Looking for inspiration? Meet Errol Douglas MBE
Congratulations to our world-renowned Member Errol Douglas MBE whose Belgravia salon was the first recipient of our newly launched Black Hair Excellence Award.
The Good Salon Guide award recognises the amazing diversity of our industry and the immense talent out there in working with black hair. Errol has also recently won Fellowship Hairdresser of the Year and International Hairdresser of the Year. We’re really proud to have had him as a Member since 1998!
We caught up with Errol to find out what the award means to him and why he’s such an inspirational and inspiring industry leader and mentor.
Is industry recognition such as the Black Hair Excellence Award important to you?
"It is great that the Good Salon Guide now has a Black Hair Excellence Award as part of its star rating system. Salons throughout the UK do so much to meet the demands of their diverse clientele.
"Since we opened in 1998, we have become one of the first all-inclusive salons and, to be honest, still one of the few that can, hand on heart, provide a full hairdressing service to all clients/all hair textures with the utmost confidence.
"We’ve always prided ourselves on maintaining our position as one of the best London salons. This endorsement from Good Salon Guide reflects that not only to us, but to our many clients."
“What a fabulous industry – who would choose not to? What industry can you go into where you can train and become an accomplished hairdresser and take your tool – your pair of scissors -- with you and be able to translate your skillset/creativity in any country in the world? It’s a skillset for life and the opportunities are boundless.” ~ Errol Douglas
What are your current goals?
"To get Errol Douglas London back running on an even keel again after the last couple of years of the pandemic – never will we be able to recover our losses but there’s no looking back. Likewise for fellow salon owners – if we’ve come this far, we can do it – we are all slowly recovering and getting back on our feet.
"We’ve lost some incredible talent which is the saddest most awful thing, the most difficult time for all of us – especially London – which is still in recovery and will be for some time."
“Throughout the pandemic I stayed in contact with everyone ensuring their wellbeing and mental health was good, it was vital as a born communicator and, to be honest, human contact and camaraderie was what I worried about and missed the most.”~ Errol Douglas
Did you take any positives from the pandemic?
"To be thankful. To be able to conduct a meeting without being there. To learn to live life in the slow lane, yet still creating fast fixes. It’s made the majority appreciate our teams, their wellbeing – and trying wherever possible to introduce a whole new way of working in terms of incorporating both work and play. A new balance."
“I love to educate, love undertaking shows – and can’t even explain the feeling when I’m on stage educating a large international audience – wherever I am in the world. I totally love that feeling of sharing, giving, and inspiring.” ~ Errol Douglas
Members: Interested to know more about Good Salon Guide’s Black Hair Excellence recognition? Wondering how to maximise your star rating in your local marketing? Call or email the team and we’ll be delighted to help.