Let’s Boss This Gloss!

Could your next colour creation see you scoop a prize at Redken’s digital Shades EQ Gloss Boss Awards 2025? For your chance to shine, enter now…

Promotion – Redken

by AMANDA | INDUSTRY NEWS

Glazed, glossy, gorgeous – hair that beams with high-shine colour and a healthy-looking finish? That’s what stops the scroll and gets clients booking a slot in your chair. But are you shouting about your shine skills to the max? If you’re a genius at beautiful blondes and blessed at building brilliant brunettes or have nailed chic colour on curls and coils, could you be a future winner of Redken’s easy-to-enter digital Shades EQ Gloss Boss Awards 2025?

Kicking off on Monday 6 January, the Gloss Boss Awards brings your colour skills to life, giving you the chance to illustrate exactly what you can do with a bowl and brush, as well as the personality power that brings your clients back time and time again.

All captured on a before/after Instagram Reel, your entry can deliver your grade-A glossing skills with a side order of fun.

So, let’s do this! First, you have three categories to showcase your colour creativity and professional difference – Blonding Boss, Brunette Boss or Texture Boss. And there’s also a People’s Choice category, with a winner voted from the runners-up from the three main categories, giving everyone a second bite of the cherry…

Category nailed? Now it’s on to the fun bit! Choose your model (any gender, identity or hair type), land on a technique (it’s got to show off serious shine!), then capture it all in an Instagram Reel lasting a maximum of 60 seconds, with ‘before and after’ looks.

To grab eyeballs, your Reel should be brilliantly executed and include details of those vital formulas and techniques. The Gloss Boss Award judges – and that’s an impressive roster! – will be on the hunt for colour, technique and placement skills, as well as a jaw-dropping style and finish to seal the deal.

The look you create? It must be inspired by upcoming trends, while also reflecting all those pro skills that you have in your personal toolbox. And, as a pro, you know that it’s always vital to ensure your colour work maintains the integrity of the hair. Your final finish must gleam with a stunning shine and a healthy-looking lustre.

Now the tech bit. You’ve got your Reel edited to perfection with a great soundtrack – now upload it to the Redken Gloss Boss Awards portal. Done that? Excellent – now let’s share it wide! Post it to Instagram, and be sure to use the hashtags for your chosen category.

Lauren Roads, winner of the UKI and European Gloss Boss Brunette category in 2024 for her brunette old money bob, nabbed a trip to NYC! “When I submitted my UKI entry back in March, I never imagined I would win the European heat in Berlin and then get to experience ‘the city that never sleeps’!” she says. “Since winning, my passion for Shades EQ and my confidence have soared.”

And she’s got a top tip, too. “Don’t over complicate your technique. Remember, sometimes less is more! Have fun, and enjoy the process. This is your sign to enter the Gloss Boss Awards 2025 – you have to participate to win!”.

This year’s prizes include an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for two to attend a signature class at the Redken 5th Avenue Exchange. Runners-up will receive complimentary tickets to a Redken Masterclass and Redken on Stage. Buzzing to be a Shades EQ Gloss Boss? Yup, it’s on – what are you going to choose…?

Which Gloss Will You Boss?

BLONDING BOSS

You love the lighter side of life, from beaming babylights to intricate balayages… and brilliance beyond! Whatever your choice, your blondes shine like a star, with 60 per cent of the end result between a level 7 and 10.

BRUNETTE BOSS

Like it a little darker, huh? We’ve got you covered. Tantalising toffee or mocha- infused coffee? Whatever mouthwatering option you land on, ensure you work on a natural base between levels 2 to 6 with an end result on a level 4 to 7.