HJ VOICENOTES

The current London Hairdresser of the Year talks feminism in our industry in 2024 and her role models

JORDANNA COBELLA

"FEMINISM IN THE HAIRDRESSING INDUSTRY LOOKS LIKE WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN. WE SHOULD BE CELEBRATING BOTH THE DIVERSITY AND COMMONALITY OF WOMEN”

Feminism is still about striving for gender equality and equal pay, but increasingly in 2024 it feels like feminism means celebrating the divine woman and feminine power. It’s about celebrating female superpowers and our differences to men, rather than seeing them as flaws.

It’s about stepping into female energy and celebrating the maternal traits we bring to our roles in the workplace and the relationships we have.

Feminism used to be about ‘wear trousers, be more like a man’ – but now it’s about celebrating who you are as a woman. I truly believe that feminism in the hairdressing industry looks like women supporting women. We should be celebrating both the diversity and commonality of women. In short, it’s women coming together.

Having feminist icons is important to me. I’m really inspired by Renya Xydis, a global ambassador for Wella Professionals in Australia. She celebrates her femininity – she has bright pink hair and piercing blue eyes. She dresses femininely; yet has such a strong presence. She is so professional, you’d never catch her talking badly about another hairdresser. It’s great to have a figurehead like that representing professionalism in our industry.

To me, she is what makes a great hairdresser. Her eloquence and careful choice of language makes her the whole package. She represents her passion for hairdressing through podcasts and her social media channels, on which she’s amazingly active. Yes, she’s 60 years old, but she dispels any notions of social media having an upper age limit. She’s halfway across the world but her online presence makes her seem like she’s much closer. People connect with her through her amazing hair, but also her energy and confident vibe.

Speaking of confidence, imposter syndrome is such a common issue in our industry, and especially for women. Initially, I trained as a lawyer and retrained as a hairdresser when I was 21, and for a long time I felt like I was winging it. Now when I’m training young hairdressers, I can see that they’re nervous, but I think that’s great. No one has ever felt ‘ready’ to be charging £70 for a haircut. It’s the same across every industry, everyone has imposter syndrome. We’re taught in a very linear way at school – there is no room for grey areas. But in the creative industry we have to embrace the grey, because it’s how we handle those insecurities and mistakes that make us who we are.

I still have moments of imposter syndrome – but I think it’s good to have areas that you feel that you could improve. It’s so important to enjoy the journey along the way. I really want to empower hairdressers to realise that anything is achievable. People say things like ‘I don’t have the money to attend that course or do a shoot’, ‘I have a young family,’ or ‘I’m freelance, I can’t do that’– stop the excuses. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.