Drumroll please! The 18 finalists through six categories of the International Hairdressing Awards (IHAs) have been named, selected by an esteemed judging panel amidst hundreds of entrant collections. Finalists represent eight countries, including Australia, where our own Jack Horton Hair has been recognised in the title of International Artistic Team of the Year. Finalists otherwise come from the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, France, USA, Sweden and Malaysia, and include some of the world’s most renowned hairdressers, such as Angelo Seminara, Cos Sakkas and Antoinette Beenders.

The finalists were announced over the weekend on February 19, with a global live broadcast from the city of Pamplona, in Spain. The awards will take place on May 8th in Palma de Mallorca (Spain). In March, Mikel Luzea, IHA director and founder, and Sergi Bancells, global ambassador of the awards, will travel around the world together to surprise and personally announce the awards to the winners, which will be streamed live online. The seven winners will then attend the awards gala in May, which will include the awards’ iconic purple carpet, as well as a hair fashion show and the crowning of the winners.

The finalists were chosen by an illustrious group including Robert Lobetta (USA), Dobrawa Piekos-Szymanska (Poland), Dove Palmer (UK), Beatriz Matallana (Spain) and Alexis Continente (Spain). The awards’ fifth year saw almost 500 entries from 38 countries submitted in the categories of Best International Women’s Collection, Best International Men’s Collection and Best International Avant-Garde Collection, while the titles of International Hairdresser of the Year and International Artistic Team of the Year were by invitation only.

Congratulations to the finalists!

Best International Women’s Commercial Collection

Pierre Ginsburg (France)
Rebecca Jacques (United Kingdom)
Robert Masciave (United Kingdom)

Best International Men’s Commercial Collection

Arjan Bevers (Netherlands) 
Bayleigh Peace & Laura Scott – Mark Leeson (United Kingdom)
Brian Sanchis – Salón Carlos Valiente (Spain)

Best International Avant-garde Collection

Dicksum Low (Malaysia)
Emmanuel Esteban (France)
Enrica Russo (United Kingdom)

International Artistic Team of the Year

HOB Creative Team (United Kingdom) 
Jack Horton Hair (Australia)
Mark Leeson (United Kingdom)

International Hairdresser of the Year

Angelo Seminara (United Kingdom)
Antoinette Beenders (USA)
Cos Sakkas (United Kingdom)

International Film & TV Hairdresser of the Year

Erika Okvist (Sweden) – ‘Bridgerton’
Teresa Hill, Yvonne De Patus, Kupka Lindy Dunn and Kim Santantonio (USA) – ‘Being the Ricardos’
Stephanie Ingram (USA) – ’The Eyes of Tammy Faye’

For more information visit www.ihawards.com

Sunday October 9 saw the winners of the illustrious Australian Hair Industry Awards 2022 – Business named at a beautiful gala awards evening on the Gold Coast.

Launched in 2011 by esteemed trade visionary, Linda Woodhead, and the Mocha Group team, the AHIA’s – Business are renowned as the definitive awards program of business excellence for Australia’s leading hairdressers, salons, specialist businesses, educators and professional products. These accolades come as a welcome reprieve after challenging years with salons and hairdressers ready to look ahead and celebrate their achievements with one another.

The big winners were announced at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre as over 600 guests enjoyed a night of dinner, drinks and dancing. The highlight of the evening was the vibrant and action-packed dance and laser performance created and produced by the incredible multi-hyphenate Adam Williams. The stunning show brought burlesque into the now, drawing inspiration from the resurgence of Club-Kid culture, the heritage of Harlem Ballroom and the vivacious volume of authentic vogue. Guests then ventured to Nineteen at the Star for the afterparty to end all afterparties.

Combining opportunities for individuals of all levels as well as categories for salons, specialist businesses, educators and professional products, the awards provide an exciting snapshot of the impressive quality of the industry. The awards were launched due to industry demand for a platform to highlight business achievement and are judged by an independent panel of judges, media, PR and business specialists.

The AHIA’s – Business were proudly sponsored by Timely, Redken, Kitomba, Sustainable Salons, Excellent Edges, Matrix, Schwarzkopf Professional, Goldwell, L’Oreal Professionnel, Revlon Professional, HairBiz, Shortcuts, DNA, The Zing Project, KMS, EVY Professional, Comfortel and Wella Professionals.

“These awards truly showcase the best that the hair industry in Australia has to offer and I can assure everyone – it is in excellent hands,” Woodhead said. “The quality of the entries exceeded all of our expectations and we are so proud of how the industry has gone from strength-to-strength post-COVID. We are excited for our local communities to celebrate their local hair experts and to recognise the amazing impact these individuals and businesses have on us all.”

2022 AHIA CARE TREAT AND STYLE PRODUCT AWARDS

BEST IN CARE

Semi di Lino Smooth Shampoo and Mask By Alfaparf Milano

BEST IN TREAT

Hydrating Mask By Arvo Haircare

BEST IN STYLE

Colorful Glow Beyond Anti Fade Serum By Joico

Salon Team Member of the Year

Evie Golding – Rokstar

Salon Manager/Co-Ordinator of the Year

Kim Hazelton – Jack Horton Hair

Business Director/Owner of the Year

Brodie Tsiknaris – Rokstar

Sole Operator of the Year

Amberley Macpherson

Best Eco Salon

Little Birdie Hair Co

Best Business Newcomer of the Year

Mamawest

Best Salon Design

RocaVerde

Best Marketing

SJ Establishment

Best Customer Care

Elysium Hair Brisbane

Salon Team of the Year

Jack Horton Hair

Best In Salon Training

Co and Pace Salons

Educator of the Year – Individual

Dario Cotroneo

Educator of the Year – Organisation

Total Coaching Academy

Educator of the Year – Product or Equipment Company

L’Oréal Professionnel Education Team

Best Business Performance of the Year

EVY Professional

AUSTRALIAN WHOLESALER OF THE YEAR

Salon Cosmetics

State Salon Business of the Year NSW/ACT

DiMattia & Co.

State Salon Business of the Year QLD

Elysium Hair Brisbane

State Salon Business of the Year SA/TAS

SJ Establishment

State Salon Business of the Year VIC

AMD Hairdressing

State Salon Business of the Year WA/NT

George & Ivy Hairdressing

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

Anthony Gray – MIG Training

VIDAL SASSOON HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR

Brendon Mann – Epic Hair Design

AUSTRALIAN SALON BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Elysium Hair Brisbane

For further information, please contact Kristy at Lily Blue Communications: KRISTY@LILYBLUE.COM.AU

By Tiarne Blackwell

Check out this month’s HairBiz Magazine. Great article by our very own Anthony Gray “A Plan For Education and Training Success” on page 50.

Happy reading! 📖🐛

CLICK HERE

HAIR BIZ is the only magazine of its kind which offers a comprehensive look at both the business and image side of the hair industry. It provides salon owners with tools and information to be more successful and knowledgeable when it comes to business skills as well as keeping them informed with trend forecasts, interviews, profiles, news, reviews and product info.

New issue of HairBiz Magazine is out now. Another great read about our industry by MIG Director Anthony Gray on Industry Day 2022 on page 49.

Be creative. Have fun. Dare to be different.

CLICK HERE

HAIR BIZ is the only magazine of its kind which offers a comprehensive look at both the business and image side of the hair industry. It provides salon owners with tools and information to be more successful and knowledgeable when it comes to business skills as well as keeping them informed with trend forecasts, interviews, profiles, news, reviews and product info.

So much is currently happening in education and training and how trade skills training is managed in Australia.  Changes that in the coming years will have a significant impact on how hairdressers and barbers are formally trained and subsequently how the skills needs of industry are shaped well into the future.

The back story to this change is a little grim.  Our industry needs close to 5000 Hairdressers a year to meet ongoing demand.   Year-on-year apprenticeship commencements fallen well short of these numbers and subsequently the industry is now experiencing an acute skills shortage.

Change 1:  Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement incentive

After more than a decade of decline in terms of the number of people in training and the subsequent impact on the numbers of qualified hairdressers and barbers in industry we are finally seeing the number of apprenticeship commencements growing substantially.  This is primarily the result of the generous Boosting Apprenticeship Commencement (BAC) incentive which sees up to 50% of a first-year apprentices wage subsidised.  In a further hit of positive news the BAC incentive which was due to complete at the end of March 2022 has been extended to the end of June 2022 providing many more salons and barbershops the opportunity to add much needed people to their teams.   While the future of employer incentives beyond June is unclear with a federal election campaign underway the message is clear, strong support for employers through incentives have lit a fire under the demand for new people into our trade.

Change 2: Structural change to how skills training is managed nationally

An eye watering amount of investment has been made by the federal government to reshape how workforce and skills development is managed.  Currently we are in the middle of a process that will see us transition from the current skills service organisations who currently support hairdressing and Barbering to an industry cluster model which will take effect in early 2024. There are 9 clusters proposed and at this stage hairdressing and barbering are grouped into the Arts and Personal services cluster.  The initial tender process concluded in March. The next step will be the announcement of short-listed organisation which will then lead to the successful cluster organisation managing a transition through the later part of 2023 before taking the reins in 2024.  While this is bureaucracy at work and not particularly exciting for us as small business owners, the exciting part is how the cluster organisations will potentially be structured.  The mandate from the government is one that will allow us as an industry to contribute strongly.  It will allow hairdressers, barbers, employers, training organisations and industry associations to contribute to how we attract, train, develop and retain hairdressers and barbers in our industry moving forward.  This can only be a good thing in a landscape where competition to attract people to our industry is at an all time high.  The critical next step for us as an industry is to develop a national training framework that is flexible for salons and apprentices, allowing salons to train in the skills needed for their businesses while at the same time balancing the need that each apprentice has to develop the breath of skills to build diverse and rewarding careers in hair.