Shador Studio London’s Dior Davenport is on a Mission to Diversify the British Beauty Industry

Dior Davenport is a licensed aesthetician, permanent cosmetic artist, skincare specialist and educator from Seattle, Washington, who has worked in the beauty industry for over a decade. After losing her corporate job in 2008, Dior and her older sister, Shalon Burruss—who also found herself relieved of corporate responsibility the year prior—turned their love for self-care into a budding beauty business.

While studying for their aesthetician’s license to work as lash technicians, Dior and Shalon quickly realised that they were interested in other areas of beauty too, such as skincare and permanent makeup. During this process, they also noticed that there was a real lack of education on how to treat and perform permanent cosmetics on eumelanin skin.

Soon after, the sisters went on to open Shador Studio of Esthetics in Seattle, specialising in permanent makeup for eumelanin skin, skincare, eyelash extensions and body sugaring. Fast forward to 2021, Dior and Shalon took their commitment to diversifying the beauty industry one step further by launching PMEumelanin, a platform that bridges the gap between Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) consumers and beauty providers that specialise in eumelanin skin.

Following the success of Shador Studio in the US, Dior decided to expand their brand by opening a branch in London last year. The goal? To diversify the British beauty industry. Located just a short walk away from Liverpool Street station, we headed down to Shador Studio London to meet Dior to talk all things beauty and business.

Dior on her biggest beauty inspiration

As soon as you step foot into Shador Studio London, you are greeted by a beautiful black-and-white framed photograph of a lady with luscious curly hair, flawless skin, wearing a deep shade of lipstick, mounted onto the wall of the main waiting area. “That’s a photograph of my mother,” says Dior as she looks up. “For both my sister and I, our mother has always been our biggest beauty inspiration—we call her the Original Diva. Growing up, we would watch my mother getting glam and we were always so mesmerised by how well put together she always looked. She was always so particular about how she smelt, how she did her hair, her heels, her jewellery. To her, every small detail mattered and that always stuck with me.”

Thank you for having us, Dior, and welcome to London! So, tell us, why did you decide to expand your beauty business to the UK?

I opened Shador Studio London to help diversify the British beauty industry and create a trusted environment for people of colour who want to book services or be trained by an aesthetician that specialises in eumelanin skin, whether that be skincare or permanent makeup. The goal has always been to expand and educate the industry on a global scale, so opening Shador Studio London last year was a huge milestone for us. We have lots of plans to work with the British beauty industry and provide expert-led trainings on all areas of beauty, while specialising in eumelanin skin. My focus will be Shador Studio London and Shalon still runs our main US branch, Shador Raleigh, which we moved to North Carolina and opened around two years ago.

How exciting! So, where did your journey of becoming a beauty educator begin?

It all started when Shalon and I realised that there was a gap in the market for beauty services that specifically cater to eumelanin skin. While we were studying to become aestheticians, we decided that alongside lashes, we wanted to specialise in permanent makeup. At the time, permanent makeup was very popular in Europe, so around eight years ago my sister and I flew all the way to Austria to learn more. However, to our surprise, we were told by the permanent makeup trainers in Europe that it is impossible to do permanent makeup on Black skin, and if you do, you can only use a Black pigment. As Black beauty professionals, we instinctively knew that this was far from the truth, which motivated us to become the change that we wanted to see in the industry.

As soon as we got back to the US, we started hosting beauty masterclasses in Seattle on permanent makeup and skincare for eumelanin skin, led by global beauty experts. Since then, my sister and I have worked on several initiatives to provide expert-driven education on beauty services for eumelanin skin, as well as creating community spaces for BAME permanent makeup artists and aestheticians.

That is incredible! Can you tell as a bit more about your platform, PMEumelanin?

In 2021, my sister and I cofounded a platform called PMEumelanin in the US to bridge the gap between BAME consumers and beauty providers that specialise in eumelanin skin. Now that Shador Studio London is officially open, I plan to shift the focus of PMEumelanin to the UK, as there is a huge demand for education on how to perform permanent makeup on darker skin tones. Earlier this year, I spoke at Professional Beauty on the Vagaro stage as a thought leader and I met many BAME consumers who told me they don’t feel confident that beauty professionals in the UK know how to treat their skin.

This is one of the main reasons why I am now launching PMEumelanin in the UK, as I want to give BAME consumers access to a platform where they can easily search for beauty professionals who specialise in treating and performing permanent makeup on eumelanin skin. There is also a lot of money being left on the table, so I want to support UK beauty business owners who specialise in eumelanin skin by helping them attract new clients, while bridging this gap.

Now that Shador Studio London is officially open, do you plan on training beauty professionals in the UK on how to treat eumelanin skin?

Yes, absolutely! As I was working on designing Shador Studio London, I made it a priority to include a dedicated space to train beauty students and host workshops. Our training area features a classroom for theory lessons and students will have access to the studio spaces for practical sessions. I plan on teaching a wide range of courses, including Beauty Therapy from Level 1 to 4, on how to perform permanent makeup and eyelash extensions, as well as hosting educational events. Right now, I am currently completing my UK training certification, so I hope to start small group trainings and one-to-one sessions with students, starting February 2024.

What beauty services are currently available at Shador Studio London?

I specialise in eyelash extensions in a range of styles—from classic to volume—as well as bespoke lashes depending on the look that the client would like to achieve. When it comes to permanent makeup, we offer everything from microblading to eyeliner and lip tinting. I also specialise in non-permanent eyebrows using henna or tint, and brow lamination. Over the years, body sugaring has also become one of our specialist treatments, which works better on eumelanin skin, as it is much more gentle, less likely to burn the skin and minimises the chances of hyperpigmentation. At Shador Studio London, we also have other beauty services like skincare, fat dissolving and facials available upon request.

As a seasoned beauty professional and business owner, what sets your work apart from others?

I am very particular about how I offer my beauty services. I want it to be an immersive experience and for my clients to enjoy spending time in our studio. Ultimately, I want my clients to look good, feel good and feel relaxed by the time they leave my studio. Consistency is also a big part of our brand, so I always go above and beyond to ensure that my clients receive the same quality service every single time.

Have you noticed any differences between the beauty service trends in the UK compared to the US?

One thing that I have noticed in the UK is that the ladies love brow lamination, and it is a hugely popular trend right now. In the US, brow lamination isn’t as popular as our other eyebrow services, but it is one of our most requested services here at Shador Studio London. The great thing about brow lamination is that it shifts your eyebrow hairs to make them look instantly fuller, but still gives you a very natural look.

How did you discover Vagaro and why is our software a good fit for your beauty business?

The first-ever scheduling software [that we tried] was on a disc I had purchased, but eventually, the company went digital and introduced a monthly subscription fee. The price started at $250 per month, but as I added more staff to my team, the price kept on going up, so it was just too expensive to maintain. As I was exploring the market for new salon software, I signed up to a few different platforms and Vagaro was one of them. What I liked the most about Vagaro is that it was super user friendly, and it had most of the features that I needed to successfully run my beauty business. For example, I needed a software that allows me to take deposits, I needed it to have SOAP notes because I do permanent makeup, I needed pop-ups to remind me of client information and so forth. Essentially, I was looking for a software that could also be my personal assistant that makes my job easier, while being cost effective. One of the main reasons that I switched over to Vagaro was because of the customer support and service that I had received during my trial period. My feedback on the software was valued and I liked the fact that customer support did not only consider my user experience, but the team also implemented these changes in real time. Today, Vagaro has all the features that I was looking for at the start of my journey, times ten!

And finally, how has Vagaro helped you transition your business from the US to the UK?

It has truly been a game-changer and already being a Vagaro user has saved me so much time and money. I absolutely love using the software and having my beauty business on Vagaro has made opening Shador Studio London so much easier for me. I am excited to see what new features come out in the UK over the next year, and I can’t wait for Vagaro Pay Later to be released in the UK.

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