When I first moved to Canberra, I never got my hair done. The process of searching, researching, and selecting someone to do my hair felt like a task I was simply unequipped to overcome. What if he fried my hair and left me with bleached straw on my head? What if she just didn’t know how to achieve the results I wanted and left me disappointed? Or what if, maybe, I just didn’t want to cheat on my hairdresser, who had been doing my hair since I was old enough to sit in the chair?
Much like a lot of the gals in the network who are new in town, it was a combination of these questions but particularly the latter that sent me commuting to my home salon every few months to get my hair done. Well, unlike my Sydney friends who see their digs several times a year, I found it difficult to commute to Florida to get my roots touched up and my highlights refreshed. After a particularly grueling day in the chair on a trip back to Florida in 2019, my hairdresser told me we needed to see new people.
Fast forward two months, I found myself walking up the steps to the home salon billed, “best blondes in Canberra”, and after a twenty-minute consultation, it was easy to see why. Shupinder Sidhu breathes the kind of quiet confidence that only comes from deep passion and experience for a profession. She doesn’t hide behind high-end products or an ostentatious salon; she takes each client on her own custom hair journey in her minimalist home salon, achieving results using low tox, and where possible, completely natural ingredients.
“And it works!” explains Shupinder, “I know that I am successful because my clients tell me so. The journey we go on is not just hair, it’s your knowledge and self-esteem, too. Your hair is your crown, and when you have beautiful hair and know how to take care of it, it shows because it makes you feel beautiful, and therefore, you are beautiful because you believe it to be so.”
When Shupinder first moved to Australia, she, like many young people who come here for university, didn’t have any connections here. She effectively started from scratch. Building both her skills and her following, Shupinder quickly felt like she had found her calling, painting hair and making gals feel beautiful and confident, one head at a time.
“Everyday,” says Shupinder, “there are new challenges, creating new colours on new heads. When you start with someone new, you don’t always know exactly how it’s going to turn out. Everyone’s hair is different, and so each hair journey is different. But the best part is when a client has patience. Some people think I do blonde hair magic. That’s not it. It’s about being patient and accepting the process.”
“One thing I wish that people knew about hair is that it is sensitive. Most of the products used to lighten hair have ammonia in them. That’s poison! Here, we use a line of products that are natural, and the results are amazing”. They are made from naturally derived organic ingredients to maintain the hair’s natural oils rather than stripping them away. The products are also supplied in packaging made from 100% Australian landfill plastic, preventing more than 100 tonnes of plastic from reaching landfills each year. “They’re top of the line in so many ways, but the fact is that they are actually quite good for hair too, and that’s the best part”.
Looking at Shupinder’s Instagram page, it’s easy to see just how much that patience pays off. She is notorious for before and afters and astonishing blonde transformations. My own hair journey with her has been one that has given me lighter highlights, but also, unexpectedly, the return of my curls. Gals who visit Canberra Hairdresser leave with a greater awareness of how to take better care of their hair naturally, which improves ther self-confidence and helps them navigate the world with a crown on their heads.
Mission
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RAE KNOPIK
is the founder and current President (2019-2020) of the CBR Gals Network Board. She is a regular contributor to the Network’s blog.
@RaeKnop
Author: Rae Knopik
Rae Knopik is the founder and current Board President (2019-2023) of the CBR Gals Network. She is a regular contributor to the Network's blog.