Meet Stylist Gitanna Mullan
All the members of the Sinéad Kelly London team bring something unique to the salon. Together, there’s a wealth of experience, creativity and personality which means you’ll always be able to find someone to best help you transform your look and the way you feel about yourself. Last month, we did a Q&A with Azzurra Chivaroli to get to know her and her history and that worked so well that we wanted to do the same with our Gitanna Mullan (above).
In her time at the salon, Gitanna’s helped with the UK L’Oreal Colour Trophy win (spot her behind Sinéad in the pic below), she’s worked on a number of important shoots, she’s styled pop stars and VIP bloggers and she’s carried out client consultations alongside Sinéad. As a blonde herself, Gitanna knows how to help blondes and aspiring blondes be the best possible versions of themselves, she’s a whizz at colour in general and she has her finger firmly on the pulse of the newest trends.
We picked her brains to get her to share some style tips with readers of this blog and to learn a bit about her background.
Q: Where do you go to for inspiration about hair and new looks to try out?
I’m always looking at what’s going on during London Fashion Week. I also follow lots of bloggers – see below!
I do tell my clients that they should set trends rather than follow them by doing whats best from them and having confidence alongside that. That means I can give them a more personal touch, advising people based on what will suit them and making the whole experience bespoke. So we combine baby lights, lowlights, highlights, micro lights and Contour placements. We do lots of glazing and glossing to give shine and depth to the tones.
Q: Do you look at any bloggers for style and trends?
Eimear Varian Barry always gets it right. She has a unique sense of style and knows what she wants. I actually do her hair and really enjoy the creative process.
The PixiWoo sisters – Sam and Nikki Chapman – are also very inspirational. They are the original vloggers and their audience has grown with them. They just get better and better.
Q: What are some of the best styles you’ve given clients recently?
Here are some of the styles that my satisfied clients have shared on Instagram. When a client posts a pic and is happy with what I’ve done its an amazing feeling.
Q: How long have you been hairdressing?
I started at a family business at the young age of 13, then two years later when I was just 15 I joined the Sinead Kelly London team. Sinead took me under her wing, mentored me and personally trained me. Every day I went to work, I learned so much from Sinead who’s had a long career at the top of the hair industry in both Dublin and London.
I’ve been with Sinead for five years now and she’s getting me involved in doing consultations. My job is never boring and I love suggesting styles to clients and seeing their reaction at the end.
Q: What has been the highlight of your career?
I assisted Sara and Vas for the L’Oreal Colour trophy in 2016 where they went to lift up the award. We beat salons from London, then from the South East and then from the whole of the UK. Going on stage to collect the trophy, knowing that we’d beaten thousands of other UK salons was amazing.
For our winning design, Vas watched the trends closely from London fashion week and sketched out some ideas, resulting in an electric blue bob. I learned so much about how to think outside the box and push boundaries. But thinking of the box was the first step, then we had to pull off a transformation from brunette to blue. This taught me the importance of forward planning and doing things step by step.
Q: Your career has been in the fast lane since starting with Sinéad 5 years ago, you have done more than most people in the Industry has done in a decade. How do you overcome people judging your age when you first meet them in the salon or at events or shoots?
The proof is in my work. I always make the client feel confident by having a thorough consultation, I’m always clear and only ever make promise I can keep when it comes to managing expectations. I am young but I’ve worked hard and I’m committed to learning more. I watch my mentor Sinéad, who is constantly learning herself, and I know that to stay the best I have to keep watching and learning.
Q: If someone is thinking of going blonde and worried about the maintenace of the look, what would you suggest?
Don’t try to do it all at once. Give your colourist at least six months to a year if you want a big colour change. Going from dark to blonde should be done with care and ideally over a few visits to maintain the condition of the hair.
If you do it slowly, you won’t need to worry about changing your wardrobe or make-up because your hair style has changed dramatically and old outfits no longer suit you. Evolve gradually into your new look.
When its done, be prepared for the upkeep to keep on top of the roots – every four-six weeks is the commitment level needed to avoid colour bands and patchy colour.
If you’re super worried, come in for bespoke hair. I did this white blonde on a client recently, which was a mix of several diferent colour techniques. It was a long process, but totally worth it to keep the hair fresh and flawless.
Q: If someone is happy with a bold red colour and notices it starts to fade, what can they do to keep their hair shiny looking?
It sounds odd, but wash your hair less frequently. Water fades hair colour. In fact, up to 80% of colour fade is due to water alone. Your hair absorbs water, and as your hair dries, the dye drains out with the water. Not only that, tap water contains a myriad of chemicals that interfere with the way your hair takes on and keeps colour.
Q: If someone wants to try pink / green / blue or any other statement colour, what advice would you give them?
You have to have blonde hair to make the color show up. It’s seems obvious, but having natural or fake blonde hair is your first step to going pastel. Putting the dye on natural blonde hair will give you a cool wash of color, but it won’t last long. For major results, you’ll want to bleach first.
If you have red tones go in your skin, go for cooler shades like blue, green or lavender. If you’re very pale, warmer shades like pink and orange will look amazing.
It’s very important to care for coloured hair properly. Use sulfate-free shampoo and strengthening conditioner — products containing keratin will help keep your hair super strong.
Q:If someone is going out after work and doesn’t have time to style properly, what can they use that’s quick and easy?
If you’ve been working all day then its most likely your hair is flat after a day spent in the office, especially with all the heating that needs to be on at the moment. If you don’t fancy taking curling tongs into the office and hunting for a plug, how about a glam braid?
Pull your hair around to one side and do a messy fishtail plait. Don’t worry about ends sticking out. Pull out some hair around the face to soften the look. Use a volumizing product on the hair left loose around the face for instant sexy glam.
Hopefully this post has been useful? If you fancy booking in to use Gitanna’s skills, please call the salon on 020 8392 2444. You could also follow @gitannamullanhair on Instagram as well as @sineadkellyldn
