Angie Dimitriou of Ena Hair is undoubtedly one of Hello Hair's favourite local stylists. We consider ourselves pretty lucky to have not only witnessed Angie's career blossom over the years, but have also been privileged enough to have our tresses on the receiving end of her super skills and extra TLC.

For many years Angie was "just around the corner", so we loved nothing more than dropping in for a pre-weekend wash and blowdry.....with an extra side of girly chats and belly laughs. Angie's particular type of magic has you leaving her salon feeling a special kind of amazing on the outside and on the inside! 🥰

We caught up with Angie for a socially distant interview during the most recent Melbourne covid-19 lockdowns that have forced hair salons to close completely for over 3 months. In what continues to be a tremendously challenging time, our girl Angie still radiated so much positivity; we'll let you read for yourself.....

Angie Dimitriou | co-owner of Ena Hair | @angie.dimitriou

 

Thankyou for taking the time to chat with us Angie! You have most definitely had your hands full adapting to the past months of crippling limitations put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So we are extra appreciative of getting a few moments with you right now. For anyone that isn’t familiar with @angie.dimitriou, and the stunning Bayside @enahair salon, can you give us a little grab of what you, and by extension - what Ena Hair is all about?

Thank you for having me, yes Covid-19 has been a challenging hurdle for 2020 hasn’t it ?

Ena Hair was established in December 2018 with my two lifelong friends Nik and Amelia. They already have a very successful business called Amos Hair in Sandringham but were looking for a new venture. Nik and I met when we were 14 and Amelia, his wife, worked with me in Bayside and when I opened my first salon, she was my very first employee. I’m incredibly grateful to be in business and create such an amazing workplace with my friends. Our business has a balance of all three of us, it’s a great structure and allows our strengths to shine and our weaknesses to be supported.

Ena in Greek means number one, and fun fact, ENA is an abbreviation of our names: E Evangelitsa (me) N Nikolas and A Amelia – together the three of us are ENA.

We love that! It sounds a little serendipitous that your initials can work so well together - to represent your partnership, honour your Greek heritage and boast of your skills to the local Bayside community 😉

How did you start your career in the hair industry? We want to know about the journey to where you are now!

I started hairdressing in 2002, at a very reputable Bayside salon. I was so eager to learn that I finished my apprenticeship in just 1.5 years, instead of the normal three. I entered as many competitions as I could and would do courses most weekends as I loved, loved anything to do with HAIR! I was about four years into my career when I started to learn how to manage the salon, and I was hungry for more. That’s when an opportunity came up to work for an international hairdressing company based in Denmark. It was 2006 and this would give me the best of both worlds – living in Melbourne, travelling around the globe for work and then little holidays in Europe at the end of my trips. I would travel to Copenhagen two to three times a year, create education manuals and trends for the upcoming seasons then showcase them all around Europe. I would be educating in front of thousands at trade shows in Stockholm, England and Germany and even got to walk down the red carpet at the Kodak Theatre in LA to attend a global hairdressing awards, where the company I worked for won an award. It was such a dream.

Then at 22 in 2007 I opened my first business in Prahran called Boda Hair Boutique (formally Boda Haircutters). I stopped working in Denmark in 2008, my focus was solely on my growing business. Nestled off the vibrant Chapel Street on Greville Street, the salon was a beautiful haven. I built up a great clientele and awesome staff. As fast as my career took off and all the amazing opportunities came my way, I got to the nine-year mark and was constantly battling or overcoming an illness. I was burnt out! I made the difficult decision to take a break and look to a change of career. I met with investors, but eventually decided to put it on the market and, in no time, it was sold and off I was starting to study my other passion – interior design.

 

You've clearly made a lot of brave moves already in your career. What did it take for you to make that leap from stylist to salon owner?  And how do you make all these dreams, your realities?

I had this amazing confidence, maybe it was an age thing, but at 22 I thought I could take on the world. Even though, honestly, I didn’t know ANYTHING about owning a business! All I had in my head was Elle Woods saying: “what, like its hard?”

I learnt on the job, I tripped and fell down, got up and kept going. That was on repeat like any other business owner. My lessons were invaluable, especially the one that eventually led to my burn out.

After I sold, I took a 2.5 year break, and it was an experience like no other. I moved up north to Queensland for a few months, took quite a few trips in Australia and Europe, did a lot of self-development, studied interior design. I had a huge break from hair and then, like everyone predicted, I missed it and I needed to come back. I swore I was NEVER going to go back to hair, let alone owning my own business again as when I sold this was the last thing on my mind. However, when the urge came back and my hands were wanting to create, the only people I wanted to work with were Nik & Amelia. We have the same intentions and are cut from the same cloth. My dream had changed and I wanted to create a new business from the lessons I had learnt with the new me and the people that know me so well. They have had my back constantly and I am forever grateful to have those two by my side.

I realized that I have two passions now: hair and interior design and we had a ball creating our amazing salon in Cheltenham, which was closer to home and my endlessly supportive family.

 What has been your career highlight so far?

I have been so lucky to have so many but my stand out is creating Ena Hair and watching it grow so quickly.

What’s the absolute best part about your job?

Having the opportunity to make my clients, who have become a huge part of my life, feel good. There is no better feeling, having clients trust you and you make them feel brand new. I know when we reopen there will LOTS of that.

This is an understatement!! Ena Hair's waiting list must be enormous as everyone (anxiously) awaits the green light for the return of the hair industry. So let’s talk about your Ena team! How have you managed to surround yourself with such an amazing group!?!

We pride ourselves on creating a great workspace with structure, great incentives and training ranging from hairdressing to self-development.

 

 Any tips for maintaining a work/life balance?

Meditation is my go-to. In my career break I learnt how to do Vedic meditation and it was an absolute game changer for me. Being present is an amazing gift, and helps me be present and grounded with my crazy work life, and balance my personal life.

Do you have any mottos or mantras that you live by? Or a piece of advice that you have been given over the course of your career?

Ahhhhh how do I choose. I constantly have them on rotation depending on what I am going through in life. The one that stands out for me right now is a Greek quote, which translates to: “In the end all will be ok. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end”.

Yesssss! Love that! (....stealing it!)
And what has been your biggest life lesson?

Listen to the signs!!! I believe there are warning signs, either from your gut or the universe - they will either subtly hint them or sometimes they can slap you in the face.

LISTEN, listen to yourself, listen to your gut, you know what’s best for you.

Couldn't agree more! Maybe we should add "listen to your hairstylist" into that mantra too??? Which is a great segue into our next question - are there any big mistakes that clients are making with their hair or haircare routine? 

I think a big one is leaving out a heat protectant, that is a MUST is everyday use. From sun exposure to the hairdryer to hot tools, if this key step is taken away it can throw all your home hair care routine out.

Also, hydration is a must. My all-time favourite is your OG product, the Hello Hair Hydrating Mask. It’s perfect to feed your hair with hydration and is super easy to use. I love it, it does wonder to my boof, especially coming into the summer months!

Emma Vosti @ Ena Hair (@emmavosti_)

 

What’s the most common request you and your team get from clients?

Most commonly, lived in, seamless balayage.

What is your #1 hair hack?

Again, so many how do I pick? I personally think my hair sits better on day old hair, I will wash my hair then use my heat protectant and dry (or air dry) my hair, sleep on it, and in the morning I will use some good quality dry shampoo (no supermarket nasties) and style my hair using my hot tool. This way my hair will settle it’s frizz and I find it way easy to control.

Angie's own mermaid locks before she changed her look! 😍

 

Is there a hair trend that you are seriously loving? Or wanting to make a comeback?

LAYERS, the 90s are back in full swing and we’re seeing more requests for layered haircuts, like the shag. I also love that creatively and technically, that intricate haircutting is on the way back.

And is there a hair trend that you wish would disappear?

MULLETS – say no more!!!

What’s your advice to someone eager to up their hair game?

Speak to your hairdresser. Sometimes it’s not what you want to hear from a price point, however investing in good and prescribed hair care is key.

 

When you’re not working, where would we find you / what would you be doing?

You will find me at my new house, renovating with my man Steve. We just moved in and we are loving creating a home together and when restrictions lift, I cannot wait to see my friends and family.

Yessss, it's time for more renovation content on your socials! Let's see Interior Designer Angie at work :) 

And what’s next for Angie Dimitriou and/or Ena Hair in 2021? (we're declaring 2020 a write-off)

Even though 2020 has been quite challenging, it has made me very grateful for what and who I have around me. It has reminded me that mindset and attitude is very important, so I will carry that on to 2021. I am also in the works of creating a secret product, so fingers crossed there will be development on that front.

2021 for Ena, we will continue to grow we will expand our team and continue to strive for excellence. This year we jumped on board with Sustainable Salon Australia and 90% of our salon waste is either recycled or upcycled. I am interested to see what impact we have made on the environment so far and continue to make all aspect of our space more sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

Let’s hope 2021 is not dominated by COVID-19 and we can experience our new normal lives.

What a great initiative! ♻️ That's such a power move being able to align with Sustainable Salon Australia and commit to recycling/upcycling that huge portion of the salon's waste. You should be very proud of what you have created, and what you will continue to grow!

The Ena Hair team show the Sustainable Salon Australia recycling/upcycling stations @ Ena Hair

 

We thankyou for sharing with us Angie. As always, you told us so much of what we need to hear right now - we're definitely going to subscribe to the "listen to your gut, listen to the universe, listen to your hairdresser" philosophy 😘

Thank you for having me, I have loved chatting with you and have missed you - can’t wait to see you in person soon xx

 

Follow Angie: @angie.dimitriou
Follow Ena Hair: @enahair
Find Ena Hair: 4 Railway Rd, Cheltenham VIC 3192
Contact Ena Hair: www.enahair.com.au | 9583 0735 | info@enahair.com.au