Sarah Wood – known online as @neciahairstyling, is an international Session Hairstylist & Wig Designer. She’s worked with numerous prestigious collaborators, from Dolly Parton and Raye to Francis O'Sullivan and Izzy B. Phillips and Dita Von Teese – she’s an expert in her field and a wonderful human being. A constant supporter of Kent Brushes, in her own words, “I use only Kent for all my work” - We’re over the moon to put a lens on her life and discover what International Women’s Day means to her.
WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HAIRSTYLIST WORKING ON A GLOBAL STAGE?
I think any opportunity to provide women in all industries with the exposure and opportunity they have been denied for so long is vital. However we go about furthering that conversation and championing the strength of what constitutes womanhood in all its forms, which is fantastic.
WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CELEBRATE WOMEN IN THE BEAUTY AND FASHION INDUSTRY?
Women exist under constant scrutiny in the context of fashion and beauty, and much of the traditional mainstream conversation has overlooked the incredible creativity of those involved in favour of some kind of competitive, critical voyeurism.
As we move forward, I do see this already amongst those faces, makers and creatives responsible for the reclamation of fashion and beauty, is the opportunity to shift the public narrative to better reflect how we exist as creatives, explorers and adventurers constantly challenging ourselves to expand what a modern expression of femininity constitutes.
HOW DO YOU SEE HAIRSTYLING AS A TOOL FOR EMPOWERING WOMEN?
For me, it’s always been a weapon of self-expression, the same as clothes, and an opportunity to indulge in my creative urges. It’s a private endeavour that makes you feel fresh, new, and excited. The beauty of hair is that it then steps out into the wider world and makes its statement to the world, whatever that may be. My hair and my work is a statement of intent, of refusal to be pigeonholed as one thing, to be ever-evolving and growing.
CAN YOU SHARE HOW WOMEN HAVE SHAPED YOUR JOURNEY AS A HAIRSTYLIST?
There’s an inherent history in the work I create, literally hundreds of years of women’s hair, that informs the technical approach to how I style hair. There’s a sweet irony to the idea that the basis for so many of the vintage styles I create stems from a time when women were legally still considered lesser than men. It’s a minor step, but the act of reclaiming those styles and using them as tools to assert my independence and strength as a woman is one that I take great power from.
WERE THERE ANY KEY FEMALE MENTORS, CLIENTS, OR COLLEAGUES WHO INFLUENCED YOU THROUGH LIFE AND CAREER?
I’ve said it publicly many times, but Dita (Von Teese) asking me to work with her and taking me out to Milan was huge for me. The faith she put in me on the back of her belief in my work was massive. And obviously, the work I’ve done with Rebecca Seaver and Dolly Parton, as someone who’s influenced my worldview since before I did this for a living, is obviously a big part of where I find myself today.
Though the most important of these are definitely in the day-to-day, Gabby and Adele, who run my regular collaborations and studio buddy Hood, have always been great examples of ferocious creativity and determined independence that has always inspired me. Their work, my friends Gina Deuters, Jo Miller, Coco Fennell, my sister Sammy, and so many others, I am lucky to have found myself surrounded by powerful, motivated women. And, of course, my Mumma, not from an industry perspective but she works for the NHS and is as strong and compassionate a woman as you’d care to meet. She takes no shit, my mum.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A MOMENT WHERE A WOMAN'S STORY OR TRANSFORMATION THROUGH HAIRSTYLING HAS DEEPLY IMPACTED YOU?
There’s no specific case I’d feel comfortable talking about here, but there are women I have spoken to about their struggle with hair loss during chemotherapy. It’s in these moments you realise just how fundamental control over something as every day as our hair is and how we connect it to our strength and sense of self. The strength of those women and the courage it takes to confront this is a little overwhelming.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE HAIR AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY HAS EVOLVED IN TERMS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN?
There’s a broader shift towards independent creatives across multiple industries. I don’t think that the parallel of that and the rise of women’s visibility as leaders and business owners is a coincidence. It’s proof that as soon as the control of industry shifts away from a traditional paradigm of centralised control, where access isn’t as gatekept as maybe it used to be, women flourish.
It’s indicative of a dynamic we’re all too aware of where women and their abilities have been consistently minimised throughout history, particularly in the context of industry. It makes sense that an industry that begins to see the biggest shift is one like fashion and beauty, in which women have been so integral and consistently had their contributions minimised and opportunities limited. We are models, we are creators, we are business owners, we are industry leaders.
WHAT CHALLENGES DO WOMEN STILL FACE IN THIS FIELD, AND HOW CAN THEY BE OVERCOME?
I can’t answer that here; it’s too long and too complicated of a problem for me to fix. I tell you what we as women can do, is fight the programming and conditioning that has been force-fed to us throughout our lives for generations. If I had a pound for every time I’ve been told, by women and men alike, “You’re too emotional”, “you’re too loud”, “you’re not the right look for us”.
I couldn’t get a job in a salon when I started out because I had tattoos! Let’s get rid of this determination to force each other and ourselves into tiny, easy-to-digest boxes. I am many things, one of which happens to be a woman. But what I am is totally sufficient and capable in my own right, and anything more than that, I desire to be my choice and not subject to anyone else’s approval.
WE COULDN'T AGREE MORE. WITH THAT SAID, HOW DO YOU USE YOUR PLATFORM TO SUPPORT OR UPLIFT WOMEN IN YOUR INDUSTRY?
It’s small, constant movements to make sure that the creative exchanges that go into building any project are properly communicated externally. I take great pride in lifting up the women I work with or even those I admire for their creative output. Anyone I see who is doing the work to put something positive out into the world, I’ll talk about and champion, online and in person, to everyone I know. There’s no gain in trying to talk down on people’s efforts; if one of us wins, we all win.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT A WOMAN WHOSE CONFIDENCE OR STYLE HAS INSPIRED YOU?
Again, Dolly (Parton) is massive, both in style and how she moves through the world. Strength like that, self-determination, and conviction are real inspirations. Dita’s poise and quiet focus, working with Raye and seeing everything she had to fight against to get to where she is now, is incredible. My client list is broad, from people living very public lives to more traditional jobs, but they’re all inspiring. Everyone has a struggle, and every time they invest a little of themselves in their style and self-expression, they inspire me.
- Raye and Dita (Von Teese)
HAVE YOU EVER WORKED ON A PROJECT THAT SPECIFICALLY CELEBRATED WOMEN? WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
Not specifically, but I work a lot with Frances O’ Sullivan (@beautyspock), and the way she works feels very celebratory of womanhood. She’s the subject, model, creative director, production designer, everything; she really has the capacity to build a project from the ground up and has the confidence and capacity to build a team around her that can execute a vision.
That feels like a celebration of womanhood to me, shifting away from the dynamic of the woman simply as an object in front of the lens to the source of a vision in the way of the classic, predominantly male auteurs and artists we have so long admired.
- Frances O'Sullivan
IF YOU COULD GIVE ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN ASPIRING TO ENTER THE HAIRSTYLING INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Make something. Learn the craft, be obsessed with the history, and really dive into all the incredible work that has come before. Ultimately, all the knowledge in the world means nothing if you’re not doing something with it.
I spent years under achieving because the industry felt impenetrable to a weirdo like me, and I thought I needed that framework to justify my existence within it. But it’s simply not true. I’m lucky I get to make my living doing it, but that’s a by-product of something I need to be doing anyway because hair is my voice; hair is the way I exist in the world. Be honest with yourself, work out what you’d be doing with your time if no one was watching and do that as much as you can.
Follow Sarah's incredible work and vision HERE>
