MYNEWHAIR FOUNDER AWARDED HONORARY DOCTORATE
Professional stylist Trevor Sorbie, MBE, founder of the national pioneering charity mynewhair, has been awarded with an Honorary Doctorate from University of the West of Scotland (UWS).
The Honorary Doctorate was presented to Trevor on Tuesday 11th July during the University’s graduation ceremony, held in Paisley, Scotland, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of business and entrepreneurship and his remarkable work with mynewhair.
It was in Paisley 50 years ago that Trevor’s incredible hairdressing journey began. Aged 15, he left school with no qualifications and worked in the family business, a two-seat barber shop in Ilford, Essex. After joining a local hairdressing school, where he was introduced to hairdressing legend Vidal Sassoon, his life changed forever and he is now a household name.
Throughout his career Trevor has dedicated himself to all aspects of his business and is the proud owner of five salons in London, Brighton and Manchester. However, his greatest passion is mynewhair, which he was inspired to found following his own sister-in-law's struggle with hair loss after cancer treatments, and witnessing the effect that a well-cut and styled wig had on her confidence and self esteem.
Trevor Sorbie, MBE, said: “It’s a privilege to have received this Honorary Doctorate. To be recognised in this way is incredible and I am tremendously proud.
“I am committed to all the good work of my salons and especially mynewhair – there’s a lot in store for the future and I’m looking forward to making my ambitions reality.”
Award winning stylist Darren Stuart, from East Boldon’s Tribeca Hair Design, joined forces with Trevor back in 2006 to offer an affordable wig styling service to people suffering from hair loss. Over a decade on, Darren is still working with mynewhair and has styled wigs for thousands of clients at his salon.
Darren Stuart, said: “I first met Trevor when I was training at L’Oréal in London. At the time, my close friend Tracy was under-going treatment for leukaemia and asked for my help with finding a wig. She decided to get one through the NHS which she never wore due to the poor standard on offer at that time. That was why I chose to become part of the mynewhair network, to enable me to offer a much better experience for patients and clients needing advice and guidance with wigs. This was my first experience of supplying a wig styling service to someone suffering from hair loss.
“Working with Trevor and mynewhair has been amazing. I am so proud of Trevor. It’s fantastic that his tremendous hair dressing career and truly marvelous work with mynewhair has been recognised this way.
“Thanks to his expertise, experience and dedication to supporting those suffering medical hair loss, the charity has grown from strength to strength – helping people go through what can be the toughest time of their life.”
The charity, mynewhair, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2016/17, provides advice and support to anyone who has experienced medical hair loss, and has a national support network of around 900 hairdressers and 800 salons, who provide a wig-customisation service for their clients.
One local client of the charity, Helen McIntyre, was diagnosed with cancer of the left breast in July 2013, at the age of 47. Before her treatment started at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care, the Kiln Pitt Hill Consett mum saw mynewhair trained hairdresser, Darren Stuart, from Tribeca Hair Design.
Helen said: “Many people do not realise how much their hair means to them until they start losing it. mynewhair didn’t just give me a make-over. They gave me back my self-esteem. All of sudden I was no longer Helen with cancer, I was back to being just Helen.
“I’m so happy for Trevor. His work with mynewhair means so much too so many people. Because of mynewhair hair loss sufferers can be made aware of the choices they have regarding wig styling, be reassured and put at ease. I am thankful for the information I received and to have been given such a life changing experience.”
To find out more about mynewhair visit www.mynewhair.org or via Twitter @mynewhairorg, or follow the charity on Facebook and LinkedIn.
You can also donate to the charity by texting MYNH00 followed by the amount you wish to donate, to 70070.
