Adrian’s story:
Adrian started out in Melbourne City in a salon called Forecast which is still standing today in the Royal Arcade in Melbourne. Adrian recalls that everyone was so friendly and it was a very diverse team and. Adrian says “I loved working there. My boss Marios was great, he still works there today.”
“I got into Hairdressing because I am gay and it was the 90’s I was 18 and I felt it was either that or the makeup counter at Myer… I didn’t have a passion or a drive for hairdressing when I started out, however, now I love it whole heartedly. I was a ballet dancer so hairdressing and dancing was my way to express myself, which led me into drag. I had so much fun and it really built my confidence, as I was very shy.”
Adrian goes on to say, “I am a cutter and a colourist, I enjoy colouring curly hair but the scissors put a spark in my day I’m very passionate about my cutting.”
In relation to opening his salon, Adrian says “opening Delilah 14 years ago in 2007, I felt I was always chasing to create something diverse and friendly like I had found in Forecast. When choosing the space I believe the universe puts things in front of you, I had looked in so many different areas at spaces but once as soon as I saw the space I just knew it had a great energy and I could see already how I wanted the lay out to look. I also looked at existing salon spaces and in the end I decided to go for it with this space it just felt right.”
When I asked him about how he developed as a hairdresser, Adrian said that it was a lot about “finding my niche. I love a good chop and with dry cutting I really felt I could cut very well once I found my passion for dry cutting. When I started in the 90’s there was a lot of texture and then I opened the salon there was a girl called Jeanice and she’s in Canberra. She use to dry cut and it kind of started from there along with a lot of little things along the way I was kind of blown away by what she was doing. I believe there is still a place for wet cutting but I do really enjoy cutting dry.”
A Day in the salon for Mr.D:
“A day in the salon for me now I would call myself a dry cutter so let’s say 90% of my day is dry cutting. Half my day would be curly, my day goes from straight to curly, afro and everything in between. I like to cut hair so it’s wash and go they don’t need to blow dry it.”
“My favourites are cutting a good bob and an afro. I always make sure I have room for new clients because I never want to become stale. So I always make sure there is a percentage of my clients that are new. Haircuts can also be very generational so you want to be available to create new trends as well.”
How Mr.D created his own product line of curl creams:
“I thought about the products and wanted to do them for a long time and then I just never had the time to do it. I wanted the base to be a Sorbolene cream, my partner went away for 6 weeks and I had all this time so I started researching and it all seemed too hard basket. Then I watched a video on You Tube. I ordered everything online, super inspired and the first time I stirred it all in the pot on the stove at home, I created an absolute mess. It was this blob mess that was like the texture of a candle.”
“So then I tried again and the second time I was like what’s an oil I can use to fragrance for the touch and smell senses. I started with peppermint and that’s how peppermint cream the first product I created came about and it is still the best selling product today however, I have made some tweaks to the formula now I have learnt more about products and creating them.”
“I’m a very curious person so sometimes it puts me onto gold and sometimes it gets me into trouble”.
“Next I wanted to make a hair wax, and so I made Delilah Clay. The scent actually came about by accident as I blended the wrong two fragrances together. I wanted cinnamon and instead I added cedarwood however, I thought I wasn’t going to waste it so I added a small amount of Cinnamon and it worked.”
“Then I wanted to create a sea salt cream as my go to when styling hair was to add sea salt spray to clients hair and follow that with a cream so I wanted to create one product that gave me that result. The creams can be used in all curl types.
1. Peppermint Cream
2. Clay – Cedarwood &Cinnamon
3. Sea Salt Cream- Lime & Grapefruit”
“I then became curious about the packaging. When I first started I had a client helping me to print the labels and then I did some more research and started printing them myself. I have now brought this massive 20L cauldron so that I can make batches of several hundred, as the little glass bowl I started out with is no longer big enough. From start to finish making all 3 creams by the time I make them, preserve them, put them in jars and label them, I would say it takes half a day to a day to make a batch.”
“I was also motivated to make the products as I wanted to be able to give back to the family violence place Edvos that I am an ambassador for it’s called Hair 3R’S. They teach hairdressers how to Recognise, Response and Refer to the signs of family violence in there female clients. So I donate $1 from every jar sold to Edvos.”
The Curly Checklist:
Adrian and his team send this out to their clients to prepare the clients for an experience at Delilah. Click the link to read more:Curly Hair & Dry Haircutting checklist
Do you use different styles of scissors for different haircuts?
“I use my Hikari scissors for everything, they are the most gorgeous scissor and I use them for everything I have others but these are my go to’s. Comb wise I think I have every Ys Park comb they have ever made. Like most hairdressers I like having options.”
“For curly or afro hair my go to is the wide tooth with the round teeth and the extra-long those two combs are what I use for basically everything.”
I asked Adrian which person’s hair dead or alive he would love to cut:
Adrian says “my thing is if you have fantastic hair, please get in my chair. I mean unless your Kylie, I don’t know who I would want to cut or someone I would love to pick there brain. Now that I’m older and good at my job I would love to sit and cut my grandmother’s hair just to sit and chat with her.”
“I’m inspired to cut everyday people’s hair, the last client I had she had amazing curly big hair and she was a scientist and it was such an amazing conversation. I’ve always loved that, I’ve learnt the most about life from my clients. I crave human experience.”
Mentors:
“My first inspiration would be my first boss Marios. He taught me how to have someone in your chair and how to love them. He was the first person to show me that hairdressing was an experience. Yes they are getting their hair done and it may just be a centimetre off the bottom, but it is about the experience that they have with you as a person.”
“Along the way there has definitely been quite a few colleagues who have inspired me and shown me different things in business and a lot of stuff. After meeting Mousey Browne she kind of threw my world 360. She is such a nurturing and support creature. Anytime of the day you can call her she’s an incredible friend.”
“I get inspired by a lot of the younger stylists who are out there just doing their own thing. When I see the 20-30 years old’s with these really solid businesses and great ideas I love picking their brains. I definitely look to the younger generation in relation to where I want to take my business forward.”
The Future of Delilah Education:
“What Delilah Education does most is teaching people that when a black girl walks into the salon and sits in your chair you know what you’re doing, because at the end of the day she’s got hair and it’s your responsibility to know what you’re doing.”
“It shows people that the world of hairdressing is for everybody it is not just for white girls. They shouldn’t have to type in the worlds curly hair specialist to get there haircut. It’s about knowing your craft in a bigger way and having a better understanding. I also learn a lot from other people when I’m educating and seeing what other people do with their businesses.”
“For 2021, I hope to be able to run sessions again at Delilah, but also private classes whether in Melbourne or across Australia. Pre-Covid lockdown I had about 10 sessions booked in that were sadly cancelled. I also had a trip to the US booked to travel from East to West coast educating so hopefully I will be able to do that soon as well.”
“My first education session was with the company Sexy Hair. We would go to L.A and learn all the information and then come back to Australia and teach it all here. I also educate for Ozdare which is a business development course, it started out with me educating about Cezanne and Blondpro and now it has become about developing salons and helping them make money with these products in mind. I would love to collaborate for an education class with Mousey Browne she is my biggest inspiration!”
Hot Tip for emerging stylist:
“Follow as many people as you can who inspire you and reach out. Don’t focus on how many followers they have. Be inspired by the person who has 3 followers but does great work just as much as you are by the person with thousands.”
“I follow a few people I’m not even sure where they are in the world but they are amazing to watch and see what they create.”
There are some wonderful salons doing very well that aren’t necessarily major on Instagram although it is a big part of our industry today.”
One piece of advice for readers:
“Stay Curious no matter how old you are or how long you have been doing hairdressing”
“Follow your intuition”
I would like to thank MR.D for taking the time to speak with me and to share his story with you all. I always love to hear how people created the career that they have and the opportunities that changed their path along the way. 2020 was a challenging year for many and Adrian was very humble and grateful even though there was a tough lockdown in Melbourne. It is so wonderful to see all of Delilah back creating incredible hair.
X Alisha