For almost half her life Kylie Trott has been helping people.

She’s worked with all age groups and in all sectors.

From providing domiciliary care for the elderly to working in specialist schools.

As she says: “It’s always been my passion to care.”

But it was while supporting adults with learning disabilities in the community that the idea for her future business took root.

And it all revolved around going to the barbers.

Kylie, 33, said: “I noticed there was a lack of support for those with additional needs.

“It can be an overwhelming experience to go to the barbers.

“The sounds, the smells, the lights, the people.

“The staff working in the barbers didn’t always have an understanding.

“That’s not a criticism because their job is to cut hair.

“But sometimes they didn’t have the empathy needed to deal with people who may have special needs.”

In 2020, Kylie, who lives in Poole, retrained as a hairdresser.

Immediately upon qualifying in May 2021 she launched Trottz Trimz, a mobile barbers.

She specialises in providing hair dressing services for people who struggle to visit hair salons due to sensory/access issues or just general anxiety.

Initially part-time, Kylie went full-time in the business last month.

She said: “This year my bookings have just rocketed.

“I do all ages. The youngest has been a one-year-old and even then they’re showing signs of anxiety.

“The eldest has been someone in their late 70s who had a learning disability.

“There’s a very big demand for what I do.

“The SEN (Special Educational Needs) community is really supportive.

“It’s been amazing.

“The service isn’t mainly about the haircut to be honest.

“It’s more about the service and the desensitising.

“It’s all about building up a trust with the individual and getting them to trust me and get to know my tools.

“I tend to stick to the same sort of routine.

“I’ll go in and, if it’s a child, sit and play with them for a while so I’m not just a scary person who’s come into the room.

“Then I’ll start to introduce my tools by saying ‘Oooh, let’s look in the bag’.

“We’ll have a feel of the clippers because some have never used clippers and even the sound of them can be off-putting.

“I tend to do the cut in bursts, breaking it down into ten or even five seconds.

“We’ll have a break, get all the hairs off and then restart again when they’re ready.”

Kylie allows up to one and half hours for a new client but can still do as many as eight cuts a day.

She currently works seven days a week but is hoping to start taking every other weekend off soon.

Although based in Poole she covers an area from Mudeford in the east, Dorchester in the west and up to Shaftesbury.

Kylie said: “I’d happily go anywhere but I have to think of the mileage.

“To see the progress made can be quite emotional.

“Sometimes it begins with a child that can’t even look at me, literally covering their eyes.

“To watch them progress each time and get to the point where I’m finally doing the haircut, that’s when I think ‘Wow’.

“I just love what I do and it certainly doesn’t feel like work.

“In many ways I’m doing my dream job.”

In addition to her hairdressing skills Kylie, who grew up in Merley, is currently doing a government-funded six week online course to expand her knowledge of autism.

She said: “In the future, I’d love to expand and have my own team of barbers.

“I want to help people with their struggles so that, one day, they’re able to visit a hair salon just like everyone else.”

• Trottz Trimz can be found on Facebook and Instagram.