Shawn Odendall, a passionate, award winning 28-year-old hairdresser and part owner at Paul James Male in the New Redruth Village shopping centre.
Although his passion for hair started back at school cutting and styling his friends hair, Shawns love for cooking led him to culinary school, that dream didn’t last too long, as Shawn realised that the fire burning inside of him wanted to change the world one haircut at a time.
On October the 7th 2009 Shawn started studying at SA college, and never looked back. Shawn studied part-time for three years in between working and getting experience in the industry.
“Paul James hairdressing is one of the leading salon brands out there, especially in and around the South of Johannesburg, I always wanted to be part of the bigger picture in life so I decided to take a chance. My journey started as an apprentice in Alberton City and I worked my way up from there to where I am today.”
Shawn Odendall Shawn has won over 50 awards in his nine years of hair dressing. This includes winning 24 competitions and coming second and third in the rest, along with Twincare Hairstylists of the year in 2016 “The Boys”. I have been to the UK to train other stylists on a world class level, there are many more that Shawn could mention but his biggest achievement is becoming a part owner of the successful Paul James franchise.
Blood, sweat and tears is what it takes to get to the top, and once your up there its not all plain sailing, some of Shawns biggest challenges as a salon manager is keeping the peace amongst hairstylists, and motivating them to become better than they think they are. At the end of the day Shawns motto is a happy stylist means happy client.
As a Paul James Male salon owner, majority of the foot traffic seen during the day is men and that motivated Shawn to take his passion a step further by supporting the Movember cause. The salon has November shirts on sale and half of the funds raised will be donated to a cause close to Shawns heart.
Here are Shawns top tips to maintain your beard
Shampoo and conditioner your beard on a daily basis with Mega sleek shampoo and conditioner.a A moisturising shampoo and conditioner, this prevents the beard from being dry and curly. 2. Use REUZEL beard foam, this helps with the puffiness of the beard and also softens it while helping your skin fight the itchy stage it goes through. 3. For the desired look use REUZEL beard balm, this helps it keep its shape and form.
“My inspiration would be Paul Fox he is a leader an awesome business partner and a good friend that I will always look up to.”
We asked Shawn if he could cut anyones hair in the world who’s hair would he cut?
“I would choose Donald Trump, I would shave all of his hair off and let him grow a beard.”
