Adele's: Making the Most of the Elvis Festival
Published on 28 November 2024
Adele Hawke has owned Adele's Salon and Skin Clinic for more than 40 years. For the last decade or more, her salon has been the first port of call for Miss Priscilla's competitors. Having been a Festival sponsor for many years, she enjoys getting involved and supporting her local community. She says, "It's good for Parkes, and it brings a lot of money into town."
This year's theme for the Elvis Festival is "Easy Come, Easy Go", named after the film that came out in 1967, which also happens to be the same year that Adele started training to be a hairdresser, and the year Elvis and Priscilla married. The shop window will feature a themed display, and Adele and her staff will all dress in '60s attire. "The atmosphere in the town comes alive in January; it's a great Festival to get involved with".
With extended hours throughout the week, sometimes opening at 6 am to fit in all the appointments, it can be a busy and tiring week, but with preparation, it is manageable for the payoff. Of course, bookings are essential that week.
"The last few years have been so busy in the shop across the Festival that it has left us little time to volunteer in other areas of the Festival, as we have in some years".
Many of the customers are repeat visitors year after year, and it is a wonderful time to catch up with old friends and have a laugh while they are in the chair, for hair, makeup and the all-important eyelashes. Visitors come from all over Australia, and in 2024, we had someone from America come in for treatments. "Hearing the stories and experiences is amazing".
To celebrate the theme of the 2025 Elvis Festival and the year that Elvis and Priscilla married in an intimate ceremony in Las Vegas, our roving reporter, Frances, went to Adele's to get her hair styled as many Miss Priscilla contestants do, with one minor adjustment for living everyday life, no colouring.
Achieving the perfect Priscilla hair takes about 90 minutes to two hours and starts with a black dye for most. "The hair needs to be the contestant's own, no weaves, hair pieces, or wig, and it must be black", says Adele. "We use a semi-permanent colour by Juuce that washes out in about 12 washes; permanent colours have to grow out over time".
Once the correct colour has been achieved, the hair is dried and straightened. Priscilla had naturally straight hair, so many contestants need a little help; Frances certainly does, as she has a natural deep curl.
Next comes the teasing, sometimes referred to as back-combing. This is done in small sections from the back of the head and all over, leaving just the ends to fall down. The result is a huge bonnet of hair, ensuring the head looks about 15cm larger than it is all over. Once the teasing is completed, which takes about 25 minutes, the styling begins.
The styling is achieved by creating a side part and smoothing the hair out over the teased hair. "It's important that the hair is high and smooth," says Adele as she retrieved several books containing images and stories about Elvis' life to show an image of Priscilla standing near a plane, "it also needs to be worn down." Spending just a little time in the shop highlights how much Elvis influences Adele and her staff's work at this time of year.
The final touch to a perfect Priscilla hairstyle is hairspray. Long gone are the days of Aquanet and ozone-destroying sprays; all of the products used are environmentally conscious, vegan, and Australian. "We need to move and respond to what our customers want," says Adele.
Shannan, one of the stylists in-store, hasn't had a chance to experience an Elvis Festival as she only started with Adele a few months ago. She said of Adele's skill with Priscilla's hairstyles, "She's the Queen!"
Where to find them
Address: 21a Church Street, Parkes, NSW 2870
Phone: 02 6862 1616
Website: www.adelessalonandskinclinic.com.au
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If you would like to have your business profiled on Invest Parkes, please email frances.carleton@parkes.nsw.gov.au