Set on Dudley Road within a row of terraced houses is The Hair Cabin, a salon that has been offering a warm welcome to customers from both near and far, under several owners, for 80 years!
Currently, it’s owned by Rebecca Hoyes, herself a hairdresser with over 40 years’ experience, who started as an apprentice there at the age of 16, and who is able to share a little of the history behind the business which is still thriving today.
The salon, known as ‘Gibson’s, was first opened back in 1944 by a lady called Edna Gibson once she had built up a few customers by working from home. Even before this, it is thought that the building was a barbers, so hairdressing has been carried out there even longer than 80 years. Later on, Rebecca’s aunt, Cynthia Bennett (née Gibson, but not a relative of Edna’s) began working as an apprentice at aged 15.
Cynthia bought the salon from Edna in 1971 and ran it for 41 years. Following her apprenticeship, Rebecca rented a chair at the salon, building up her own regular customer base until she eventually took over the reins in 2012 and changed the name of the salon to The Hair Cabin. Cynthia swapped roles with Rebecca by renting a chair from her instead and stayed for a further five years until the age of 70.
For the last eleven years, Rebecca has been accompanied at the salon by two established hairdressers who both rent a chair and have their own customers, Lorraine Newcombe and Denise Winters. The salon is open from Tuesday to Saturday (closed Sundays and Mondays), but Rebecca can sometimes accommodate a Saturday appointment if a regular needs to be squeezed in. She says:
“It has always been quite a small, friendly salon, with there being just three work stations, and we have a real sense of camaraderie between myself, Lorraine and Denise. In Cynthia’s day, we all used to go away together for fun weekends.
“We have lots of regular clients, some of whom have been coming to the salon since it first started, and enjoy their weekly or fortnightly visit for a shampoo and set (£25). We had two lovely ladies in their nineties who had been coming here every week since the salon was run by Mrs Gibson, but sadly they have both passed away, meaning the end of an era.
“But trends have changed and a lot of our clients now like to have a cut and blow dry or colour, and men are also welcome to book too. We have lots of customers who live very locally but lots of others from further afield who come from the villages around Grantham including Caythorpe, Ropsley and Somerby. There is free on street parking nearby which saves the hassle of going into town and worrying about paying for parking or time limits.
“Some clients just don’t feel comfortable going into a more modern salon in town, they can find it a little daunting and intimidating. But we are happy to help in any way we can to put our clients at ease. There’s no rushing and we are happy to help if mobility is limited. We appreciate that a trip to the salon should be a real treat and love to really get to know our customers, have a chat and hear all the news about their lives, families and grandchildren.
“New clients are very welcome and advance booking is recommended. We do get booked up ahead, but sometimes there are cancellations (at least 24 hours’ notice required) so there can be a gap in a day for a booking at short notice.”
Prices have remained competitive with a cut and blow dry costing £37, while a full head colour with a cut and blow dry is £68, highlights with a cap and cut and blow dry is £68, or a perm (including a cut and blow dry) is £68.00. For men a cut starts from £15.00. For a full list of services with prices visit the website www.thehaircabin.com. For a friendly welcome and to treat yourself to a cut, restyle or colour, give Rebecca a call today.
