They say manners maketh man, but according to Monique Calcagno, hair makes men and women. “You have a bad hair cut you have a bad day, right?” she asks. As the proprietor and head stylist at Mousse & Co, Monique knows hair and how integral it is to a person’s sense of self. She also knows how important the stylist-client relationship is.
“When people come in you’ve got to be friendly, you’ve got to be inviting. The one thing we get a lot is people wanting a particular style but they’re too scared or they’ve had really bad experiences in the past, so, for them, a salon can be a very intimidating place to walk into,” she says. “You don’t know what you’re actually going to get when you sit in someone’s chair if you don’t know that stylist. So if you can sit with that client, give them the time, a bit of space to hold, to really listen to what they want then absolutely you can create a style together.”
“I think hair fashion is constant. When you look at what’s in fashion in hair now, it’s already been in fashion before it’s just re-evolving itself into something new at this present time,” Monique observes. “I think a lot of the time simpler is better. Sometimes people want too much, like they think they have to do so much change and add so much texture, add fringe, add colour, and all these things when a short, sharp bob, for instance, is classic, it’s beautiful, it’s timeless.”
Mousse & Co opened their doors in Windsor eight years ago and Monique says the community couldn’t be more welcoming. “I lived in the UK for two years and did hairdressing there, so when I moved to Windsor people were like ‘Oh my god, this is going to be great!’ They were very welcoming; that’s helped to grow my business too. Everyone in this town is really beautiful, and if you give them a great service and you give them time, they will keep coming back.”
129 George Street, Windsor NSW 2756
Mob: 0435 932 630 www.mousseandco.com.au
