It shocks many people, especially women, to learn that there are no beauty providers on the Chathams. That’s right, no hairdresser and no beauty therapist. Although in the past there has been a few services pop up, they were unfortunately just a flash in the pan and for one reason or another didn’t last or continue, or the people running them have moved on.
I regularly have conversations with my friend Kate, and many other friends and women here, about the need for a bit of pampering on the island. Kate and I aren’t sure, but we are convinced that a combination of the salt air and “muscular nature” of the island has made our mos, brows and chin hairs thrive in the years since we moved here. Completely in denial that possibly our age has anything to do with it, we both agree there would be high demand for a beauty provider. They would get a booking from me every month, for sure!
Taking things into my own hands, I usually dye my hair myself every few months with a trusty chocolate brown DIY kit. I book in a cut and colour when we visit the mainland, but sometimes it is hard to squeeze the two hours in a chair into a trip.
Sometimes the lack of services on the island calls for invention, and bartering. Luckily, I was able to get a much-needed chop on the island just a few weeks ago. Lucie, our local police officer, had a former life as a hairdresser. I was able to swap her a slab of venison back steak and a jar of homemade sweet chilly jam for a hair cut in her kitchen.
Although I will never attempt to cut my own hair, I have acquired enough skills to do a roughly good job of Kenny’s and the kids hair cuts. I even managed to get a few pointers from Lucie to improve my cutting technique. For now, mum’s cuts will be just fine, in between a trip to the barber once a year.
I make an effort to slap on a facemask every few months. I pluck my eyebrows when they look like they are ready to take off in flight. I trim “down there” as required because no one really wants to subject themselves to layering on hot wax in awkward positions. Every now and then, when I feel like a real beauty fix, Meccas online store gets a bit of a thrashing and a week later an expensive box of goodies to make me look brighter, firmer and younger arrive.
Despite the lack of professional services, the women on the Chathams are a talented bunch. We learn and adapt, wax, pluck, polish and soak at home - or simply go without! I have a great group of friends here who all love an excuse to dress up, so we make an effort to host events and go all out. We pull out those “maybe one day” dresses top and skirts that have been pushed to the back of the wardrobe for months or years, slap on some make up and mascara - that has hopefully not gone off - for a night of fun! To be honest though, even in our LuLus, Red Bands, hoodies and Stoney Creek Jackets, with no make-up and “Mum bun” hair, we still have just as much fun.
This story appeared in our September Social Club newsletter.
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