How one family has created career happiness and thousands of jobs in the local area while keeping their clients looking fantastic!
The name Retson has been well-known in the beauty sector in the Falkirk area for over 60 years and the foundations of Myles Retson Hairdressing were set long before he was even born. It’s almost as if he was born into the family to be a hairdresser and a business owner. It all began when Myles’ Grandpa started in a salon in Denny in the 1940’s as a barber. He went on to own the salon and his son, Myles’ father, took over the reins in 1961. He was also a barber but decided to expand the business in the 1980’s and changed to a Tektra Training Centre in 1984, moving premises to Larbert. Since that time, the Centre has trained thousands of young apprentices, many of whom have since gone on to own their own salon.
Myles had been brought up in the family business of hairdressing and was involved in the business as a Junior from 1984. He, like his father had once done, took the reins in 2000 and this is when Myles Retson Hairdressing was born. Myles has since trained and employed many new hairdressers and won numerous awards and recognitions over the last 21 years:
- Qualifiers for the World Colour Trophy 3 times
- Vidal Sassoon Advanced Cutting
- Toni & Guy Advanced Cutting and Photography
- L’Oreal ‘Train the Trainer’
- Goldwell Colour Expert
- Trevor Sorbie Advanced Cutting
- Winner of Scottish Heat for Gents Cutting and Styling
Despite receiving worldwide recognition, Myles’ favourite part of the business is the social side of hairdressing and building relationships with long-standing and new clients of the salon. This is what he missed the most when the salon was closed due to the pandemic, as many of his clients he saw on a regular business for many, many years. As many of us are aware it’s usually our hairdressers that know everything about us and talk us through life’s challenges. They were also the first people we couldn’t wait to go and visit once lockdown lifted.
When it comes to the technical side of his job, Myles enjoys working with different hair styles, colours and cuts and moving forward with the times, always. But in his eyes, his biggest accomplishment so far in his career is bringing through younger generations and giving them the opportunity in the hair industry! That gives him great joy.
In his free time, he is a keen golfer and competes in many charity golf events including the 99 Holes in One Day Charity Event raising over £10,000 for Cancer B. He also enjoys socialising with friends and family, going out for dinner to try new restaurants, and cooking at home.
Like fathers like sons, both of Myles’ sons are now involved in the business. As his father and grandfather before him, Myles was delighted that he too had inspired his family to join the business. His eldest son John started working in the Salon in December 2014 and is now the Manager. He is involved with many aspects of managing the business from social media / marketing, business development, organising the running of the salon, and interviews / meetings with new and current staff members. His inspiration comes from being brought up in the salon hype. He saw potential to grow and drive the business forward, with expanding the brand and has worked incredibly hard to achieve this over the past seven years. Outwith the business, he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, family and friends. He is a big sports fan and has a passion for food and travel!
Myles’ younger son Robert worked for a year in the salon in 2016. When he was halfway through his training he decided to take some time out but returned to the salon in March 2018 to finish his qualification in hairdressing and pursue this as his profession as he knew that this was his passion. Within the salon he is an assistant and also a hairdresser. He washes hair, tidies up and ensures that all the hairdressers and clients are happy. He also has his own hairdressing clients so he is always busy ensuring client satisfaction! His inspiration comes from his family and always being around the business. In his free time, he enjoys watching football and hitting the gym! Like his father and brother, he also loves going out for dinner to try new dishes.
Myles’ passion for helping the younger generation to succeed has massively helped keep the business modern and expanding. The business currently has 17 members of staff, all with different talents and personalities! They offer everything from cutting, blow-dries, hair ups, colour, highlights, balayage, gents’ cuts, curls, perms, straightening treatments, shellac fingers/toes, acrylics, waxing, henna brows, lash extension, make up, threading. They also offer wedding packages for hair and makeup. Over the years new trends have come in such as balayage, glam makeup and laminated brows and Retson’s always ensure that staff members are trained in the latest beauty must haves so that they can offer these services to their clients in keeping with the trends.
The salon is very active on all social media platforms and on their website. Along with their staff they also continually attend training courses for all levels to advance their skillsets. As a family they work really well together but in their own words “There is still the odd family discussion but three heads are better than one!” The biggest challenge for them as a family-owned and operated business is keeping everyone content and motivated on a daily basis. Their goal for the business for the future is to succeed and grow while giving the best service to their clients. This includes continually moving with trends/styles and expanding to new areas of opportunity.