Getting Glammed Up at Glastonbury

Who knew festival hairstylists were a thing? Kelly from Altea Hair Salon shares her Glasto experience with us!  

It used to be that when you thought of Glastonbury Festival, you would think of mud and rain, wellingtons and waterproof but no more, the festival has gone glam!

 

It now offers a range of camping options and extra facilities that allow you to enjoy the Glastonbury experience in style, and even keep up with the visiting glitterati and VIPs. So while festival-goers may still be camping or glamping, they can now look like they’ve just stepped out of the salon, thanks to the array of pop-up hair and beauty salons that are now available.

These range from the on-site festival options, where you can get a hair wash for £10 to a creative style and blow-dry for £50 from pop-ups like Blowfest and Vanity Van, to the full-on VIP salon experiences for high-profile clientele that are available in neighbouring glamping sites like Pennard Hill Farm.

A hairdressing qualification gives you the opportunity to travel the world, but also the chance to experience a wide range of interesting and influential events and settings, and Glastonbury is now one such event that you can add to your hairdressing experience wish list – if you’re a festival-lover that is!

We caught up with Kelly Russell of Altea Hair Salon in Menston near Ilkey, who shared her recent experience of working at Pennard Hill Farm during Glastonbury 2023.

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Kelly was booked as a hairstylist for Glastonbury 2023 through a specialist agency after she spotted a shoutout for festival hairstylists for a luxury glamping site during Glastonbury. She had heard about Pennard Hill Farm via an industry contact and so was keen to get involved. The Farm is just a short walk from the festival and comprises luxury yurts, lotus belle tents and airstream caravans together with a pop-up bar, massage parlour, hair salon and luxury food options.

The Farm provides accommodation for 200 guests and arranges many of its services in advance for its exclusive visitors. Guests range from celebrities, influencers, and power players, many arriving via the Farm’s helipad, and the venue offers massages, facials, beauty therapy, nail services and hairdressing services in five beautifully designed stations around the farm.

The celebrities and VIP guests, or their assistants arrange their desired requirements in advance by booking services online. Kelly had planned a wide range of options for them to choose from, such as party blow drys, beaded plaits, glitter styles and rainbow colours. She provided photos of all the festival styles she could offer to help them choose and additional links to her website for more photographs and ideas also.

Everything was booked and paid in advance, so Kelly knew exactly when and what she was doing and could be prepared and organised for the days ahead. Many people would use the salon services twice a day – beginning the day with a blow dry and having a more festival vibe style with glitter and butterfly clips in the evening.

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The better weather and the growth of social media have certainly fuelled the interest and popularity in pampering services at Glastonbury. Festivalgoers, whether celebrities or not, want to look and feel good, so the festival experience has certainly changed from its hippier, ‘what happens in Glasto, stays in Glasto’ origins. Glastonbury now offers the option for a more pleasurable event whatever the weather.

Working at Glastonbury brings lots of additional benefits too. For Kelly, as part of a luxury service team, she worked with a crew of 20, and they were provided with their own chef and had access to various facilities including a swimming pool.

The team of 20 bonded well and many have made friends for life. It was hard work with long hours, 8.30 am – 7 pm most days, but it was great fun and a great experience – working alongside each other, meeting and styling celebrities and influencers' hair, being able to enjoy the overall atmosphere, and joining in the festival's fun and music in the evenings. Whilst Kelly got involved for the experience, the remuneration was good, and Kelly also donated £600 of her fee to charity – something that she regularly does at her salon after special events. 

The biggest challenge, apart from the 5.5-hour journey from West Yorkshire to get to Glastonbury in Somerset, was the lack of sleep! But that’s the joy of a festival experience after all! Enjoying the music into the early hours and the unique ambience you get at such a large and high-profile music festival – where the headliners are global superstars, as much as many of the celebrity visitors and guests.

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Kelly enjoyed creating different festival styles, using different techniques, colours and products. She also knew that the styles needed longevity, as everyone wanted their styled hair to last all day or all night, and to withstand the festival fun – the heat, the dancing, the fun. So Kelly’s top tip is to use lots of extra strong hairspray and a styling product like Matrix Height Rising volumising powder! Also, plaiting is a must, as it’s a great way to create fun styles that last longer whilst imparting a nostalgic nod to the hippy styles of Glastonbury past!

Working at Glastonbury is not for the fainthearted though as it is full-on work and play. But if you love music and being involved in creating festival styles that help get the party started, then a Glastonbury-style event might well be for you! Whether it’s working at the event or enjoying the event with amazing festival hairstyles with your friends and fellow festivalgoers!

 

With many thanks to Kelly Russell of Altea Hair Salon in Menston, Ilkey, West Yorks www.altea1.co.uk

 

This article was first published in The Kleek Apprenticeships Magazine Issue 2.

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