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Before reading and writing was finally wrested from the hands of monks, and became universal, most communication was, obviously, word of mouth. This is true for story tellers, common in many cultures throughout history, and held in high esteem - by the people, if not the monks. Most were likely illiterate. But that did not stop them telling the tales, and, usefully, keeping the history of their culture.
Also, literacy is a continuum. At one end - unable to read or write a single word, at the other - perhaps a professor of language at an Oxford uni, (or Harvard, for those living across the pond.) We all fall somewhere along that line, and there is nothing that says we must reach a certain point along that line in order to write. There are many good musicians who can't read a single dot on a stave.
Those who don't understand grammar, or who cannot spell, but who want to write, should perhaps educate themselves, but even while learning, they should not be excluded from producing stuff, and if their stuff has any merit, they should seek the help they need to give it the final polish, without shame.
As for the hairdresser analogy. I doubt many authors having completed the writing then go on to design the covers and spine and get the ISBN and produce the barcode and convert the whole into a pdf for the printing thereof.
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