The Hair Salon Brighton is an award-winning space where mindfulness takes precedence over profit. From cruelty-free and eco-friendly products, to the team ethos of work-life balance, getting your barnet serviced has never been so zen. At the heart of it all is passionate founder Oliver Blackaby who recently scooped a prestigious award for doing things differently, from the ground up.
We sat down to talk to Oliver Blackaby about his recent win, his values-driven approach to running a salon and how he’s helping change the face of the hair industry, one mindful cut at a time.
Congratulations on your award! Can you tell us a bit about it and what it means to you? Thank you! Yes, it was for the Colour World competition – an independent industry event that’s especially strong on colourists. But more than that, it’s a space where underdogs can shine. They’ve recently introduced a new category: Mindful Salon, which looks at how a salon is run in a sustainable and mindful way. That’s been a huge focus for me since opening. I built everything here to be eco-conscious, cruelty-free, ethical, sustainable, so when that category launched, I thought, I have to enter next year. I’ve never won an award before, so this meant the world.
It felt like everything I’ve been pouring my energy into: sustainability, collaborations like the one I did with Leave No Trace Brighton, mental health – it’s all been recognised.
It’s clear that how you treat your team is a big part of your ethos too. Absolutely. I came up through the industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it was all about back-to-back clients. Bums on seats. Time slots. Hustle culture. And yes, it gave you discipline, but it also burned people out. Covid really shifted that.
People started saying, “I don’t want to work like that any more.” And I didn’t either. When I opened this space, I was adamant it wouldn’t follow that old-school model.
I wanted to create an environment where stylists could really focus on their clients, take their time, avoid burnout and work sustainably, both emotionally and physically. We also talk about pricing properly, so stylists can earn a good income without seeing an unsustainable number of clients each day. That kind of respect for your own time and energy – it’s empowering.
You even encourage mental health days and support freelancers with things like finances and coaching. That’s rare. Yeah, it’s really important to me. Many of our team are freelance, but that doesn’t mean they’re on their own. I coach people who are nervous about going self-employed, help them connect with trusted accountants, even offer business-coaching support. We also run an education platform, so there’s ongoing learning too. Being freelance shouldn’t mean being unsupported. Here, we’ve built a network. You can be independent and feel part of something.
Speaking of new team members, are you currently looking for more stylists? Yes, always open to conversations! Whether you’re employed and want to go freelance, working from home but miss the salon vibe, or just looking to shift your work-life balance, I’m happy to chat.
Let’s talk about the Academy side of things, how did that start? That came from the education platform I co-founded with Vanessa. We’re both ambassadors for Davroe, a beautiful vegan haircare brand, and we travel the UK delivering our own education courses under their umbrella. We run workshops from the salon too, anything from three-hour demos to full-day hands-on training. We’re passionate about inspiring others, and we often design our own content based on cultural references and movements.
Your Instagram is full of iconic looks, some really striking retro and subculture-inspired cuts. What’s the story there? Vanessa and I are big believers in hair as cultural expression. One of our upcoming courses is all about subcultures and how politics have influenced hair trends over time.
We also run a course called Redefining Masculinity, which looks at longer hair on masculine-presenting people in a gender-neutral way. We draw inspiration from figures like David Bowie and Harry Styles, icons who’ve played with gender and identity through hair.
There’s a real depth to your approach – this isn’t a ‘one-cut-fits-all’ salon.
No, not at all. We’re not about conveyor-belt cuts. Hair is identity. It’s expression. It’s political. It’s emotional. Whether you’re exploring your gender, making a fresh start or just want to feel like you again, we’re here for that.
And, excitingly, you’ve got a new team member starting soon. Yes! We’ve got a new stylist joining us in August who’s an Afro hair specialist, which is such a big step for us. It means we can offer even more versatility and truly reflect the diversity we care about.
Final thoughts? Anything coming up you’re excited about? So many things! But, honestly, I’m just really proud of what we’re building here. It’s not just a salon. It’s a space for expression, for growth, for feeling good inside and out.
71 Blatchington Road, Hove BN3 3YG
