Al Nicolau and his wife, Ramona, drive 530 miles from Aberdeen to Lowestoft four times a year – not for a holiday, but so their seven-year-old son Alex can have a haircut.
Alex, who is autistic, used to dread the barber's chair. He would be “shaking and jerking” whenever he needed a trim, terrified by the noise of chatter and hair dryers. His parents discovered the Blade Inclusive Salon, a specialist hairdresser in Lowestoft, Suffolk, that caters to clients with neurodivergent needs. The family moved from Norfolk to Aberdeen in 2022, but they still make the marathon trip – Easter, summer, October and Christmas – timing it with visits to Alex’s grandad.
“Family travels 530 miles four times a year so autistic son can have haircut at specialist Suffolk salon.”
“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,” said Al, whose son used to be non-verbal. “Other places can be a bit of a fight and battle – but the sensory room at Blade has made a massive difference.”
That sensory room – called The Sensory Studio – was created about seven years ago by salon owner Caroline Parnis. Inside, fidget toys, cars, animals, books and wall projections create a calm escape from the overwhelming main floor. Parnis, who has run Blade for almost 20 years, says the idea is to put those with additional needs at ease.
“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,” she explained. “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.”
Her customers now travel from as far as Kent, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Dartford, King’s Lynn and, like Alex, Aberdeen.
Where Alex once had a “meltdown” during haircuts, he now looks forward to them. “If he gets upset, oversensitive, or overstimulated, he could walk off with half a haircut, which then looks terrible,” Al said. “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.”
Gary Newman understands that struggle. His 14-year-old son Oliver, who is autistic and non-verbal, would often become overwhelmed and “lash out” when hairdressers tried to cut his hair. Oliver lives with his mum in Sudbury, so Gary does a 210-mile, six-hour round trip from Lowestoft every time he takes his son for a haircut. “It is 100% worth doing,” he said.