A Celebrity Hairstylist Shares Her Journey: Owning a Top London Salon, The World of International Pageants, and Top Hair Tips For All.
“What matters is you, your dreams, your goals. We live in a world of 7 billion people and every individual has lots of choices & possibilities. You fall everyday but keep standing and walking again.” Today’s woman dreamer, Dimps Sanghani, is a London-based celebrity hairstylist, the founder and CEO of King’s Road, Chelsea-based salon, Tiara Organics. From Simon Cowell, Manisha Koirala, and Shabana Azmi, Dimps aims to empower everyone to feel beautiful and confident everyday. An international beauty queen, she also holds the title of Mrs. Universe Charity Woman and Mrs. England 2018. We are excited to share her dynamic story, and her expert hair tips for the holidays!
1) Tell us your story. You are an international beauty queen, and the winner of the Mrs. England Universe title. What inspired you to enter the beauty world.
My story is very filmy! It sounds too good to be true; to be a mother of two teenage kids, an international beauty queen and to run the Tiara Organic Hair & Beauty Salon in Chelsea, Kings Road. It is a dream come true to have the opportunity for a female entrepreneur like me to be opening a salon in London's most prestigious Kings Road, a neighborhood frequented by the royals.
I got married in India, Hyderabad, and moved in with my British born husband at an early age and came to London at the age of 20. I had just completed university. I had big dreams and ambitions but had no idea where to start. Like every other girl in India, I wanted to be in Bollywood. But my destiny had something else in store for me. At the age of 18, I enrolled in Miss Country Club for fun, but ended winning the crown. Then, I won Miss Hyderabad as Runner up in 2000. Life had just begun and I was on top of the world. Calls were coming from Bombay and other places, but my granddad did not want me to pursue the film industry. I dropped the idea and concentrated on my studies.
After I came to London, life was very different. I had no friends or family and that was super tough, but slowly I settled down. I struggled for many years, to find the right career path, and I changed a few different professions. Finally, while working in an accountant’s office for 2 years, a friend told me, “Dimps you are wasting your time here. You are a very talented, artistic and a people person. This work is too boring for you, you are wasting your life here?”
I was shocked. Then I thought about studying hairdressing and felt that god had given me an opportunity to try something different. So I enrolled in a four-year hairdressing course and simultaneously had a baby. I used to go to college in the evening and juggled my kids and hair courses side by side. My passion for creative work started from there on. I always wanted to work for happiness and passion and I love what I do. I never ran after money, and my passion has surely taken me close to success in these years, for which I’m very grateful to god. I have won several awards in the hairdressing industry, and I still have plans to train, expand and do international workshops in future, alongside opening a few more branches and launching my very own hair growth hair oil. My whole team and I are preparing for a big launch once Covid-19 is behind us, and we can see some clarity in the market. I designed a completely organic hair, skin care routines, and treatments that can help todays youth and we use sulphate free and paraben free products.
I felt that was the best choice in life I have made. I was determined to be the best hair stylist, but I had so much energy and passion for my work that I shone in the Asian industry. Within a few years, I upgraded my skills. I started working on filmsets, and TV Channels, film festivals, theatres etc. As my kids were growing older it was pretty hard to be an allrounder, but when you want something very badly you will go around the whole world and still do it.
Now life had given me another chance to shine in the fashion industry after 18 years. A friend suggested that I participate in the MRS. England Pageant. I thought why not, I should give it a shot, if I don’t win then I will at least come out with a lovely experience and amazing confidence. I won the MRS England Universe 2018 title. It was Unbelievable and now the journey was getting more interesting and challenging. I was being sent to MRS Universe Pageant to compete with 90 countries and representing England this time.
At this stage I felt the beauty world is inside me. Whether you achieve it at Miss or MRS, it doesn’t matter. What matters is you, your dreams, your goals. We live in a world of 7 billion people and every individual has lots of choices & possibilities. You fall everyday but keep standing again and walking again.
2) You are also a well-known celebrity hairstylist in London, with your own salon. Clients have included Simon Cowell, Robert Kiyosaki, Manisha Koriala, Shabana Azmi, and several other stars. Was there a specific encounter or story that you still remember?
Having being to work in celebrity world and the Bollywood world can be nerve-wracking, but also exhilarating and fun. It brings different experiences everyday, and you have to be positive & professional all the time while delivering a high standard of work and perfection. But at times when things go wrong, the first to blame can be the makeup artists or the hairstylist. You have to be extra careful as the pressure is tremendously high . Once you know them and your work inside out, they are also your best buddies.
I have worked with over 50 celebrities in last 5 years, who respect me and my work and they socialize with me, every time they come to London and we have a lot of fun going out.
It was tough in the beginning and uou have to trust yourself. When they are awkward, you either work with them or see a clear NO on their face. Or do a trial run and see the synergy, as your self-respect is clearly important along with their status. The current generation actors and actress are soo much fun to work with, they have such great social media skills and times have changed in Bollywood.
3) How do you believe beauty empowers women?
Confidence is the most important skill in any aspect of life. It can empower you to have great self-worth and can prevent anxiety or fear. The fact is that all women are beautiful at any age , and have the power to be beautiful. All it takes is a little encouragement. We have to embrace who we are and these hair and beauty products are just the quick fix. When you wear any hair or makeup or any brand, women should do it for themselves not for someone else. Sometimes you cannot keep your eyes away from beautiful collections of hair and makeup brands. Internal beauty is far more precious than outside, as the inner beauty always reflects on the outside.
And if you do good self care on your hair and skin, certainly hair and beauty can empower you from within and at that point you certainly see the power of beauty.
4) With Covid-19, people's hair routines have changed. Some are scared to go to salons, and many are working from home. What are your 3 best haircare tips, and best styles for Hair @ Home?
Tip 1: Do a regular hair spa treatment once a month. It is a therapy that is essential for maintaining healthy hair, it gives nourishment and keeps your hair stronger, shinier & healthier. Its could be an oil or mask treatment but it should give vitality to your hair.
Tip 2: Use a good shampoo & conditioner and hair serum, and definitely sulphate and paraben free product. Invest in good products as good hair is a women's real wealth.
Tip 3: Eat good food, do yoga and meditate. A Healthy lifestyle is very important for healthy hair, as that will help to calm your mind and soul, and once the soul is in peace it also boots the good hair growth and keratin and it reflects on both your hair and skin.
5) As a #Dreamcatchers Platform, we have to ask, what is your next big dream?
You are what you think all day, every day. Focus your energy on thoughts that reflect who you want to be, even if you don't see that person. I dream a lot, and I believe that my dream is real! Never let go of your dreams.
My spa is designed with the concept of hair rebirth and adding the collagen / keratin back in the hair with a few special machines and designs.Services for relaxing hair massages will be the icing on the cake. As many of todays women have time to color the hair, only a few of them have time to go to salon for hair spa and care treatments. They then end up having hair falling at a young age. My focus is to educate the youth about the organic ways of care and to also help the community and society to educate the future generations as we move forward in this digital world together. Day by day more people are moving towards vegan or vegetarianism. I can see mixing the Ayurveda concept with technology as my new cocept and I plan to take it around the globe. That is my plan for now !!!! Looking forward to launching soon, in 4 to 6 weeks. So for me, I’m chasing the next dream.