From AI To The Power Of Emotion – What We Learned At Wella RED Business Network Live 2026

Legendary salon leaders event returns for 28th year

by AMANDA | INFORM

The return of Wella RED Business Network Live to its spiritual home of The Belfry saw more than 300 gather for two days of learning, collaboration and inspiration.  From keynote speakers to insightful panel discussions and thought-provoking conversations, it was a fusion of meaningful content that will fuel salon owners, managers and their teams for the year ahead.

Steph McGovern, Simon Morris

The speaker line up is always impressive. From TV presenter and journalist Steph McGovern, who encouraged the audience to “stay authentic, don’t try to fit in and focus only on what you can control”, to serial entrepreneur and creative director Simon Morris who shared his emotional story of both addiction and mental health struggles alongside exceptional business success at brands such as Amazon and Love Film.

Oh, and a special shout out to Medusa’s Colin McAndrew, who brought Burns Night to The Belfry with bagpipes and a freshly cooked haggis.

So, what did we scribble down in our notebooks? Here are our key takeaways from this year’s event:

Andrew Grill, Natalie Nahai 

AI – It Pays To Be Curious, But Cautious

In what was probably the overriding topic of the event, futurist and technology advisor Andrew Grill recommended ‘digital curiosity’. He argued that the role of AI being that of an assistant rather than a replacement for human creativity and empathy From ChatGPT’s Deep Research button to Perplexity, he urged the audience to “try one thing” to see just what was possible.

On the flip side, behavioural science expert Natalie Nahai highlighted the need for a more nuanced understanding of AI, noting its limitations in simulating human experiences and the potential for misuse in accuracy (those hallucinations, where the responses are simply wrong). She stressed the need for responsible AI use to maintain human values and authenticity.

Salon owner and Wella artist Fergal Doyle shared a personal and practical example of AI’s support. He lost a salon manager, and was forced to handle that job on top of his clients. He turned to ChatGPT to help with reports and KPIs, with staff receiving texts that appear to be from Fergal but are AI generated, updating them on key stats such as their rebookings and retail. He’s also set to launch a new consultation service online that will be powered by AI. “I use AI as my business partner,” he said, and for him it’s undoubtedly working.

Rory Sutherland

Think Emotion Rather Than Transaction

Rory Sutherland – a definite highlight – urged the room to keep things personal. “Clients think they’re in a marriage,” he joked, “while finance departments thing they’re running an escort agency.” “To economists, price is a number. To consumers, price is a feeling. People don’t pay for what they get; they pay for how you make them feel,” he added.

What will make something special? Often the people breaking the rules are the ones that deliver something extra, because following the rules condition you to deliver average. Think how you can reframe something (look at Klarna and pricing as an example), or reverse benchmarking – find something your competitors don’t do well or at all, and excel at it.

Those Who Focus On Quality Will Thrive

For luxury wedding photographer Maddy Christina, it was all about the importance of client experience, emphasising the need for consistent, high-quality service. The mid-market has been squeezed, and by 2030, 80 per cent of market growth will come from the premium and luxury segments. Her advice? Create signature processes, offer complimentary gifts that keep you in a client’s mind while in-between salon visits and keep in touch to boost client loyalty and retention.

Alex Brown and Kate Roberts from Campfire

Leveraging Social Media Can Grow Your Business

We all know that, but are we maximising what we do on social? Alex Brown and Kate Roberts from agency Campfire urged salons to drive impactful content to build a strong personal brand. That means clear positioning, trust-building content and including efficient booking. They shared some insight on just how vital social media now is on small businesses – 41 per cent rely on it for revenue, while 74 per cent of consumers use it to guide their purchasing decisions.

Fresha Hire Barber Legend To Lead Global Hair Education

MENSPIRE’s Josh Lamonaca takes on role in “significant step” for the software brand

by AMANDA | INFORM

Multi-award-winning barber Josh Lamonaca, co-founder of the iconic MENSPIRE brand, is joining forces with salon software leaders Fresha as their first-ever head of hair education.

In his new role, Josh will lead Fresha’s global approach to hair education, working directly with professionals to help them turn skills into sustainable, profitable growth. His remit spans technical education, commercial thinking, content and community-led initiatives – with a strong focus on real-world application, rather than theory.

The creative and educational director behind MENSPIRE has spent years developing talent, mentoring teams and embedding education into the core of his business. Josh has travelled internationally to teach and support stylists at different stages of their careers, helping build a culture of continuous learning grounded in practical, commercial reality.

The appointment marks a deliberate shift for Fresha – which has just kickstarted a revolutionary five-year deal to power HairCon – by putting an active, practising hairdresser and educator into a leadership role to help guide how technology supports the industry.

“I’ve almost got everything I wanted out of this industry without any real support. Now, with the backbone of Fresha, it excites me to see how far beyond my own achievements we can take this industry,” said Josh.

“Honestly, I want to see millionaires come through hairdressing. And with the ambitions I’ve seen from inside Fresha, I want to stand beside professionals on innovative ideas and future goals.” Josh Lamonaca 

“Josh brings a rare mix of credibility: an award-winning career, real experience building and educating teams at MENSPIRE and a clear belief in what this industry can become,” added James Hayward-Browne, head of brand and marketing at Fresha. “That perspective is critical when you’re building technology used by millions of professionals worldwide. Our role is to provide the infrastructure; Josh’s role is to help raise the ceiling for everyone using it.”

Fresha said that Josh’s appointment marks a significant step in the company’s long-term commitment to education across the self-care industry globally, helping professionals “move beyond filling diaries, beyond short-term wins and towards businesses with real confidence, capability and longevity”. “This isn’t a campaign. It’s an investment in educating and lifting the entire selfcare industry.

Which UK Talents Have Made It Onto L’Oréal Professionnel’s First Global Creative Contributor Crew?

Brand reveals band of big-name artistic creatives

by AMANDA | INFORM

Session stylist and former It List Fashionista winner, Cyndia Harvey, and celebrity colourist and stylist Ben Gregory, are the UK talents that have been unveiled as part of the first Global Creative Contributor group from L’Oréal Professionnel.

A Dazed 100 member and contributing beauty editor at Dazed magazine, Cyndia grew up in her mother’s salon in Jamaica. She moved to London, working in one of London’s busiest hair salons with a focus on Afro hair, before becoming the first assistant of session legend Sam McKnight. World-famous names she’s worked with include FKA Twigs, Naomi Campbell, Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean.

Ben’s portfolio spans editorial, runway and campaign jobs, working with photographers such as Mert & Marcus, David Sims and Glen Luchford. His campaign and show credits include Gucci, Moschino, Valentino, Versace, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana. He ignited the viral ‘Cherry Cola’ trend with Dua Lipa’s transformation from black to blood red, and was noted with “killing Ken” after returning Ryan Gosling to his natural sandy hue following his bleach-blonde ‘Barbie’-era look.

The Global Creative Contributors are long-term creative partners, selected to actively “contribute to shaping the future of professional hair”, working to co-develop content, hair events and professional insights.

The full Global Creative Contributor crew looks like this:

Ben Gregory
Cyndia Harvey
Jacob Habib Khan
Kevin Jacotot
Min Kim
Devi Mark
Malcom Marcquez
Jack Martin
Washington Nunnes
Brandon Pietsch
Adina Pignatare
Cesar Delon Ramirez
Amit Thakur
Jawara Wauchope
Mustafa Yanaz

Which Hair Brand Is Now A Certified B Corporation?

Extensions name meets standards to win accreditation

by AMANDA | INFORM

Additional Lengths, the group behind pro hair extensions brand Remi Cachet, have officially become a Certified B Corporation.

The certification applies across the entire Additional Lengths group, including Remi Cachet, Additional Lengths and tools brand Qute.

Certified B Corporations are businesses verified by B Lab as meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Companies need to go through rigorous and independent assessment across governance, people, ethics, community, environmental impact and customer trust. The idea is to offer verified assurance, especially in an industry where transparency is increasingly important.

“We have a responsibility to lead by example,” said the founder of Remi Cachet, Victoria Lynch, who sees the milestone as part of a wider responsibility to help raise standards across the sector. “Becoming a Certified B Corp business is a powerful, independent validation of the ethics, care and integrity behind Remi Cachet. This isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about raising standards and proving that luxury hair extensions and responsible business can, and should, go hand in hand.”

“Anyone can say the right things, but B Corp certification means we’re not marking our own homework.” Victoria Lynch

Lynch said that as “the UK market leader, it’s important to us that our values, supply chains and practices are independently verified, giving salons, stylists and clients confidence not just in the quality of our extensions, but in where they come from and how they’re produced.”

Globally, fewer than 40 per cent of businesses that apply achieve B Corp certification, with around 10,000 companies worldwide currently meeting the standard that’s an ongoing commitment rather than a one-off project.