Supporting people in the community

[Rmars]

Hi,
I just want to make it clear, I am not selling or promoting my business I simply want advise from people who experience dementia within their family.

I previously worked in a care home where a lot of our residents were diagnosed with dementia. During my time there I took them out to dementia friendly events and visited charities which helped people with all sorts of disabilities and illnesses, of all ages. They highlighted to me that it is a struggle to find salons (hair and beauty) that accommodate for people like your family members.

Having found out this information I have decided to put my all into opening a salon which is suitable to everyone, as it is important for people to still live their life even if they have dementia. I have witnessed how these little things can really help improve moods and have a positive impact and I would like to carry on helping.

Hence why I would like some info regarding this matter. It would really help if i could have some feedback on if you have been in this situation and it was a disaster, how it could of improved and why it didn’t work. To if it was a success some reasons as to why.

I understand not everybody is at the stage where they will be able to attend and everyone is different and can also be different from day to day. But I want to offer a calm and peaceful environment for people to be able to relax and where family members can feel they can come for some support.

Like I say, I won’t be disclosing my brand name as I am not seeking business. I only want to help and provide a service which has been developed by the real life obstacles that you all face.

Thanks!

 

[Wifenotcarer]

Hi,
I just want to make it clear, I am not selling or promoting my business I simply want advise from people who experience dementia within their family.

I previously worked in a care home where a lot of our residents were diagnosed with dementia. During my time there I took them out to dementia friendly events and visited charities which helped people with all sorts of disabilities and illnesses, of all ages. They highlighted to me that it is a struggle to find salons (hair and beauty) that accommodate for people like your family members.

Having found out this information I have decided to put my all into opening a salon which is suitable to everyone, as it is important for people to still live their life even if they have dementia. I have witnessed how these little things can really help improve moods and have a positive impact and I would like to carry on helping.

Hence why I would like some info regarding this matter. It would really help if i could have some feedback on if you have been in this situation and it was a disaster, how it could of improved and why it didn’t work. To if it was a success some reasons as to why.

I understand not everybody is at the stage where they will be able to attend and everyone is different and can also be different from day to day. But I want to offer a calm and peaceful environment for people to be able to relax and where family members can feel they can come for some support.

Like I say, I won’t be disclosing my brand name as I am not seeking business. I only want to help and provide a service which has been developed by the real life obstacles that you all face.

Thanks!

When you say that your salon will be welcoming for everyone, I hope you mean that it will be Unisex. My OH is the PWD and it was not a problem for me to take him to the Barbers. My problem was getting my own hair cut as OH cannot be left home alone, or trusted to sit quietly in the car, nor would he tolerate sitting waiting in the hairdressers for say, 40 minutes until I was washed, cut and blowdried.

We have solved the problem by finding a really good Barber who cuts Ladies and Gents, taking no more than 10 minutes per customer, and fully understands my OH's problem, allowing us to sit together, chatting while we are being done. He always trims, OH's eyebrows, ears, even nose hairs, as OH has long since given up doing this himself and I am reluctant to wield scissors in these sensitive areas.

Hope this is the kind of feedback you are seeking

 

[Rmars]

When you say that your salon will be welcoming for everyone, I hope you mean that it will be Unisex. My OH is the PWD and it was not a problem for me to take him to the Barbers. My problem was getting my own hair cut as OH cannot be left home alone, or trusted to sit quietly in the car, nor would he tolerate sitting waiting in the hairdressers for say, 40 minutes until I was washed, cut and blowdried.

We have solved the problem by finding a really good Barber who cuts Ladies and Gents, taking no more than 10 minutes per customer, and fully understands my OH's problem, allowing us to sit together, chatting while we are being done. He always trims, OH's eyebrows, ears, even nose hairs, as OH has long since given up doing this himself and I am reluctant to wield scissors in these sensitive areas.

Hope this is the kind of feedback you are seeking

Hi, yes it will be unisex. It will also be a place where we will try to accommodate everybody’s needs involved.

Thank you, this has been helpful.

 

[Kevinl]

My wife wouldn't keep still at the hairdressers, they were very good about it but in the end I had to stop taking her.
I asked around and a neighbour suggested a visiting hairdresser and she was very good. As a mobile hairdresser many of her clients had a disability which meant they couldn't get to a normal hairdressers.
She had immobile clients, agoraphobic clients, some bed bound and quite a few with some form of dementia and the obvious advantage of no rent, business rates, you'd need somewhere that had parking available and disabled access and even then you'd only be able to take people who could come to you.
The home my wife's in has a hairdressing room and the hairdresser come in two days a week, across the 3 units there's about 80 people so she's kept busy and she also does the hair for some of the visitors.
She does 2 days a week there and another 2 days in another home and has some clients she visits at home. I don't know what the arrangement is but she bills the home and they bill me so I guess the home takes a percentage to cover the cost of the room and that she's always assisted by one of the carers if needed.
The prices are very reasonable and from the car she drives I'd say she makes a pretty good living, other than the percentage (I assume) the home takes she has virtually no overheads as the home supplies the saloon, electricity, water, business rates and even supplies the customers, nice little earner.
K