is Amy-Louise’s first job. Visiting the salon as a client from a young age to have her hair cut, Amy-Louise found her love for hairdressing.

She was inspired by the stylists to follow her ambitions to become a hairdresser. Amy-Louise says that the most enjoyable part of being a hairdresser is re-styling clients resulting in making them feel amazing! Her favourite product is the KMS root and body boost, ‘It adds lots of volume to the hair but without a sticky feeling that can be felt with other products.’

JACK

Currently studying at Catten College for his NVQ level 2, Jack has plans to continue studying for his NVQ level 3. Jack enjoys a challenge, and is constantly learning new skills at Divas, he says: ‘I am always up for a challenge, I love being creative and learning new skills.’

The most enjoyable part of the job, Jack says is getting to know the clients and being able to help them. Jack enjoys working with the latest products; his favourites are Moroccanoil products, because of their highly effective use on damaged hair. ‘The shampoo and conditioner set is great for chemically damaged hair, restoring and repairing keratin in the hair, giving your hair a healthy, silky feel.’

LOUIS

Before joining the Divas team, Louis previously worked at Toni & Guy for eighteen months and is currently studying NVQ level 2 at Catten College.

Louis loves the creative and social side to hairdressing, and whilst enjoying building relationships with clients Louis also likes to learn new skills, he says ‘The industry is forever expanding, learning new skills helps me to improve and to become not just a good hairdresser but a great hairdresser.’ KMS hot flex spray is the product Louis recommends most to clients who regularly blow dry and straighten their hair, it is a heat protection product that has heat activated shaping and an elastic hold.

GEMMA

Gemma has been working in hairdressing for ten years and says she has wanted to be a hairdresser since she was five years old. Gemma built up her work experience by working in a salon on Saturdays whilst still at school, then went full time after leaving school and started to study hairdressing.

Gemma has been part of the Divas team for five years now and enjoys cutting short hair, men’s hair and colouring hair where she has trained in creative colouring. Gemma has also completed training for cut throat shaving along with extensive product training, and has a diploma in creative cutting and colouring.

AMANDA

Amanda has been a hairdresser for 25 years she says she has always loved hairdressing, ‘I love creating images and improving a look with colour or cut, transforming a person for the better.’

Along with her talent for creating new looks, Amanda has completed GHD training, which enables her to add that additional touch to a clients’ hair. Amanda’s extensive training has also included TIGI and KMS product training, L’Oreal colour courses and Gents cutting courses.

VICKY

Vicky has been working in the hairdressing industry for more than fifteen years. Having worked in three different salons in Colchester, Vicky has also taken part in a number of courses in the London Academies including a Gentlemen’s Barbering course.

Vicky says, ‘I love being creative and seeing clients leave the salon with a new look and feeling good about themselves.’ Vicky enjoys using Divas range of products on clients, KMS products are her favourite range, in particular the KMS Root Boost, ‘It gives clients with fine hair lots of body.’

NICOLA

Nicola studied at the Colchester institute for two years then studied at Catten College for a further two years acquiring level one and two of her NVQ; she is continuing to study to achieve her level three qualifications. Nicola says ‘It always puts a smile on my face to see that my clients love their hair when they leave the salon.

Meeting new people is the one of the most enjoyable parts of my work, along with colouring clients’ hair; I enjoy seeing the transformation as I find it compliments my cuts.’ Nicola has had a variety of cutting training with the likes of Vidal Sassoon and

Alan Austin- Smith. Nicola’s favourite product is the dry wax ‘It is my favourite product to use to funk up cuts with a nice hold to keep the style, without it feeling heavy.’

CHELSEA

Chelsea has been a Divas client (along with her family) since she was a teenager and started working at the salon on day release while she was still at school. Now a proud Mum, Chelsea is continuing her training in the salon and studying part-time. She loves meeting clients and creating new styles on training nights.

Chelsea says: ‘I’ve had so much support from the team here and it’s great to work somewhere where everyone is so friendly. I’m really looking forward to my training and I’m loving working with the TIGI Superstar range.’

Kaylee

Kaylee originally trained with TIGI, and has worked alongside owner Michelle at Divas for eight years, becoming Vidal Sassoon trained.

Kaylee says the most rewarding part of her job is making people happy “I love giving people a new look; seeing them leave really happy and knowing I was responsible for that is a great feeling.” Kaylee’s favourite product is dry wax, which she says is great on all hair for texture and movement.