Dubbo’s best hairdresser competition winner revealed

A mother-of-five said she was stunned to be crowned Dubbo’s best hairdresser after a whopping 600 nominations were received. Find out the exciting plans for her future business.

After more than 600 nominations were received, finalists were chosen and the votes were cast, the winner of the best hairdresser of 2021 in Dubbo competition can now be revealed.

Sam Lee has claimed the title and the 30-year-old mother-of-five said she was stunned to hear she had won.

Skylah, Sam and Archie Lee celebrating the results of the best hairdresser competition. Picture: Ryan Young

“When you called me, after I got off the phone I was a bit gobsmacked,” Ms Lee told The Dubbo News.

“I’d seen my name on the post people were tagging me in and I thought that was nice, it made me feel really good actually.”

Ms Lee has been working as a hairdresser for eight years and while she’s faced many challenges in that time, her passion for the job has been unwavering.

“I started in 2013 and went to TAFE and did my apprenticeship for three years.

“I’d always wanted to be a hairdresser, ever since I was a little girl. I didn’t think I was going to get the opportunity to do it but I ended up getting an apprenticeship at Rave Hair Design and started from there.

“Wilna was my senior hairdresser at the time and she said I had a natural ability to do hair and it just comes naturally to me. I left Rave before they closed down and I went out on my own as soon as I finished my apprenticeship.”

With no experience running a business, Ms Lee opened The Colour Boutique and within a few months she was doing a roaring trade.

“I had help from my brother, he has his own business - Dubbo Building Maintenance,” she said.

“I went through a lot of stuff and ended up closing down because my mental health wasn’t good at the time. I wasn’t myself, I didn’t want to be here at all and if it wasn’t for my kids I wouldn’t be here.

“My family and my two really close friends helped me bounce back.”

Ms Lee took time off work to recover and returned to hairdressing at Onyx at Orana Mall for six months, however another setback cut her comeback short.

Six weeks before she was due to give birth to her youngest child Archie, Ms Lee went for a check up that ended up saving her life.

“I’d had a previous Caesareans and they discovered I had a massive bleed on the right side of my scar,” she said.

“I had to have him six weeks early otherwise we both would have died. My scar was ripping open on the inside I was bleeding.

“He had lung problems and was on a breathing machine but he came good after day four and we didn’t end up having to go to Sydney.”

Skylah, Sam and Archie Lee outside the currently under-construction Hair Colour Chick site in Dubbo. Picture: Ryan Young

Archie is now six-months-old and Ms Lee is preparing to pick up her tools again and start a new small business called Hair Colour Chick.

“I decided that I would go back to working on my own because that’s what works best for me and the kids.

“I’m specialising in hair colour because I think that’s what I’m best at. I’ll still be doing haircuts, mens cuts and all that but my main focus is hair colouring.”

The Hair Colour Chick will operate out of a home currently under construction in South Dubbo, Ms Lee confirmed.

“We’re looking at it being finished over the next month or so if everything goes to plan,” she said.

“Then we’ll get in and renovate the garage.”

Ms Lee said the best hairdresser title was one many hairdressers in Dubbo were worthy of because all worked hard and had built strong relationships with their clients.

“It’s a huge job, you’ve got to know the science behind hair to be able to do someone’s hair and each and every persons hair is different.

“Over the eight years, I’ve done a lot of hair and I’ve met a lot of awesome clients. My focus was not on money, it was on the client themselves and the condition of their hair.

“I’m open, I’m honest, I’ll tell them if they can’t do something with their hair, I won’t just do it.”

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