I first met Sarah around 5 years ago and found her passion for working with long hair to be extremely infectious. Since that initial meeting, I have watched with admiration as she has continued to grow as both an artist and a business woman. I caught up with Sarah recently to chat about her journey and see where she finds her inspiration.

Sarah, when did your passion for long hair start?

I completed my hairdressing apprenticeship in Australia & New Zealand and after learning the intricacies of the trade, I really started to fall in love with finishing hair. I felt at times, we as stylists, often let ourselves down by not adding that extra touch to the finished look, so I began to focus on completing looks to the next level.

It was around this time I also met Patrick Cameron, who is well known as a long hair specialist. It was by chance he approached me on my lunch break and asked if I would be a hair model for him, for a three hour class. I was happy to participate and I picked his brain for the whole three hours! His work was very impressive.

Fast forward a few years and after becoming a mother I completed a diploma in makeup. I threw myself into learning as much as I could about makeup and styling hair so I could offer the complete glamour package.

Sarah, where and who do you feel had an impact on your creativity.?

Apart from Patrick Cameron, I was really inspired by Natalie Anne & Sharon Blaine who are absolute legends when it comes to hair art. I would study their work and recreate techniques they were using, until I also had perfected them. These days I tend to look toward upcoming fashion trends each season and digital media for my research and inspiration.

When looking at designing a style for a client, what do you take into consideration?

I always look at the entire picture so as to create a design that best suits that client and their particular occasion. I consider what they are wearing, the occasion, the client’s hair type, their face shape and then place a realistic expectation on what can be achieved. I teach this in my classes along with the motto don’t panic! If it’s not going how you want the style to go, then stop and take a breath. If you need to undo it and start again, so be it. Don’t finish until you are happy with the result.

How do you price your work Sarah?

When pricing styling work, I always recommend taking a few things into account.

– Be realistic about the level of experience you have

– Familiarise yourself with the price point being charged in your area

– Never undercut yourself or sell yourself short

These points will assist you in charging correctly. There is no point being too expensive and not getting any jobs. However, if you are confident in the work you can do, then charge accordingly. Just do the research.

So Sarah, what’s next for you?

Well Joe, I am very excited to have something BIG about to happen in the next month, so how about we catch up for a Part Two?

To follow Sarah on Instagram go to

@sarah_harrington

Here you can keep up to date with all the latest and be able to check out upcoming classes Sarah has available.