We caught up with Dale Hollinshead, director of leading Birmingham hair salon, Hazel & Haydn based in the city’s uber cool ‘Jewellery Quarter’ to find out all about his latest role as part of the hair team on the hit BBC three show, Glow Up.
For those of you who don’t know, Glow Up is a competition show, which is in its third season, where aspiring makeup artists compete in colourful challenges to win a career-making opportunity in the beauty industry. Award-winning hair stylist, Dale landed the coveted role after producers spotted his work online.
Dominic Skinner & Val Garland
“When Glow Up first aired, one of the producers saw my work on social media and got in touch to see if I’d be interested. Social media has always been a huge driver of clients for us, during lockdown we really utilised it to connect with clients and with the industry but to land a role like this out of it was amazing, I’ve got to be in the company of some of my Idols including Sam McKnight and Val Garland, it’s been an amazing experience and something I’m very proud to be associated with.”
Prior to joining the team at Glow Up, Dale worked closely with Gok Wan on How to Look Good Naked, The Gadget Show and I Wanna Marry Harry, but what’s it really like to work on a TV set, we asked Dale for the lowdown.
Backstage at Glow Up
Who decides how the hair is styled?
“You would think for a production so big that there’s a big, glam team of hairdressers, stylists and make-up artists, but a lot of the time the hair decisions come down to me and a few members of my trusted team. It’s a huge responsibility so having the right team working with me and knowing they’re people that I can trust is massive. On each episode we work with a big brand such as Henry Holland, Attitude Magazine, JD Sports etc so we work closely with the brand team to style the models hair and create the overall look. I’ve also been lucky enough to look after judge and renowned make-up artist Val Garland’s hair which is definitely a career highlight. Val and I work closely together, looking at what she’s wearing, and of course, the make up and then we decide on the overall look. She’s great fun to work with and always up for trying something new.
There’s so much that goes in to creating a TV show, so of course we also work closely with the wardrobe stylists. A look is created with lots of different elements so we all work closely together to collaborate on the look that we think will work best to fit the client or the theme”
@hairbysammcknight
Now for the juicy bit as we delve into the kit bag of a TV hairdresser, we asked Dale to share what’s in his kit and what he uses to achieve the different looks.
“You never really know what you might be doing with the hair, or what sort of look you want to achieve as it can vary so much from episode to episode, so of course I always back the essentials – elastics, grips and rollers – I have a leather-bound roll with about 20 different types of hair tools so I can be prepared to achieve any look.
And then of course, I always have my trusty GHD tools, all of my YS Park brushes – I honestly couldn’t live without them.”
In terms of products my top three styling products would be Brooklyn Bombshell by Amika, it’s a blowout spray. I absolutely love the Amika products but this is one of my must haves. It’s a lightweight formula that boosts the body of the hair without weighing it down, whilst protecting against damage, breakage, and dryness, and it gives off the most incredible shine. I’m also a huge fan of the Hair by Sam McKnight products I love the Cool Girl Texturising Spray and the Modern Hairspray.”
@hazelandhaydn
What’s Dale’s favourite look from the series?
“Val Garland is such a huge influence in our industry and a real icon, when she asked me to do her hair I was so nervous. It’s not just any client, it’s VAL GARLAND! For me, her look is definitely my favourite of the series, she’s got such a cool style with a slightly textured bouncy blowdry but throughout the series we also see a few super tight ponytails, which are great for make up as it snatches the face back. You’ll have to watch the series to see more of the looks.”
And before we let Dale go, of course we had to ask him to share a secret styling tip
“For a big bouncy blow dry with some umph blowdry hair into some rollers and as they cool, I like to spray Sam McKnight’s Cool Girl between rollers for that modern looking texture.”
For more insider tips and behind the scenes gossip follow Dale and the Hazel & Hayden team on Instagram – @hazelandhaydn
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