Climate conversations in everyday places
It’s Getting Hairy
A South West England salon and barbershop pilot designed to turn small talk into climate talk
Movement starts with conversations
We’re bringing climate into everyday places...
It’s Getting Hairy is a South West pilot exploring how barbershops and hair salons can become unexpected spaces for climate conversation. Using simple mirror prompts and stickers, the project brings climate discussions into places where people already talk openly and regularly.
The idea was inspired by recent research published in Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, which found that hairdressers are well placed to spark meaningful conversations and encourage behaviour change.
It’s Getting Hairy takes these findings into real-world settings, testing how these conversations work in practice and helping explore the potential for wider rollout across the UK.
It’s Getting Hairy is a project by the University of Exeter’s Nature and Climate Impact Team.
Dr Sam Hampton, Senior Researcher at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI):
“When thinking about climate change champions, hairdressers might not immediately come to mind. But many are committed to sustainable practices, and—being famous for their conversational skills—are uniquely placed to reach a wide range of people.”
Mirror Prompt 1
Getting Hairy for Dogs
The UK is expected to experience more frequent and intense heatwaves as the climate changes. For dogs, hot weather can become dangerous quickly. Unlike humans, dogs have a limited ability to cool themselves down. They don’t sweat through their skin and rely mainly on panting and a small amount of sweat through their paw pads.
How to help your dog stay safe in hot weather:
- Walk earlier or later: Exercise is the biggest trigger for heat-related illness in dogs.
- Test the pavement before walks: Rest your hand on the ground for 5–10 seconds.
- Never leave dogs in parked cars: Even briefly. Temperatures inside can rise dangerously fast.
Mirror Prompt 2
Getting Hairy for Football
Football isn’t outside climate change. It’s increasingly playing through it.
Extreme heat. Waterlogged pitches. Matches cancelled because the weather has other ideas.
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is expected to be the most watched sporting event in history – but it will unfold against growing climate risks. Experts have warned that around a quarter of matches could take place in potentially dangerous heat conditions for players and fans, with some games facing temperatures considered unsafe. FIFA has already introduced mandatory hydration breaks at every World Cup match.
Around a third of grassroots pitches are estimated to lose weeks of play every year because of flooding and extreme weather. More intense rainfall and flooding are forecast as our planet warms –> fewer training sessions. More cancelled fixtures.
Mirror Prompt 3
Getting Hairy for Dating
Some topics end up in the “don’t mention” pile. Politics. Religion. Money. Climate change.
Gail Whiteman, professor of sustainability at the University of Exeter, says it’s important to talk: “If we don’t tackle climate denial and climate indifference, then the uphill battle to find a safer future is lost.”
Climate change has a habit of turning up in everyday life anyway – in our gardens, holidays, food, pets and sport.
Research suggests the best conversations start with curiosity, not combat. Read more here.
Mirror Prompt 4
Getting Hairy for Chocolate
Chocolate prices have risen sharply in recent years, partly because cocoa crops in major producing countries have been hit by heat, changing rainfall patterns and disease. In 2024, cocoa prices reached record highs.
Cocoa production depends on very specific conditions of temperature, rainfall and healthy ecosystems. Today, that balance is shifting. Scientists estimate that around half of the land currently suitable for growing cocoa could be under threat by 2050.
Bad news for chocoholics. Also bad news for farmers.
Mirror Prompt 5
Getting Hairy for Gardens
Gardening used to be about what to plant. Now it’s increasingly about what the weather decides to do.
One year it’s drought. The next it’s endless rain. Sometimes it’s both in the same month. Across the UK, gardeners are noticing earlier flowering, longer growing seasons, surprise frosts, new pests and summers that seem to swing between “please rain” and “please stop raining.”
- Installing water butts to capture rain when it arrives and save it for when it doesn’t.
- Choosing peat-free composts. Peatlands store huge amounts of carbon, and there are now plenty of high-quality peat-free alternatives that work just as well.
- Mixing in drought-tolerant plants can make gardens more resilient when summer decides to become Spain
Mirror Prompt 6
Getting Toasty
Britain is getting toastier.
Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more intense as the climate changes. The UK has already topped 40°C for the first time in recorded history.
Great for toast.
Potentially less great for gardens, wildlife, infrastructure, and anyone trying to sleep at night.
Get involved
Interested in campaigns that connect science and culture?
Contact the Hairy Team
Curious about the pilot? Fancy helping us make climate conversations a little less painful and a lot more human?
Drop the It’s Getting Hairy team a message to learn more about the project—or about getting involved as we take it to more salons and barbershops across the UK.