A Nottinghamshire salon is in the running to be crowned Aesthetic Clinic Of The Year. A Cut Above The Rest, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, is aiming for its 30th award on March 26 at the English Hair and Beauty awards 2023.
The director, Jade Gray, has spoken about the success of her salon which keeps ‘growing and expanding’. Last year, the salon, located in Outram Street, managed to rack up nine awards, one of which was The Most Wanted Salon of the year at the English Hair and Beauty Awards 2022.
However, whilst her aesthetic clinic has proved great success, Jade’s journey hasn’t been easy. In 2011 she gave birth to her first son, Liam-Junior, known as L.J, who was born with severe brain damage.
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The 34-year-old from Bilborugh says she wants to ‘show other people that if you have got disabled children that you can still do it.’
“When I was 21 I gave birth to a beautiful little boy called Liam-Junior, that was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, which turned out to be the most heartbreaking day of my life,” she said.
“I had an amazing pregnancy with no complications at all. I had gone into labour 4 days overdue. He was starved of oxygen at birth, I had a normal pregnancy and everything. The NHS didn’t want to give me a c-section, he ended up severely brain damaged.”
“It still breaks me now, the first two years of his life I actually shut off and became military. I just turned my heart off because they told me he would never do anything.”
Jade and her partner Liam McTague, were told by hospital staff that only 2% of Liam-Junior's brain had survived and he will more than likely have no aspect of proper life.
Jade made it her priority to prove doctors wrong and said she wouldn’t give up on her son. At 18 months old, Liam-Junior beat all the odds and started to walk, crawl and eat normal food.
Jade continued: “I believed in him, and I believed in myself that he would do what they said his 2% brain would never do, yes it was hard, yes it was heartbreaking and yes it came with its highs and lows, but he did it he did it all.”
Liam-Junior is now 12 years old, the 34-year-old describes L.J as such a ‘lovely boy’. However, Liam still suffers from cerebral palsy, ADHD, epilepsy, ADD, autism and sensory issues.
“I’ve always been a fighter for him,” she said.
“I got to a point where I just wanted to do something for myself and to make other people realise that it’s not just that you’ve got a disabled child that you can’t have a life as well. I ended up going into the industry and going from one thing to beauty, then I started in aesthetics and it’s just grown from there.
“Obviously I still have complications with my son so doing that at the same time has been really hard and getting a multi-awarded business is just outstanding. You don’t realise what it’s become until you step back.”
In 2015 Jade stepped her foot into the industry and began hairdressing and a year later went on to do lashes. She then bought A Cut Above The Rest for £250 off a lady who did mobile hairdressing. The business had already been established for 25 years.
Her business took off from there as Jade branched out and became an aesthetic practitioner. She worked from her spare room and her clientele built from there.
She said: “Then I wanted to go into beauty and then end up becoming an aesthetic practitioner. I had L.J and he was disabled I had a spare room. I started it in my spare room at first, I started doing the beauty treatments so I could take care of L.J at the same time.
“Everything I’ve done, I have done for him so we can have a normal life and show other people that if you have got disabled children that you can still do you. It moved so fast I couldn't believe it, the clientele was just coming. Six months after that, I ended up building a cabin in my garden. I ended up lasting three months in 2019.
“I got my first shop in Pleasley, and I opened one up in Langley Mill after that. I have my family and friends working with me, they all run the shop now. Now I am in the academy teaching. I teach it to other students.”
“I ended up having more children: a three year old, Charlie-Boy, one year old, Ronnie-Jay. I can’t even explain the words for it. Everything is just flowing, growing and expanding, I am just so overwhelmed with it all.
"It kind of just runs itself now, my son has been struggling for the last four months, he’s been having seizures, he has epileptic fits. He’s been having them since October every day, four times a day and I’m having a really hard time. I have staff who run it for me so then I can go and support my son when I need to, he’s now been referred to Birmingham Hospital, where he may be having brain surgery for his seizures.
“Thirty awards, just me with my son, I didn't even think I was going to be doing anything from just working myself up from my bedroom and all the way up, it’s outstanding, I really should give a pat on my back.”
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