A Cwmbran hairdresser has praised her staff after her salon was commended at the Welsh Hair and Beauty Awards 2025.
I had the loveliest flashback to my childhood this morning while sitting in Honeycomb Hairdressers in Old Cwmbran waiting to chat to the business owner, Andrea Thomas.
‘Outstanding achievement’
She’s been cutting and styling hair for over 30 years and running her own business since 2007. This was the first award she’d ever entered, and was thrilled to get an ‘outstanding achievement.’
Lilly, one of her trainees, brought me a steaming hot cup of lovely coffee within two minutes of my arrival. Top customer service.
Salons are the best place for stories.
‘Coffee and chat’
During the 80s/ 90s, my mum’s friend, Susan, ran a salon in the converted room of her mum and dad’s house in a lane off Cocker Avenue. I remember sitting among women, some under hairdriers, others with their heads over sinks, and some who were friends of Susan and only there for a coffee and chat.
As I was waiting today, I sat on a big comfy sofa next to a woman from Malpas, and we laughed for ten minutes about our dislike of airports, long travel and two-week holidays. A day in a salon could fill Cwmbran Life with stories for a week,
A customer walked in, and Andrea told me she’d been cutting her hair for 31 years.
Then she pointed towards the bottom of her salon and said: “The lady in the middle chair there, I’ve been doing her hair since I was 18, so that’s 30 years, because I’m 48. I’ve got lots of clients I’ve been doing for 30 years.”
Alongside her staff, she’s proud to have several trainees who’ve come through the Itec training scheme and will move on to employment.
She said: “They feel chuffed. They work hard. I’m teaching them every day. They’re like my kids.
“We get on really well. They are hardworking, they’re good as gold. It’s not just my award.
“We are chuffed that we got this far, but I want to win it next year, so we’ve got to work towards that and with the team I’ve got, I’m sure we’ll do it.”
‘Like family’
I asked what she still loves about hairdressing. Quick as a flash, she replied: “All my clients, my staff, the friends I’ve made over the years. I still treat everyone when they come in through the door like family.”
Andrea trained at Roddy’s hair salon (now closed) when she was 16 before running a salon in Newport as maternity cover for the owner.
She then decided to “move forward” and get the keys to her first business.
Andrea added: “It’s long hours, but it’s worth it. I love it.”