Why Travel 530 Miles for a Haircut?
For Al Nicolau and his wife, Ramona, the reason is clear.
Their seven-year-old son, Alex, who is autistic, used to dread haircuts, often "shaking and jerking" during trims and fearing the noisy environment filled with chatter and hairdryers.
Al and Ramona discovered the Blade Inclusive Salon in Lowestoft, Suffolk, which specialises in haircuts tailored for clients with neurodivergent needs.
Even after relocating from Norfolk to Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2022, the family makes the 530-mile journey to Suffolk four times a year, aligning visits with trips to Alex's grandfather, so Alex can have his hair cut at Blade.
"We pop down at Easter, in the summer, in October, and we pop there at Christmas time,"says Al, whose son was previously non-verbal.
"It works so well and he's so calm. He actually wants to go there for his haircut, whereas up this way we haven't found anywhere quite as good.
Other places can be a bit of a fight and battle - but the sensory room at Blade has made a massive difference."
'It's About Building a Relationship'
The Blade Inclusive Salon, owned by Caroline Parnis, has been operating for nearly 20 years. About seven years ago, she established The Sensory Studio within the salon.
The sensory space features fidget toys, cars, animals, books, and wall projections designed to create a calming environment separate from the busy main salon floor, aimed at easing those with additional needs.
Caroline's clients now travel from locations including Kent, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Dartford, King's Lynn, and Aberdeen.
"It's not just the haircut, it's the sensory issue of the hair falling on them and the gown, and using clippers is also a big thing,"Caroline explains.
"I tend to start off with the scissors and then hopefully we can progress – it's about trying to build that relationship and trust with someone.
"The clients always normally have come from a very traumatic experience [of having their hair cut], so it is about breaking those barriers down."
Where Alex previously experienced "meltdowns" during haircuts, he now enjoys the experience.
"If he gets upset, oversensitive, or overstimulated, he could walk off with half a haircut, which then looks terrible,"Al says.
"But Caroline moves around as the kids move or jerk their heads and she goes with the flow - that's the real key thing for us, plus the calming setting of her studio."
'I Do a Six-Hour Round Trip'
Gary Newman’s 14-year-old son, Oliver, who is autistic and non-verbal, used to become overwhelmed and "lash out" during haircuts.
Oliver lives with his mother in Sudbury, so Gary makes a 210-mile, six-hour round trip from Lowestoft each time he takes his son for a haircut, a journey he says is "100% worth doing."
"We've gone from dreading a haircut, not knowing what he would be like, to him loving going there,"he says.
"Initially, we had to hold him on the chair but now he will sit down - that's the trust he has built up with Caroline over the years.
"We are eternally grateful for her."
Before discovering Caroline eight years ago, some hairdressers were reportedly too "terrified to go near" Oliver's hair due to his flailing arms and legs.
"But now, he sits down, runs around a little bit, takes his top off as he doesn't want hair on his clothes, and then sits down,"Gary says.
"It's absolutely beautiful to see, and now he asks when his next haircut is and puts it in the diary."
'Noah Forgets He Is Having a Haircut'
Hayley Ingram, 43, from North Cove in Suffolk, has been bringing her son Noah to the salon since he was five years old.
Noah, now 13, has severe non-verbal autism and sensory processing disorder.
"Noah doesn't take to many people, but he took to Caroline - she just makes him forget that he's having a haircut,"Hayley says.
"We've been going every six weeks since, and he now goes into the big salon. If you'd have said that when he was five, I'd have never believed it."
Previously, Noah "could not tolerate" being in a hair salon.
"Life with a disabled child can be so stressful and haircuts used to be one of those big stresses,"Hayley adds.
"The noises were too much, the environment was too much, and we'd have to leave.
"But now there's no fear, no anxiety; it's just a lovely experience."
Context and Background
In the UK, more than one in 100 people have autism, with at least 700,000 autistic adults and children, according to the National Autistic Society.
Children and young people on the autism spectrum often find haircuts distressing due to the highly sensory nature of the experience.
Caroline shared that her understanding deepened after her own daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy at age six.
"Me and these parents, we've been through so much, and there are a lot of tears, because sometimes it can take years before [their children] sit in that chair,"she says.
"So, to have that child give you a hug, a kiss, or a high five is the most amazing feeling."
Between January and the end of April, Caroline, who has ADHD, completed 284 sensory haircuts.
The Sensory Studio is not only for children; Caroline has also opened The Eden Room, a separate space for anxious clients of all ages.
"There are actually a lot of ladies who really struggle with getting their hair cut,"she adds.
The salon has been nominated for a National Diversity Award, and Caroline notes that hairdressers are increasingly considering how to make their salons more neurodiverse friendly.
"I'm hoping to open up a barber academy and do courses from here.
"Hopefully over the next year I can realise some of those dreams to raise that awareness."
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