After experiencing her own family cancer journey, a Lurgan based hairdresser is determined to make specialist support more accessible to women experiencing medical hair loss.
Katrina Conway (44) has worked in hairdressing for almost 30 years, getting her first taste of the industry when she was just 14-years-old!
From then, she worked across different salons gaining hands on experience and qualifications before opening her own salon on William Street called One Lounge Hair and Beauty, which offer hair, beauty, aesthetics and brows all under one roof.
When Katrina isn’t in the salon you will find her running to and from sporting events as a busy mum to her five kids, (Cohen, Cassie, Lyla, Lottie and Joey) alongside her supporting husband Joe!
“Hairdressing has always been my thing but years ago back in 2009, my mum got diagnosed with cancer and everything changed watching her go through chemotherapy first-hand and seeing how difficult it was for her to wear and find a wig that worked for her,” she said.
“I will never forget my mum coming home from her first day of chemo and telling me about how someone came round with a bin bag full of wigs and told her to pick one out of the bag.
“It was an horrendous experience for her. I went back to the hospital with her after that and we picked out another wig which had longer hair and I took it back to the salon and cut and styled it for her.”
That experience changed things for Katrina, seeing the sparkle come back into her mum’s eyes after finding her a piece that made her feel comfortable and confident in her body.
She began her research into hair-loss solutions, determined to find a way to make women experiencing hair loss feel themselves again.
She continued: “When I went to chemo appointments with mum, you could really see other women there who weren’t comfortable with the wigs they where given.
“Starting off, I would have cut and styled wigs for free for anyone going through chemo and then people started enquiring about more specific cuts, styles and toppers so I realised there may be a chance to make this into a business and make hair loss specialities more accessible to people who need it.”
Alongside running the salon, she started ‘Katrina Hair Loss Specialist’ which specialises in women experiencing hair loss with specialist wigs, luxury human-hair toppers, hair integration, professional fitting, cutting, customisation and ongoing aftercare.
Over the last 15 years, Katrina has dabbled between both hairdressing and working with hair integration until three years ago, when demand became overwhelming and Katrina stepped back from her hairdressing role to focus fully on topper fitting services.
Katrina Hair Loss Specialist offer specialist, confidential and dignified appointments to women experiencing hair loss.
Each appointment begins with a consultation where Katrina will explain the different types of toppers available and the opportunity to try on a few different sample pieces to see what suits the client best. She will also assess the clients hair and decide what sizing and method would work best to ensure the most comfort.
All toppers are made from real human hair with silk, lace and mono toppers available to choose from. Each topper requires little maintenance and simply clips on and off the head. When proper care is taken, toppers can last up to two years!
The salon also offers a ‘wash and go’ service, where clients can drop off toppers to be washed and styled with salon based products.
Katrina explained: “We offer this service for clients who are unable to come into the salon whether that be because they cannot travel, too poorly to come in or they may be nervous.
“This service means the topper can be properly cared for and then collected by anyone at discretion.”
An overwhelming and life-changing experience for many, Katrina deals with clients from all walks of life who put their trust in her services to help them feel themselves again.
She continued: “A lot of feedback I get when clients first see themselves with the topper on is that they can finally look in the mirror and feel themselves again.
“There are always tears, from both clients and myself because it means so much to the client to have that confidence back. Its a special moment when clients look in the mirror for that end result.
“The hardest part for clients I think is that initial reaching out stage because they are nervous to take the next step in their hair loss journey.
“As I tell every client, there is no pressure to buy, sometimes a person may just need to come in and vent, see what’s available and take sometime to process that next stage and that’s okay.”
Katrina offers flexible working hours to suit the needs of her clients, offering her services outside salon times to ensure comfort for clients.
If you are unable to travel to the Salon based in Lurgan, Katrina offers home visits in the local area.
Her website also offers an extensive range of toppers which can be styled to your liking, and delivered to the comfort of your home.
Her transformative work, has been recognised on an award-winning level, with Katrina being honoured with a number of awards, including recognition as Northern Ireland Hair Loss Clinic of the Year! Her awards include:
- Northern Ireland Hair Loss Clinic of the Year — Northern Ireland Industry Awards
- Northern Ireland Hair Loss Salon of the Year — Regional UK Hair Awards
- Northern Ireland Hair Loss Clinic of the Year — Northern Ireland Beauty Industry Awards
- Runner-up — Prestige Beauty Excellence Awards
- Runner-up— UK-Wide Hair Loss Specialist Competition
Click here to follow One Lounge Hair and Beauty on Facebook
Most read today
PUBLIC NOTICE
