Master hairdresser realises childhood dream in Noosa

Noosa’s newest hairdresser and master colourist has come a long way since nagging her father to be her very first client on an African beach.

Lisa Pedder at work in her new salon Azummini Hair Salon at Noosa Springs.

Lisa Pedder’s first hairdressing salon was an open, isolated beach in West Africa, and her first client was her dad.

She was a 16-year-old schoolgirl on holidays from England, and she’d persuaded her father Dave, the chief engineer of a helicopter company servicing the oil industry in Nigeria, to let her cut his hair.

It was a special moment for a girl who had dreamt of becoming a hairdresser since she was a toddler.

And it’s a cherished memory she recalls every time she opens the doors of her brand new Noosa Springs salon.

Ms Pedder grew up in Lincolnshire, the Midlands region of England, she left school at 17 before landing a job in a local hairdressing salon.

Within a few years her skills had taken her to London, Sydney and around the world on a cruise ship.

She first visited Australia as a young backpacker and promised herself she would return one day and open her own salon.

“I sold up in Britain and committed to a new life in Australia,” she said.

She approached Noosa Springs Golf and Spa Resort and to her surprise there was an empty hair salon just waiting for an enthusiastic go-getter to add their unique style.

And add her unique style she certainly did.

The salon is called Azummini, the name of that faraway beach where it all began for Ms Pedder, a globetrotting adventurer who found her destiny in Noosa.

“Everyone has been so friendly and so supportive,” she said.

“It’s a pleasure to come to work.”

The master colourist never pretends to know more about a client’s hair than the client themselves.

“My clients want to feel noticed and heard. I don’t assume anything,” Ms Pedder said.

“They know their hair – I like finding solutions to their problems with their hair style or colour.”

Azummini Salon is open from 9am to 6pm from Tuesday to Sunday at Noosa Springs Resort.

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