Hairdressing is one of the most social jobs going but award winning Jack &the Wolfe apprentice D’Arcy White has not let her autism stand in her way

TWO months into starting the job she had dreamed of since she was a little girl, and D’Arcy White felt like walking out.

Hairdressing is well known for being a sociable job, with clients loving nothing more than a good chat.

But for someone who is autistic, that can be challenging. However, with the support of her bosses Jack Mead and Lydia Wolfe, D’Arcy stuck with it, and has now been rewarded by being named New Talent Colourist of the Year at the KAO Salon Division Global Creative awards.

Last month saw her jet to Chicago to represent the UK and Ireland in the global finals of the competition and although she did not win, D’Arcy is rightly proud of herself.

A smiling D’Arcy (20) said: “It’s a massive achievement, I am really thrilled. Since I was small, I wanted to be a hairdresser, I used to practise on my dolls all the time.

“Trying out different styles, even cutting their hair; to win the gold award was just amazing.”

D’Arcy landed her dream job in 2021 when her brother, who modelled for Lymington salon Jack & the Wolfe, recommended his little sister for an apprenticeship.

But although D’Arcy loved the role, she found the social side of it difficult.

She admitted: “I was really struggling in the beginning and about two months in thought ‘I can’t do this.’ I am very introverted and to suddenly have to be chatty was challenging, to say the least.

“We had also just come out of lockdown which didn’t help.”

But having recognised her talent, there was little chance employers Lydia and Jack were going to let her leave. Instead, they found ways to support her.

D’Arcy said: “They did things like giving me a script to use when dealing with clients.

“That was such a help and gave me a lot of confidence. I also got better at picking up signals during a conversations so I could communicate more easily.”

Diagnosed with autism aged 11, D’Arcy went to William Gilpin school in Boldre followed by Priestlands in Lymington, and said she always “felt like everyone else had a different mindset to me”.

She added: “I had a unique way of looking at life, sort of romanticising it. I struggled with socialising at school, I had a lot of things in my head but I had difficulty saying them.

“I found school overwhelming. I was never bullied, but I was terrified of being judged so I would rather hide myself away.

“My parents worked with children with autism and thought I could be on the spectrum.”

Her diagnosis did not surprise her, and D’Arcy says she views herself as “unique and different”

“I see autism now as something that shouldn’t hold you back, instead I consider it my superpower. I think it’s where my creativity comes from.

“I am so lucky Lydia and Jack gave me a chance. Autism still has a stigma to it and I’m not sure how many other hair salons would have done that.

“When I said I wasn’t sure I could do the apprenticeship, they were so great. They’ve been very patient with me, helped me to believe in myself and gain confidence.

“I feel like I’ve really been able to blossom in this job.”

D’Arcy won the coveted gold award by creating a dramatic look based on a trend involving graphic lines. She said: “The difficult thing is to make sure the colours don’t bleed.”

She says one of the best moments of her new career came when she bumped into a group of people from her school year group who asked her what she was doing now.

D’Arcy said: “When I told them I was a hairdresser and about the award, they were so excited for me.”

She hopes to eventually go into hair styling in film and TV saying: “I really want to do more competitions as well.”

Her mentors Jack and Lydia are very proud of her saying: “Winning the gold award is a massive achievement. D’Arcy inspires all of us, she’s overcome the challenges that autism can create in a highly social and time pressured environment and has the hearts of every person that meets her.”