The #LastMinList

The next opportunity for Black hair is already in the diary

Clients are looking for afro and multi-textured hair appointments, while independent hairdressers have open slots to fill. The problem is that a massive digital distance separates them. Scroll to explore the click journey from both sides and see how local partnerships help the #LastMinList close the digital gap.

Discovery

Up to 90% of people leave a site when they can't find what they're looking for. Baymard Institute.

By measuring the digital distance between hairdresser and client, we can see just how difficult it is to find afro hair appointments online.

There are many skilled afro hairdressers who post their availability on social media, but still aren't easily discoverable by potential clients.

Let's test it out and see if we can find an appointment in less than 100 clicks. Based on a real click experiment.

No appointment found in less than 100 clicks.

First braiding appointment found at 120 clicks.

The appointment was there, it was just really hard to find.

Value

Money is being lost to failed searches and click-fatigue.

A customer who cannot find the hour, and a hairdresser who cannot sell it, are paying for the same gap.

Short-notice bookings are worth serious money.

An open appointment has value even as it approaches expiry. Afro hair services are in demand, and that includes same-day and next-day bookings too.

TEXTURED connected booking histories: 406 bookings within 48 hours of the appointment, £18,165 in listed prices. The story graphic uses the per-salon share, about £9,000.

This industry is hard to see as one economy.

Data-driven localised support for afro hairdressers.

Beauty salons in areas with larger Black populations have the highest chance of closing. By better understanding afro hair services and appointments, targeted support can be made to the most at-risk professionals.

NHBF / Local Data Company: 45% of beauty salons in areas with larger Black populations closed within three years, compared with 32% in predominantly White areas.

Nottingham

Empowering Neighbourhoods & Businesses through the #LastMinList

1 Supporting Local Enterprise

The #LastMinList provides local councils and business hubs with real-time evidence of unutilised capacity and trading patterns, unlocking targeted digital support for Nottingham's high street hair and beauty businesses. By optimising empty appointment slots, grassroots professionals instantly increase their baseline earnings and digital productivity, driving neighbourhood economic resilience without increasing overhead costs.

2 Revealing Economic Opportunity

The #LastMinList maps Nottingham's specialist Black hair economy, quantifying service types, transaction values, and unmet consumer demand. This replaces guesswork with hard economic intelligence, giving development partners and grant makers the precise baseline data required to validate the industry's commercial value, identify lucrative underserved markets, and de-risk future civic or private investments.

3 Championing Fairness & Growth

The #LastMinList bridges the structural skills gap by connecting hair professionals with colleges and training bodies, using real-world booking data to decolonise and modernise curriculum design. Through workshops, advisory boards, and guest lectures, TEXTURED embeds textured hair expertise into mainstream education, equipping students with hyper-relevant digital and commercial capabilities to launch sustainable enterprises.

4 Turning Community Value into Community Wealth

The #LastMinList builds a permanent democratic relationship between grassroots hair professionals and policymaking institutions, ensuring data assets remain owned by the community that generates them. As professional participation expands, this cumulative evidence loop directly shapes local education policies and public funding allocations, ensuring community needs continuously dictate systemic industry action and wealth distribution.

Let's turn community action into industry change.

Grow local opportunity

Work with TEXTURED to support Nottingham's independent hair businesses and neighbourhoods.

Bring #LastMinList to your community. Partner on local campaigns to recruit hairdressers, promote available appointments and reach customers through community networks.

Support independent hair businesses. Commission practical workshops on digital bookings, pricing, customer acquisition and increasing earnings.

Turn evidence into action

Use TEXTURED's industry research and expertise to inform education, business support and investment.

Commission industry research. Investigate local demand, service pricing, business productivity and gaps in provision to guide policy and investment.

Book TEXTURED to speak or teach. Commission data-led student workshops, guest lectures and industry talks on entrepreneurship, skills and inclusive growth.

The #LastMinList by TEXTURED

Where the figures come from

One-page briefing with sources and light data tables.