Roisin Lea is only 27 years old but she’s already launched her own business and has a lengthy waitlist of loyal clients
A Liverpool hairdresser who always dreamed of owning her own business has become such an expert in colour transformations that her clients are desperate to keep her salon a secret. Roisin Lea, 27, from Anfield, runs Salon 88 on Townsend Lane alongside her sister Liv.
The sisters have aspired to run their own business together since they were children, and their dream was finally realised in 2019 when they opened their own salon together. Roisin started hairdressing as soon as she left school and became an apprentice at Voodou hair salon on Bold Street.
She worked in the city centre salon for around five years before moving to Toni & Guy, until she took the leap and decided to become self-employed, working as a mobile hairdresser. Roisin told the ECHO: “It was a huge risk but I just thought ‘go for it’. I told myself I’d give it three months, see how self-employed life went and if I didn’t get busier, I could always go back to working in another salon – but I’ve never looked back. I was 21 years old and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
After building up a lengthy list of loyal customers, Roisin took the next big step in her career when she decided to go into business with her sister, who works as a nail and eyelash technician. Roisin said: “My sister and I always said growing up that we were going to have a business together – it was all we dreamed of. By the time when she was ready to get her own shop, I had only been self-employed doing mobile hairdressing for a few months, so I couldn’t commit to paying bills on a premises. I decided to just rent a station off her in the salon at first.”
Starting their own independent business was a huge gamble for the sisters, but more and more customers quickly started coming through the door, as recommendations started to spread. But just as their dream salon was starting to take off, the UK was hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced Salon 88 to close its doors less than a year after opening. Roisin said lockdown was a “scary time” for business owners, and she tried to do what she could to keep her business alive by dropping off at-home colour kits for her clients on their doorsteps.
Roisin said: “I was worried people would just get used to colouring their hair at home and not come back to the salon. But after lockdown business for me bounced back bigger than ever – I couldn’t believe it.”
Now Roisin shares the business with her sister Liv and her reputation among her clients as the ‘queen of colour’ has earned her a long list of new customers who come from across Liverpool to get transformed by the stylist. Roisin said her biggest source of custom comes from client recommendations and social media, with many new clients spotting her on Instagram and booking in instantly.
Roisin’s Instagram account showcases some of her most impressive colour work, taking dull, tired looking hair and transforming it with expertly applied balayage, bold copper colours and striking blondes. Her work is so impressive that people even stop her clients in the street to ask where they get their hair done – but not everyone is willing to divulge their secret.
Roisin said: “I love when a client messages me after their appointment to say how much they love their hair, or to say someone in a shop has just complimented them and asked where they got it done. Although I do have a couple of clients that keep me top secret because they don’t want anyone else to have there hair colours! I find this hysterical, and say to the clients ‘they are new potential clients for me!’ but they just laugh and say ‘no, you’re mine – no one else is getting my colour’.”
After building her own business from the ground up, Roisin now finds herself so in-demand that her waiting list stretches for weeks. But she still makes sure to save slots for the regulars who have supported her since day one. She said: “I have had a lot of my clients for many years – some still from when I first started my hairdressing career. It’s such a lovely thing to have actually made friends out of clients who have been so loyal over the years. Every time they come in it’s like catching up with a friend – I look forward to every appointment.”
The success of Salon 88 gave Roisin the confidence to take the next big step in her career, and the 27-year-old recently launched her own hair extension brand, Roshi Weft. She told the ECHO: “I love hairdressing and I never see my self leaving the industry, but I wanted something that meant I had a plan for the future, because it’s a demanding industry which involves being on your feet all day, never taking a lunch break and working through sickness so I never let any of my clients down. I thought to myself ‘I need a five to 10 year plan on how to stay in the industry but not be on the shop floor’.
“I love everything about hair extensions and I love how much they can transform your hair. I love a more natural approach and would always encourage clients to have their extensions fitted to enhance their natural hair rather than anyone being able to tell they’re wearing extensions. So much hard work went in to it behind the scene, and now I’ve just brought out my own range of hair brushes and combs.”
It’s taken a decade of hard work and long hours, but it seems the sky is the limit for Roisin’s business, with the Anfield stylist setting her sights on a bright future in the industry.
