We are delighted to introduce Julie Serrano, founder of Lab12 on Vesterbro in Copenhagen – a hairdresser who has spent more than three decades learning that the most important work happens on the inside.

Julie didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a hairdresser in the conventional sense. She grew up paying attention. At seven, she cut her own hair short. At twelve, she sat in her first professional salon as a hair model and recognised something immediately: these people operated on a different frequency. One she already shared.

Over the years, she has built a practice – and a salon – rooted in calm, care and the quiet art of helping people look like themselves. She doesn't chase perfection. She doesn't believe in it. Instead, she believes that your hair should live up to you – not the other way around.

Her approach today is shaped as much by inner work as by technical skill. Lab12 is a place of stillness, where silence is welcomed and grey hair is celebrated. Where clients are invited to simply receive.

It is this same philosophy that drew Julie to Meishai – a product that works with the hair rather than against it. Minimal. Honest. Effective. Exactly the kind of beauty she believes in.

We spoke with Julie about what beauty means to her, the path that led her here, and why growing older might just be the most beautiful thing of all.

1. What does beauty mean to you?

My perception of beauty has changed radically over the years.

When I was young, I spent a lot of time experimenting and exploring ways to express myself through my appearance. It was a way of sensing how the world responded to how I looked — and through that, finding my way to myself. Slowly, over the years, I found an inner peace, and now it's more about wholeness — about the outer reflecting the inner. The inner has become the priority, and the outer must align with it.

One of my mottos is: you shouldn't live up to your hair — your hair should live up to you.

Beauty, to me, is looking at a person who is at ease with themselves and in balance. It has become my purpose to help people love themselves as they are — to see and experience their natural beauty. In a capitalist society, we are constantly made to want more and to feel that we are never enough. I try to minimise change for the person who sits down in my chair, and instead help them with the small, important adjustments — to navigate and make the most of what they already have. Perhaps it's because most of the people who sit in my chair have already found that inner peace, but need help tuning the outer to match the person they have chosen to be. Many have arrived at the inner part — but the outer needs updating too.

2. What drew you to become a hairdresser — was there a moment, or a feeling, that led you here?

I decided to cut my hair short when I was seven years old — the moment my mother told me I could decide for myself. Everyone thought I was a boy, but I didn't care. Even then, I had an awareness of how you could express yourself through hair.

From a very young age I was fascinated by the craft of hairdressing, and when I was twelve I was asked to be a hair model — that was my first real glimpse into the industry. I remember clearly having the feeling that the "grown-ups" there didn't seem "old" the way other adults I knew did. Somehow we were on the same frequency.

I still experience that. Throughout my career I have worked with people both much older and much younger than me, and I have always felt that what we share is a passion for the craft — age simply isn't relevant in that context. It's remarkable how I feel a connection through the fascination, dedication and curiosity for people and outward expression, across all ages. We can truly give each other a broad perspective and contribute together, if we accept that everyone brings something different. It's a very particular form of equality — and that word is the one occupying me most right now.

I am deeply grateful for the inspiration I have received from all the talented people I have worked with and continue to work with. A huge source of inspiration for me are the people who choose to sit in my chair — because I'm convinced that you choose the hairdresser in whom you somehow recognise yourself. That's also why there will never be a "best hairdresser." We all have different aesthetic sensibilities and needs.

3. How would you describe your way of working with hair today?

I have already touched on how I work with hair, but I would say that my own inner development is very much reflected in how I work with hair and people today.

I find that there is a great lack of care for clients — a lack of attentiveness to meeting their needs, dreams, wishes and fears. I have become a much better hairdresser by immersing myself more in the whole person and working on my own inner life. For many years it was only about the perfect exterior, and very few people actually want that, are able to sustain it, or choose to prioritise it. I also think this is why so many people struggle mentally today — because we have forgotten to give the inner world its value. Perfect is boring and impersonal, if you ask me, and neither my clients nor I have the energy for it or wish to pursue it.

Beyond that, over many years I have developed and shaped my way of working with hair around the clientele who come to the salon. They all share the same fundamental need: low maintenance, long-lasting, effortless — and a look that is naturally theirs. They care deeply about their hair, but they want hair that demands as little attention as possible and signals who they are as people. It's very much what I want for myself, so it's easy for me to understand their needs.

Over the years, many of my clients have also developed grey hair — as I have — and it is a very important task for me to introduce grey hair in an attractive, appealing way rather than covering it up. It's a sensitive and significant process. But as with everything, it's about finding the balance, and it is a beautifully rich journey that I love supporting people through.

4. How do you see the future of the hair industry evolving?

I see a significant shift in the industry, as clients are seeking calmer, more individual experiences. Before, it was about going out to be seen — to do what others did, to go where the right people went. I think clients need more calm now because we are overstimulated by information and energy, and especially those of us living in a city are drawn toward quieter environments: saunas, meditation, yoga, and so on.

I have shifted direction myself, and I have brought into the salon many of the things I have personally benefited from in other treatment settings. I put a great deal of energy into creating a calm universe — grounding my clients, because I need to tune in to them so we can find together what they actually need. I want time to offer care. I always encourage clients not to work during their visit, but to dedicate that time to themselves — to have no hard deadline. They don't need to give anything. They just receive, lean back and trust.

We work with a lot of silence in the salon. The expectation of conversation with the hairdresser goes back to a time when women came to the salon once a week to have their hair set. That was where you caught up on what was happening in the neighbourhood and around town. The technical work required of the hairdresser was of a different, more limited scope — it was primarily about styling and dressing. Hence the word: hairdresser.

Today's hairdresser has a far more demanding task. It is genuinely challenging to hold a conversation while executing advanced cutting, colouring and so on. I often work in silence, and I find that my clients truly thrive in a space where I naturally and safely hold the room — where we can simply be still together. That is where I can deliver at my very best.

5. Are there any shifts or trends you sense for the coming summer?

In terms of trends, I'm seeing a strong desire to express oneself far more boldly through hair. For a long period, the focus was on long, soft, feminine hair — a somewhat neutral expression. Now I sense that clients are taking a real stance and ownership over their hair. There is always a social reason behind these shifts, and in many ways I see it as a political act.

In the seventies, not cutting your hair was a way of distancing yourself from the capitalist direction society was heading. I'm seeing a similar tendency now, just in a different guise. Many people are done with the mainstream — and as a hairdresser, it's incredibly inspiring to be part of that.

6. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I think it's difficult to give my younger self good advice. For me, as for many young people, youth was about breaking free — from childhood, from your parents — and it doesn't always look pretty. But it's the only way to learn. I don't think I would be who I am today without all the mistakes I made. Because, as I see it, that is often where you learn the most.

I personally love growing older. I have a deep passion and love for revealing the beauty in the signs of age — making them appear beautiful, wise and genuine. Showing that we age in an attractive way. I can find it hard to understand why youth equals beauty. I only feel I have become more beautiful with the years, and I have so many inspiring women over sixty in my chair — some of the most beautiful women I know. Perhaps that's why age has never frightened me.

Wrinkles and grey hair are among the only things you cannot buy with money. Maybe that's why they have been so diminished.

Explore more about Julie and Lab12 at: Lab12.dk