Sta Studios

Feb 29, 2024 | BRAND PAGES

Stā Studios

Stā Studios is a first of its kind, innovative co-working studio for freelance creatives in the hair and beauty industry, emphasising collaboration that marries functionality with luxury style.

Located in East London within a five-minute walk from key transportation, a 3500 sq ft brand-neutral environment offers 20 workstations, flexible meeting areas, a community lounge, content creation suites, and podcast booths. Membership provides numerous benefits, including chair rental, private salon suite rental, industry-specific software, and educational spaces, and the opportunity to be part of a community where creativity and client satisfaction are paramount.

And inspiring hub for professionals seeking a collaborative and supportive environment to grow and thrive, Stā Studios is a space to grow, to belong, to create, to connect.

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Q&A

Why is it so important to Stā Studios to sponsor the Independent Stylist category?

We are beyond thrilled to be sponsoring the Independent Stylist category at the Creative HEAD Most Wanted awards because it aligns perfectly with our mission to empower and support the creativity and independence of professionals in the hair and beauty industry. As a co-working space designed specifically for freelance creatives, Stā Studios is dedicated to providing an environment that nurtures growth, innovation, and collaboration among its members. We are passionate about supporting the freelance movement in our industry and sponsoring this award is another way we can contribute to it.

Tell us about Stā Studios and how it supports creatives in the hair and beauty industry…

At Stā Studios, we’re deeply invested in supporting the creative journeys of those in the hair and beauty industry. Our co-working space has been meticulously designed for innovation and collaboration, equipped with everything an independent creative could need – from luxury workstations to spaces designed for creating content. It’s not just about providing a space; it’s about building a community where learning and growing together is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to empower every member to reach their full potential, making their entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

What are your top three tips for hair professionals branching out on their own freelance journey?

Build a strong brand identity, define what sets you apart, focusing on your signature styles or techniques, and use social media to bring awareness to your brand. Use platforms like Instagram to showcase your work, connect with clients, and network with industry peers.

Set clear business goals – make sure you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve. Set goals for your finances, professional achievements and personal milestones. Also make sure you keep a strict record of income and expenses, and consider consulting a financial advisor for tax and budgeting advice to keep you on track to reach your goals.

Invest in professional development, never stop learning. Stay updated with the latest trends, techniques, and products through workshops and courses, choosing a workspace like Stā Studios, one that supports your personal development, is key. Networking will also help your personal development, attend industry events, join professional groups, and collaborate with other freelancers to expand your reach.

COMING UP THIS YEAR

LAUNCH OF STĀ RESIDENCY – A NEW TYPE OF CHAIR RENTA

Stā Residency is a new incentive offered by Stā Studios, providing artists and creatives with long-term rental opportunities of both styling stations and private studios. This initiative allows members to secure a dedicated workspace for extended periods.

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STĀ CONNECTED & STĀ EDUCATED – EXCLUSIVE EVENTS FOR HAIRDRESSERS

Following the success of our Stā Connected: Future Gazing event at the start of the year, we will be continuing the Stā Connected event series and launching our Stā Educated event series throughout 2024. These industry exclusive events provided a fresh take on hairdressing events and provide an opportunity for networking and community building.

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STĀ SPOTLIGHT

We’ll be handing Stā over to its members to host a freelance exclusive education day, full of first hand insights into freelance life, professional tips and community building.

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FROM US, TO YOU

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The beauty of freelance is in the freedom to create without bounds. Embrace this opportunity to challenge and elevate the standards of our industry. Best of luck to all of you entering this incredible category, we can’t wait to celebrate YOU!

Samantha Cusick

Founder, Stā Studios

JOICO

Feb 29, 2024 | BRAND PAGES

JOICO

JOICO, from Los Angeles, has been a true pioneer of healthy hair since 1975. Today, the brand embodies high-performance keratin technologies, while empowering hairdressers to make hair dreams happen. That’s a truth 100 per cent backed by science and delivered with a shared spirit called JOI.

JOICO’S innovative formulas fully rebuild hair health from the inside out. With every service hair feels instantly transformed, achieving hair beauty that shines with strength.

The brand’s colour, care and styling results inspire confidence, creating JOIful moments that shape strong bonds, hairdresser to hairdresser, and hairdresser to client. JOICO is the JOI of healthy hair

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Q&A

Why is it so important to JOICO to sponsor the Hair Icon category?

JOICO has sponsored the Most Wanted Hair Icon category for many years. As a brand we feel it isimportant to support our craft in its entirety and show commitment to this beautiful industry. We want to help emerging salons to create a successful business, support established stylists to advance their skills and last but not least we feel very strongly about rewarding creative talent and masters of the craft for their achievements. The Most Wanted Hair Icon award celebrates and recognises the great names of our industry and we are proud to support these creatives.

From your experience, what makes British and Irish hairdressing so iconic?

British and Irish hairdressing is respected throughout the world for its creativity and diversity. Other countries look to the UK for inspiration and from the young stars of TikTok to the session stylists who epitomise creativity at the highest level – Britain is leading the way.

What does JOICO look for in the artists it collaborates with?

JOICO loves collaborating with creative artists and finding talent that inspires us. When we work with hairdressers, we love to see their creative process, the thought behind the work they are creating, how they approach it and how they share these ideas with others. Being part of a team (or the JOICO family) is important and we work with artists that are not only great hairdressers, but are team focused and love sharing their ideas, techniques and inspiration.

COMING UP THIS YEAR

INNERJOI LAUNCH

With care and styling range INNERJOI, JOICO wants to offer lovers of clean beauty and natural ingredients an opportunity to reduce their environmental footprint. The JOICO ethos is the ‘joi of healthy hair’ and this launch stays true to its purpose. INNERJOI offers the joy of doing something good, something that’s healthier for the environment and healthier for hair.

Coming Soon

JOICO 2024 COLLECTION

The hairstyles in the new JOICO 2024 Collection celebrate the popular done/undone look, providing a perfect balance of carefree sophistication. The models’ hair colour glistens and shines with the two blonde models’ hair gently lightened using JOICO Blonde Life, and subtly toned inspired by the Pantone Colour of the Year, Peach Fuzz. Using this as an undertone, the brunette model’s hair has subtle areas of lightness to enhance natural texture and movement.

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JOICO KBOND20

What do you get when you combine a legacy of JOICO super-charged hair repair and the power of damage control in a single, extraordinary product? Meet KBOND20, the super-charged masque from Defy Damage – a brand-new, bond-building treatment that doubles down on technology for 5x stronger* hair.

And JOICO isn’t stopping there. Many new products and initiatives are in the pipeline. Watch its channels to stay tuned.

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FROM US, TO YOU

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Good luck to all the nominees in the Most Wanted Hair Icon category. What a tremendous accolade for you to be recognised for your contribution to the industry that we all feel so passionate about. Most Wanted Hair Icons are special people, they are creative, and they inspire others and they are role models for so many hairdressers throughout the world. We can’t wait to meet the next winner.

Eric Kater

General manager, EMEA – brands from the Americas, Henkel Beauty Care Professional

Against combing breakage on damaged hair during heat styling.

*Against combing breakage on damaged hair during heat styling.

Redken

Feb 29, 2024 | BRAND PAGES

Redken

Backed by state-of-the-art science and a legacy of innovation that dates back to 1960, Redken was the first company to take a scientific approach to hair; utilising the power of protein, moisture and acidic pH to build the foundation blocks for healthy hair. Redken science isn’t standard science, it’s a perfect balance of pH and protein science that is blended into every formula.

Today, Redken delivers powerful hair transformations with one end goal – to preserve the health of the hair. All Redken products are made with the highest quality ingredients, and tested by salon professionals to ensure maximum efficacy, for every hair type and texture and every hair need.

Redken would say what makes the brand unique is its science, dedication, energy, heart and of course, its community of industry-leading, trend-defining stylists. It believes in providing the tools and knowledge to service your clients and excel in the industry so you can learn better, earn better and live your best lives.

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Q&A

Why is it so important to Redken to sponsor the Hair Trend category?

As a brand born in New York City, the capital of fast-paced and dynamic energy, where trends are formed every day, the Most Wanted Hair Trend category is such a perfect alignment with our values. It’s part of our DNA to keep up with this ever-changing social and cultural landscape.

We encourage all stylists to look beyond and to challenge themselves to understand the budding and mainstream shifts in culture, taking an active part in shaping these narratives and aesthetics. With global celebrity talent including Tracey Cunningham, Larry King, Samantha Cusick, and a diverse pool of talent in the UK and Ireland, trends begin at the hands of salon professionals with Redken products behind some of the biggest cultural moments seen on red carpets and on TV screens, and movements that take over social.

It’s why we aim to consistently push the boundaries in formulations, performance and results to meet the ever-evolving client and stylist needs.

UK and Irish hairdressing is considered trend-leading around the world. What is behind the influence it has?

There is something special about the diverse range of talented stylists in the UK. Freedom of expression and individuality is our edge. Stylists who feel empowered to channel their creativity and challenge the status quo to create micro-trends that are true their unique self.

The hairdressing industry has always been connected to this by being so closely tuned into emerging conversations in culture, whether that’s inspired by the art, fashion or music scene. Emerging conversations that represent our diverse population, translating into eclectic styles that range from timeless looks to bold experimentation and emerging smaller, local micro-trends in different cities.

How does Redken help its community stay at the forefront of the latest trends in the hair world?

Trends start in the salon, with the hands of Redken professionals all around the world. 2023 saw the launch of Redken Insiders, a community for pro hairdressers to create, collaborate and connect with Redken and other pros in the UK and Ireland. Members complete missions on social media to earn points and collect rewards including event invitations, early access to product launches and exclusive Redken branded items.

As a brand, Redken is actively involved in trend mining, using Redken Insiders and its missions, alongside the wider Redken Advocate and Artist Network to spot and seed these bubbling trends and culture shifts to the wider community. From the red-carpet to TikTok, the next trends are at the hands of stylists to interpret and grow, one social post away.

COMING UP THIS YEAR

Acidic Color Gloss

Become a part of the booming obsession for glass-like glossy hair with NEW! Acidic Color Gloss. Activate up to three days of glass-like shine with a NEW 5-minute Glass Gloss service. No allergy-alert test, five minutes to +76 per cent glossier shine. With this revolutionary treatment, you can upgrade cut, and blow-dry clients to glossing and take the lead in growing your business with gloss.

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Shades EQ

Always wanted to try Redken’s iconic Shades EQ Gloss? Well, now is the perfect time to visit L’Oréal Partner Shop to get answers to the Top 10 Shades EQ questions and purchase the products. New Modern Look, Same Great Vegan* formula.

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Level up your game

Level up your social game and techniques with Redken. Create, collaborate and connect with Redken Insiders, the new pro community. You can also join them on tour at the Redken Symposium in Berlin, exploring the power of connection, with two days of education, inspiration and face-to-face networking.

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FROM US, TO YOU

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We are delighted to see you join the trend conversation with your Most Wanted 2024 entry. The UK and Ireland are lucky to have such a diverse set of stylists who showcase their creative expression in hair every day! We want you to bring your unique inspiration to the Hair Trend Category with a look that will be both fashion and future forward. Be bold and look beyond, we can’t wait to see what you create.

Sussan Verghese

General manager, Redken UKI

Allilon

Feb 29, 2024 | BRAND PAGES

Allilon

Introducing Allilon, a London-based powerhouse in the hair industry since 2009. Their mission is to globally empower stylists through unparalleled hair education, fostering technical expertise, confidence, and creativity in colour, cutting, barbering, and styling. Rooted in values like commitment, evolution, humility, encouragement, and inspiration, they‘ve reached every corner of the globe, elevating the industry through courses, shows, seminars, and online education. They’d say their unique strength lies in a tight-knit team, akin to family, united by a shared goal. Join them on a journey of continuous growth and artistry, where passion meets skill. 

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Q&A

Why is it so important to Allilon Education to sponsor the Education Expert category?

As an education company ourselves, we know how important and how hard it is to share education, so for us, sponsoring Most Wanted Education Expert is really valuable. We really believe the more support we can all do, and the more we can get behind each other as a community, the stronger the industry’s going to be. That’s the reason why us, at Allilon, love sponsoring this award.

Tell us about AllilonPlus and how it supports hair professionals

AllilonPlus is an online education platform. It contains a whole array of cutting, colouring, dressing, and styling videos. Now, what’s its purpose? Originally it was purely a video streaming site, with over 300 videos as a catalogue. Since then, we’ve tried to identify a problem, that AllilonPlus is designed to solve.

We’re lucky as a team that we get to travel the world and share our passion with a lot of people and one of the patterns we see is that people don’t always have the tools to be able to create education systems for salons. For example, if you are a salon owner, you can use AllilonPlus to train all your staff, to help standardise, and to take the company to a whole new level. If you’re an educator, you have a resource that you can confidently pull on, which is constantly evolving, with lots of new content all the time. And as a learner, let’s be honest, it’s very easy to get lost in all the information you’re given, this is a very streamlined version or getting you to understand, step-by-step, how to grow your education.

Think about having your own digital platform, your own digital space, where you can upload all of your work, watch loads of content and understand what it is you’re doing, to really fall in love with your craft. It’s not a replacement for physical education, it’s a complimentary tool to use alongside it.

Education, it’s the lifeblood of the industry, isn’t it? What training do you think people will be seeking the most in 2024?

Moving forward, not just in 2024, but in general, a hybrid way of learning is the key. Both virtual and physical. You can’t replace physical, the human-to-human connection takes education to the level. But, being able to access education, anytime, anywhere at any place, is the key to being able to have 24 hour learning.

COMING UP THIS YEAR

CUTTING + COLOUR COURSES 2024

New for 2024, Allilon has introduced the Journey, a thoughtfully designed series of courses to take you on a progressive adventure; Stage 1 – Technique, Stage 2 – Technique+, Stage 3 – Advanced Technique, Stage 4- Collection. If you’re new to Allilon, it recommends starting with the Technique course as a foundation.

There are also a number of colour courses in 2024, from Progressive Balayage to Catwalk Classics and more in between!

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FOR THE LOVE OF CURLS

Do you find cutting curly hair a challenge? Do you get nervous when a curly haired client sits in your chair? Do you struggle drying curly hair? If so, this is the course for you. Allilon’s educator will help you fall in love with curly hair, showing you different approaches. Using technical and freehand techniques you will learn to master cutting and styling curly hair. All haircuts on Allilon mannequins. 

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LEARN LINE, LAYER AND GRADUATION

Learn to perfect the classic techniques of Line, Layer and Graduation with this three-day intensive cutting course. You will learn tips and tricks on how to create timeless looks, which will allow you to go back to the salon and use them on your clients. All haircuts on Allilon mannequins. 

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FROM US, TO YOU

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Best of luck to everybody, we look forward to seeing all your creative entries and we’ll see you guys on the Grand Final night!

Johnny Othona

Director, Allilon Education

BaByliss PRO

Feb 29, 2024 | BRAND PAGES

BaByliss PRO

BaByliss PRO is a leader in innovation, driven by the collective expertise of the hair industry, from the creative visionaries behind-the-scenes at exclusive photoshoots and fashion events, to the dedicated stylists and barbers on the salon floor. Committed to crafting original, award-winning technology that pushes creativity and styling, BaByliss PRO tools are engineerably reliable, long-lasting comfortable, and depended on by stylists day after day.

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Q&A

Why is it so important to BaByliss PRO to sponsor the Session Stylist category?

Winning at Most Wanted is more than just an award, it represents years of hard work, creativity, and dedication. Session stylists are often the most hard-working people on set when you’re behind the scenes on a TV, film, fashion or music shoot, and this is our way of recognising and rewarding that.

Session stylists often have influence on a global scale, what makes what they do, so special?

Hair is hair, but having the freedom to wear it however we want is what makes it so important. Session stylists are the trendsetters of our industry, and help people express their true identities through these trends, literally changing the way people think and feel about themselves. We’d say that’s pretty special.

You have such a strong network of brand collaborators, how can emerging artists get on your radar in 2024?

We are constantly on the lookout for up-and-coming talent to be part of the next generation of legendary artists. What we look for is a passion for hair, and a hunger to work. We connect with our community through social media, so make sure you tag us in all your styling creations.

COMING UP THIS YEAR

EXCITING NEW LAUNCHES

Following on from the launch of Falco, BaByliss PRO’s most advanced dryer, in 2023, this year is shaping up to be another exciting year of innovation.

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BaByliss PRO x CREATIVE HEAD COLLABORATION

BaByliss PRO and Creative HEAD are a match made in heaven when it comes to creative collaborations, and 2024 will be no different. We can’t reveal too much yet, but you’re not gonna wanna miss it…

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MEET OUR AMBASSADORS

Psst… did you know BaByliss PRO’s very own brand ambassadors are also contributing editors at Creative HEAD? Get a rare insight into the lives of Tariq Howes and Michelle Sultan, two of the industry’s most in-demand stylists.

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FROM US, TO YOU

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The Most Wanted Session Stylist category is a fierce line-up of the industry’s biggest and boldest. The stakes are high but the reward is even higher, and whoever wins will sit alongside some of the most celebrated names in hairdressing for years to come.

Sam Johnson

Head of PR for BaByliss PRO