"Most people will be affected by cancer at some point in their lives and Im extremely proud to be able to offer a post-treatment pick-me-up to those who have gone through chemotherapy. "
Andie Garside, owner of Bespoke Beauty
A kind-hearted Stoke salon owner has been praised by his customers for offering free treatments to those who have just completed cancer treatment.
Andie Garside, 33, opened his salon in Sandyford and - after being personally affected by cancer – started to offer free eyebrow microblading to those who had lost their hair through the effects of chemotherapy.
After working in HR and aviation for fifteen years, Andie decided to take a complete career change and retrain in beauty therapy.
He now works with leading microdermabrasion provider, SkinBase, which has partnered with Andie to offer free facials to those in remission from cancer treatment. SkinBase, also based in Stoke, provide equipment and training for various types of rejuvenating facials to salons across the UK and has worked with Andie since October, 2018.
Andie said: “Most people will be affected by cancer at some point in their lives and I’m extremely proud to be able to offer a post-treatment pick-me-up to those who have gone through chemotherapy. The fact that SkinBase has now offered free microdermabrasion facials to those clients too is absolutely fantastic!”
“There’s a real mixture of men and women that come into the salon following chemotherapy and it’s great to see those smiling faces after their microblading treatment. It’s great to see a lot of my clients - including men - booking in for other beauty treatments too. My diary is kept very full!”
Andie’s partner, Blake, who runs a barbershop in the same building, also offers free haircuts to the homeless at their local community centre.
Andie continued: “I think there’s a huge stigma attached to men walking into salons for beauty treatments but having Blake’s barbershop in our building has encouraged more men to try out beauty treatments for themselves.
“Working with SkinBase has been a great partnership for me and has allowed me to educate my customers on the benefits of regular facials. I’d say that more than 30 per cent of my clientele are now men and, through referrals, that number is on the rise.”
The pair have been offering free treatments to cancer patients and free haircuts to the homeless since the start of the year and have been inundated with bookings.
The microblading treatment comes with certain restrictions and limitations and clients must have a thorough check before the treatment takes place.
