By Jen Cowley

When a teenage Kerrie Monk set her sights on a post-school career path, she couldn’t have known that a now-outdated case of physical discrimination would in fact deliver her a life-long vocation in an industry she’s grown to love.

The Dubbo born and raised dynamo with the big personality wasn’t tall enough to reach the regulated height for an air hostess, turning instead to hairdressing – and in the 35 years since, she’s never once looked back.

Times have changed and these days, Kerrie would be the perfect fit for the career she thought she wanted, but the accidental shift into hairdressing has been, she says, “a happy choice”.

“I love it,” she tells Dubbo Photo News, flopping into one of the chairs after another long day wielding the tools of her trade at what is arguably one of the region’s best-known hairdressing salons, Fuze.

As the owner operator of the successful business, Kerrie has seen it all in an ever-evolving industry.

“I’ve seen trends come and go and come back again, and go again... and come back again!” she chortles, her trademark laugh bouncing around the walls of the salon.

What she really loves about the job is the camaraderie that exists in the industry: “Getting to know other hairdressers and building a really strong network of friends in the industry is so much fun.

“I’ve also made really firm friendships through connecting with clients – I think of all my clients as friends.”

The job itself, she says, is hard work but the slog pays off.

“You have to keep evolving, but it’s very rewarding.

“You do have to set goals and set yourself challenges even after 35 years.

“You’re only as good as your last haircut – you can always do better – you have to find that self-motivation and strive to be the best you can be, for yourself and your clients.”

So what makes a good hair dresser?

Kerrie doesn’t hesitate: “You have to be a good communicator, a good conversationalist. Consultation is everything – you have to establish what it is the client wants and needs, and you have to care, genuinely care from the heart.

“You need to explain to them what’s necessary for them to achieve the result they want, and if in fact they’re able to achieve that result.”

I ask what happens if a client wants a style she knows simply won’t work.

“That’s a good question – it comes down to your approach as a professional, and again, to communication.

“After 35 years’ experience, I know what’s going to work and what won’t, and it often comes down not so much to the style but to the amount of time the client will have to spend on their hair.

“That’s all part of the consultation – it’s up to me to talk them through all that and to guide them so they get the best possible outcome.”

The past couple of years has been particularly tough on the hairdressing industry, and Kerrie acknowledges just how brutal the pandemic’s impact has been, but says there has definitely been a silver lining.

“It’s shown people just how important their hairdresser is. After eight weeks of the last lockdown, I’ve never felt so loved!” she hoots with laughter.

“I suddenly became the most important person in all these people’s lives!

“But on a serious note, it was kind of nice – not only to have eight weeks’ forced break, but to come back and see just how valued the service I provide is. It was a validation that what I do, the heart and soul I put into it, is important.”

Kerrie has also noticed, and been heartened by, the fact that people have become so much more patient.

“They’ve learned to just go with the flow a bit more,” she smiles.

“I think that’s been an important lesson for us all: to stop and smell the roses.

“We’re here, we’re healthy and we’re getting on with doing the best we can.”