New to Van Clarke? Subscribe to our newsletter for 15% off your first order. Start your haircare journey today.

Patience? - Who's Got the Time!

August 24, 2022

Patience? - Who's Got the Time!

They say patience is a virtue. I also think it develops with age as we realise that some things just come in their own time. Or not as maybe. C’est la vie, or ‘Them’s the breaks’ as Boris said.

And it’s odd that the impatient youngster has all the time in the world when the elderly, with less sand left in the glass, give time to wait.

There are different sorts of patience. Being able to wait for a long while without getting bored or irritated. Forbearance when under strain of long-term difficulties. Tolerance of provocation without responding negatively – disrespect, anger, road-rage punching!

Couples will generally display different levels of patience. I’m generally happier just ‘to be’, Gaby mostly wants to be on her way somewhere – maybe that’s her marathon-runner dynamic. Less patient of waiting, but improving, she’ll now wait several nanoseconds before a glower of expectation appears. But then she’ll have way more tolerance of provocation without responding negatively.

I’ve noticed my increased forbearance with age. We have brilliant products but we don’t have a multimillion-dollar marketing budget or relations called Musk or Bezos. Word of mouth takes time to get around and we have to be patient, confident that we know the worth of our offering.

“Have patience. All things are difficult before they are easy” - Saadi

Build it and they will come, it said in the film. But they didn’t initially. So we kept making our products – enhancing and perfecting and adding new ones to fill in the gaps in our professional armoury. But more people are discovering our products now, and key influencers are spreading the word faster.

This week I was interviewed by Liz Earle for our unique UV Sun care range, and media doyen Alice Hart Davis had a dramatic makeover cut with me – both have seen massive improvements in their own hair quality by switching to LifeSaver Treatment, and then on Wednesday, the original beauty YouTuber and actress Tanya Burr put out to her 3.7million IG followers that LifeSaver Deep Sleep is her favourite hair product for having fixed her traumatised pregnancy hair. And she prefers it to the Olaplex she used to use. Thanks Tanya, hope to meet you soon.

Grazia picked it up and ran a story, and the world’s leading influencer agency got on the phone to us. More and more people are finding LifeSaver and moving over from Olaplex. I wrote a blog on the comparison. It feels a bit like David and Goliath.

 Michael Van Clarke





Also in Blogs

Balancing Scalp Shampoo
Balancing Scalp Shampoo

October 11, 2024

When I started hairdressing in the 1970s the average person washed their hair once a week. Shampoos were sold in three types - for dry, normal or oily hair.

Continue Reading

Why does my scalp itch?
Why does my scalp itch?

October 10, 2024

There are lots of reasons why scalps itch and here we outline some of the common ones, and how you can avoid them. There really is no need to suffer. If your skin is irritated...

Continue Reading

Gaby's Bakery - Rosh Hashana Honey Cake
Gaby's Bakery - Rosh Hashana Honey Cake

October 05, 2024

If you’ve ever politely eaten auntie's dense, dry and disappointing honey cake, with a crumb like sawdust that scrapes its way past your tonsils, this may not be the treat you're naturally drawn to. But here's a recipe that delivers on the promise of what a honey cake should be. Moist, tender and flavoursome.  

Continue Reading