No looking back from those big, black hair days
Cheryl Gooneratne learnt a thing or two about hair back in the 70’s when she made a brave attempt to iron it with -well, an iron. Two things were made painfully obvious; her beautiful black hair and a hot improvisation of an iron were better spending life apart and hair treatment was best left to the professionals. So when her Aunty Doreen suggested that she put her free time after AL’s to good use by enrolling in a hair dressing course, she didn’t have to think twice. What’s the harm in spending a month or two learning how to do your hair, right?
Cheryl Gooneratne pictured here and on our cover, model Dannielle with hair and make-up by Cheryl. Dannielle was photographed by Indika Handuwala at the Colombo Hilton
More than three decades on-31 years to be exact-she’s sitting in her office at the Cheryl Gooneratne
Academy for Hairdressing, reminiscing of a time when all women wanted to do with their hair was make it as voluminous as possible. “Farah Fawcett locks were an in-thing at the time,” she remembers. “And jet black hair-luckily for us – was all the rage. I remember when I used to put stuff in my hair to make it even blacker!”
Cheryl, a born and certified ‘Kandy girl’ spent her childhood fascinated with all things beautiful. Her earliest recollection is of giving her father, a lawyer by profession, head massages to die for. “He always used to say I’d do great things,” she grins. “But probably didn’t imagine I’d do this!” Her first foray into hairdressing was at the Ramani Fernando Salons-back when it had just a handful of students learning the basics of the trade. “Life at Ramani’s was inspirational,” remembers Cheryl. “There was never a dull moment. I think it was the daily challenge and promise that got me hooked.”
Leaving Ramani’s, she ventured into running her own salon but soon realised her real passion lay in sharing the ins and outs of her trade with willing students. She launched the Cheryl Gooneratne Academy for Hairdressing in 1999, a quiet enterprise that blossomed under her guidance and expertise. Tucked away in a corner on top of the Commons at Flower Road, the academy teaches promising young hairdressers everything from cutting hair to makeup.
Deviating from the trends set by her predecessors-and successors-Cheryl prefers to engage directly with her students. When we walk in on a quiet Monday morning, the academy is already buzzing with young protégées snipping away at a wig on a dummy and applying war paint on willing victims. In the midst of it all is Cheryl, gently guiding her students.
There’s a contingent of girls in white at one end of the academy; they’re from the Asha Trust Fund Project, we’re told. Cheryl believes in empowering young people in the way she knows best; “I can’t provide them all with employment opportunities, but I can give them a skill set that’ll open up new possibilities for them,” she says. “I hope to take it further someday-we’ve already made plans to move into outstation areas with the academy.” She also conducts business etiquette seminars for organisations, which she finds very rewarding.
The academy also hopes to bring back another round of Hair Sport, a salon challenge of sorts. It’s an opportunity for her students to get a feel of the competitive industry. Cheryl has no qualms about putting them on the front lines-her academy was behind the exotic hair-dos at Sri Lanka Design Festival for the last five years. “I love taking them to shows and getting them involved,” she says, smiling. “There’s no better place for them to learn.”
They also get to watch her with her select handful of clients; while Cheryl focuses her attention on running the academy, she still works with a few exclusive clients-some of whom have been with her for decades. “They trust me,” she says simply. Too many hairdressers these days are not qualified to handle the delicate conditions of hair, we’re told. “When I started out it was a different ballgame.
There was very little technique. But these days, you absolutely have to know what to do with all the chemicals that are used. This is why I’m so passionate about my academy and this field. We are, after all, doctors of hair!”