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Creative HEAD’s Most Wanted And It List Winners Have Been Announced

Creative HEAD’s Most Wanted And It List Winners Have Been Announced

Aug 30, 2024 | CONNECT, HOME CONNECT, IT LIST, MOST WANTED

Creative HEAD’s Most Wanted And It List Winners Have Been Announced

Who took home the coveted trophies? 

by JOANNA | CONNECT

It’s Creative HEAD’s biggest night of the year, and the 24th Most Wanted and It List Grand Final, held last night at cultural hot-spot Beams in East London, did not disappoint. All our favourite people in the same room together for one glorious party? Hell, yeah! There was champagne. There was dancing. And as expected, every guest looked the part, with each fit as big as the next. 

Of course, the reason for this annual get-together is to celebrate the very best talents in our industry. Last night we unveiled the 2024 It List in association with ghd – six sensational trailblazers aged 30 and under. And then came the 16 artists, activists, innovators and business leaders who each took home a Most Wanted trophy. And a standing ovation for Lisa Farrall, who was awarded Most Wanted Legend status for her work with textured hair.  

 These hairdressers are breaking glass ceilings, setting new standards (including sometimes in ways we don’t expect) and overhauling our industry bit by bit to steer it towards a newer, more exciting future. Things are changing in British and Irish hairdressing. Take a look at our winners to find out why.   

Most Wanted winners list >

It List winners list >

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When Suzanne Cooper’s Hair Started To Fall Out She Panicked. Then She Formulated GLOWWA

When Suzanne Cooper’s Hair Started To Fall Out She Panicked. Then She Formulated GLOWWA

Jul 15, 2024 | CONVERSATIONS, EXPLORE, TALKING SHOP

When Suzanne Cooper’s Hair Started To Fall Out She Panicked. Then She Formulated GLOWWA

Now this hair food supplement is taking the industry by storm.

by ATHERINE | CONVERSATIONS

Have you noticed how everyone’s talking about GLOWWA?  Since launching three years ago, this hair food supplement has not only won a slew of beauty awards (it will shortly achieve TGA certification, the highest accolade you can get for a food supplement), it’s also taken the hairdressing industry by storm, with one prestigious name after another extolling its virtues. Yes, everyone’stalking about GLOWWA and they’re all saying the same thing: this stuff actually works!

GLOWWA was created by Suzanne Cooper, a nutritional therapist whose hair started falling out after going through a particularly stressful phase in her life. “I started to panic,” she says, “and the first thing I did was to look for a supplement because I was used to dealing with really high-gradenutraceuticals, but everything I looked at either had toxic colourings in or was stuffed with not very nice bulking agents. So I self-formulated and my hair started to recover really quickly. And that led to the original hair food.”

Suzanne Cooper

GLOWWA is not like other hair supplements. While most concentrate on getting nutrients into the hair follicle, Suzanne’s expert blend of ingredients including biotin, vitamin B5, zinc and vitamin C addresses the body as a whole and focuses on overall health and wellbeing, making them perfect for those recovering from life events such as the postpartum period. The capsules are vegan and completely free of colourings, flavourings and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), making them suitable for a multitude of allergy sufferers and for men and women alike. What’s more, Suzanne is focusing on hair salons as her retail partners.

“Hair loss due to modern lifestyle – stress, poor diet, hormonal imbalance – is such a common problem nowadays, but there didn’t seem to be a solution available in-salon,” says Suzanne. “Every hairdresser I spoke to about it had to send their clients to Boots or Holland & Barrett and I just thought, ‘There has got to be something better than this.’ I knew I could help people with my formulation, so I said to my partner, ‘I’m going to make this into a product and take it around salons.’ And he said, “Well, that’s different because there isn’t anything like that in salons.’ And that was five years ago, when the mission actually first started.”

“It was literally me knocking on salon doors and saying to people, ‘I’ve got this product, you’re going to love it.’ And it wasn’t easy because there were so many hair supplements out there promising the world and not delivering the results.”

“I had zero marketing budget so it was literally me knocking on salon doors and basically saying to people, ‘I’ve got this product, you’re going to love it.’ And it wasn’t easy because there were so many hair supplements out there promising the world and not delivering the results, and influencers on Instagram putting their names to products that didn’t work, so there was a huge amount of scepticism. The owner of the first salon I visited – who has since become a good friend – said to me, ‘This isn’t going to work, hair supplements don’t work.’ But she had a client who’d been told by multiple psychologists and doctors that her hair would never grow back and she was just about to get fitted for a wig. She used our original product and two years down the line her hair is nearly fully recovered. Now that salon owner comes to all our events and helps us convince the sceptics!”

And that’s the thing about GLOWWA. It gets results. At the time of our interview, the company was conducting some consumer trials and 91 per cent of people who’d used GLOWWA for three months felt more confident and felt that GLOWWA had positively impacted their self-esteem. And that’s alongside stronger, shinier hair, reduced hair breakage and split ends and a healthier scalp. In recent months GLOWWA Hair Food has been joined by GLOWWA Hair Food Meno, a supplement designed to support hair health and wellbeing before, during and beyond the menopause, with consumers reporting it’s improved their energy, mood and sleep quality, as well as their hair health and growth.

GLOWWA’s results-driven approach is the reason why they’ve just appointed Sophia Hilton as their global ambassador. “The reason we find Sophia so exciting is because she will say when she doesn’t like something,” says Suzanne, “and initially she’d been sceptical about supplements. But addressing that stigma is something we’ve worked really hard on over the last three years – to show that our products work. Sophia has been a GLOWWA stockist for over a year, so it’s totally authentic, she’s seen the results first-hand and it’s a real testament to the brand that she believes in it. That’s what makes the partnership genuinely brilliant – that we’ve been able to take her from not believing in supplements to saying I absolutely love this brand and I’ve brought it into my salon for my clients.”

GLOWWA works exclusively with hairdressers – from individual freelancers all the way up to big groups. “We don’t judge on the size of the business,” says Suzanne. “We simply ask ourselves, Will it help this hairdresser help their clients? And we only want to work with hairdressers – we keep it very exclusive and that helps keep it special. We made GLOWWA for the hairdressing industry and we’re working really hard to protect it and keep it that way.”

“This is a space where we know we can help bring knowledge and confidence to hairdressers, and also where they can make great revenue as well.”

To become a stockist, you apply via the GLOWWA website and the company reaches out with all the information you need. Crucially, all stockists have access to a free education programme devised by GLOWWA that covers hair and nutrition, giving you the confidence to understand why your clients need to take this supplement. “I go back to that day when I asked, ‘Why is there not a nutraceutical brand for hairdressers?’” says Suzanne. “This is a space where we know we can help bring knowledge and confidence to hairdressers, and also where they can make great revenue as well.”

So, if you’ve got a client sitting in your chair, what’s the best way to steer the conversation around to GLOWWA? “I’d start by asking my client if they’d any changes in their hair health since their last appointment. Is there any more shedding when you’re washing your hair when you’re brushing it out? Have you seen any recession or thinning? I would also be asking, ‘Have you got any concerns with your scalp or your hair?’ It’s a really delicate subject talking about hair loss, so it’s better to ask your client about concerns, rather than telling them you’re seeing this big patch of hair loss at the back of their head. And the third thing I’d ask about is their routine, because hair loss is triggered from what’s going on within the body. So, that leads nicely into, ‘I think there’s a real space here for us to work from the inside to get these results for you.’ And that’s when you start naturally talking about GLOWWA.”

At the start of the interview, Suzanne described GLOWWA as “a mission”. “It really is,” she says, “and it’s why we’ve not had a weekend off in about three months. There is this feeling at head office that we’ve got a product that can make a huge difference, and that’s what gets us going every day.” And the mission continues with more GLOWWA products in the pipeline, including one that will launch this autumn (Suzanne won’t be drawn on what it might be).

“GLOWWA is for everybody,” she says, “from the age of 16 upwards and we’ve had success stories for alopecia right up to one of our brilliant case studies, Jane, aged 82, who’d been written off by a doctor who told her, ‘It’s your age, your hair’s not growing back.’ There’s no age limit on GLOWWA, and it’s completely gender-neutral. Even the Meno version can be used by people who just want to sleep better. We just say, ‘Yes, ignore the label and just go for it.’”

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“I can’t help but break the thing” – Rudi Lewis on his career in session

“I can’t help but break the thing” – Rudi Lewis on his career in session

Jul 10, 2024 | DOCUMENTS, EXPLORE

“I can’t help but break the thing” – Rudi Lewis on his career in session

Even after 30 years in the business, the iconic session stylist has the playful mind of the rebellious teenager he once was

by CATHERINE | EXPLORE > PORTFOLIOS

Rudi Lewis @ LGA Management

On certain jobs session stylist Rudi Lewis finds himself people-pleasing – a habit formed during his years working on clients in salons, and one he can’t quite shake off. But put him in a room with people he clicks with and off he goes – liberated, empowered and excited to create looks that pulsate with the raw energy and rebellion of the music and subculture worlds where his heart and soul have always belonged. That’s when you’ll see Rudi at his scintillating, sensational, zeitgeist-defining best – and see why brands such as Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton want him on their teams. Creative HEAD meets a risk-taker par extraordinaire…

Damp, squalid, overcrowded – the Glasgow tenements of the ’70s had some of the worst conditions in Britain. Not the obvious background for a career in high fashion, but for young Rudi Lewis, growing up on one of the roughest estates was also where he discovered music, style, and the codes of punk that later took him to some of the most glamorous places in the world. “Where I lived, you could get beaten up for having the wrong pair of trainers, it was pretty homogeneous,” he says, “so I can still remember the first time I saw David Bowie or Adam Ant and thinking, ‘Oh, it’s okay to be yourself, I don’t have to live this life, I can be someone with my own style somewhere else.’”

Rudi Lewis @ LGA Management

On certain jobs session stylist Rudi Lewis finds himself people-pleasing – a habit formed during his years working on clients in salons, and one he can’t quite shake off. But put him in a room with people he clicks with and off he goes – liberated, empowered and excited to create looks that pulsate with the raw energy and rebellion of the music and subculture worlds where his heart and soul have always belonged. That’s when you’ll see Rudi at his scintillating, sensational, zeitgeist-defining best – and see why brands such as Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton want him on their teams. Creative HEAD meets a risk-taker par extraordinaire…

Damp, squalid, overcrowded – the Glasgow tenements of the ’70s had some of the worst conditions in Britain. Not the obvious background for a career in high fashion, but for young Rudi Lewis, growing up on one of the roughest estates was also where he discovered music, style, and the codes of punk that later took him to some of the most glamorous places in the world. “Where I lived, you could get beaten up for having the wrong pair of trainers, it was pretty homogeneous,” he says, “so I can still remember the first time I saw David Bowie or Adam Ant and thinking, ‘Oh, it’s okay to be yourself, I don’t have to live this life, I can be someone with my own style somewhere else.’”

His escape route came in the form of hair. Inspired by Irvine and Rita Rusk, the super-stylish Glaswegian hairdressing duo who had won countless national and international awards and who went around the city in matching leather overcoats and oversized sunglasses, salons were springing up all around Glasgow and 16-year-old Rudi – who had always known how he wanted to look and how he wanted hair to look – found himself training at local salon Billy Smith’s in Clydebank, before qualifying at James Margey in Glasgow’s West End. “It was an oasis of cool people like I’d never seen before,” he recalls. “I loved it.” When a hairdresser neighbour left to go and work at Trevor Sorbie in London, a 17-year-old Rudi followed – and never looked back.

He chose to work at Eclipse in north London because they shot photo-collections and took part in the Alternative Hair Show. Rudi had already developed a love of image-making, thanks to a friend of his mother’s, Nick Peacock, who back home had taught him how to use a camera and develop his own photos in a dark room. Rudi is grateful for his time at Eclipse because it’s where he learnt how to run a salon but, desperate to work in Covent Garden, in 1995 he chose to move to Paul Windle’s salon because “he had work from really cool photographers such as Glen Luchford in his windows”.

It must have been an omen, because that’s where Rudi met Eugene Souleiman, who told him he loved his work and that he shouldn’t try and copy anyone else’s, and that’s how Rudi ended up assisting Eugene at the shows, and where Rudi excelled and found his niche. And that’s how a career in session was born.

The Motif, photography by Casper Wackerhausen-Sejersen

How important to your session career were those early years working in salons?

My time in the salon was genuinely formative in so many ways. For example, when I was at Eclipse I assisted an Afro hair specialist called Randolph Gray, who did tonnes of clients all day long, so I had to learn how to work with Afro hair. At that time it was unusual for white hairdressers to have much experience with Afro hair, it was a totally separate industry in a way. But I was exposed to it quite early on in my career, and it’s meant that I’ve always been confident with all textures of hair.

Paul Windle had run the academy at Sassoon and there was a culture of very technical haircutting at [his salon] Windle when I joined. I noticed there was this guy who used to pop in now and again and do these insanely good haircuts. It was Eugene Souleiman, and he’s one of the most unique and brilliant people I have ever met in my life. After he’d seen me a few times he said to me, “Why are you trying to cut hair like everybody else?” And I was like, “What do you mean?” And he said, “Don’t try to be like them because you’ve got your own thing going on. You’ve got great hands.” And that was the most inspirational thing anyone had ever said about my work. And funnily enough I had actually suffered from impostor syndrome at Windle, because I felt like I wasn’t as good or as technical as the other stylists there.

When Eugene asked me to come and do some shows with him, I had to ask Paul for permission because I was a very busy stylist. At that time, the session world was very separate from salon – if you wanted to become a session stylist, it was either because you thought you were better than anyone else in the salon or you just wanted to get out of there. But Paul saw that it could be very interesting if we could learn session techniques and bring them into our work in the salon, that it would be a very good USP for the business. And it was around this time we also connected with Bumble & bumble (Windle went on to become a distributor for the brand) and its entire product range was based on session. We also had magazine journalists coming into the salon and they would say, “Oh, can you fix the hair on a shoot we’re doing for The Face this weekend?”, so I was starting to do a lot of shoots, as well.  When I look back, those were the golden years at Windle and I am still very proud of that time because I think we created a direction in hair salons and hairdressing that was totally new and really very good. We produced a lot of excellent hairdressers who went on to do great things.

“You can get these jobs where you get a chemistry going and that can be really liberating”

i-D, photography by Josh Olins

Vogue Scandinavia, photography by Gregory Harris

That’s a heck of a start, assisting Eugene. So where did things go from there? How did you get your first break as an independent?

After I left Windle, I moved to Sweden to be with my partner, but I kept flying back to London to do clients. By that time, it was becoming more acceptable to flick back and forth between salon and session, so I was freelancing at salons like Michael Van Clarke, who was happy for me to juggle clients in between shoots, and Daniel Hersheson, whose son Luke was also getting started in session around then. I joined an agency that was mainly based out of New York and things blew up very quickly. Within a matter of weeks I was shooting my first covers for Vogue and was even commissioned to shoot a hair story for Paris Vogue, which was mind-blowing at the time!

How confident were you in your work, given how quickly things were moving?

Even to this day I always have a slight panic before I go on a job, and I think I need it. I don’t like it, and it makes me uncomfortable, but I think that if I didn’t have it, I would probably get lazy. But then you can get these jobs where you just click with the rest of the team, you get a chemistry going and that can be really liberating, so it really depends on the job. If I’m going into a job with people I’ve worked with a lot and they clearly like what I do, then I feel free to push myself more. But when I’m working with a client for the first time, my tendency is to go back to ‘hair salon guy’ and approach it like a consultation and ask them about their expectations so I can deliver what they want really well. I’m quite a thorough consultant [he laughs]. But I will probably always have a bit of impostor syndrome.

How would you describe your aesthetic? What is it that people book you for?

I don’t really like perfection. I like there to be elements present in the hair that are human – something that you know the hairdresser did, like a little tuft of hair that goes that way or one that goes over there. I always need to break the thing. Even when I do the most perfect shape, I’ll just do one little tweak, I can’t help myself. My silhouettes are coming from things that I think are cool and rooted in subculture. So, people like Morrissey, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Kurt Cobain, Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull… you know, just iconic musicians that I grew up listening to. Even when I’m working on a glamorous high fashion shoot, I tend to reinterpret those looks. I also do some abstract work, creating wigs out of materials that aren’t hair, like buttons or safety pins, but the silhouette is always a recognisable hairstyle, like a bob, or a beehive, but in plastic or something. I want people to see that. Maybe they don’t, but it’s there if you look.

Out of Order, photography by Sølve Sundsbø

Self Service, photography by David Armstrong

And how have you managed to stay true to your aesthetic throughout your career?

It’s something that I’m more aware of now. I think earlier in my career I did projects that were more commercial or high glamour, and I went along with it because I was working with all the big names. But looking back, I always felt that I didn’t really belong. So, I made a conscious effort to go back to my roots and do projects that felt authentic to me. It was around this time that I began to contribute to Beauty Papers magazine, which was looking for work that was coming from a less obviously commercial place, less product-oriented. The projects I’ve done for them have been very much my aesthetic and it was a real turning point for me because it gave me the opportunity to showcase a more intelligent kind of hair story. So, nowadays I’m quite careful only to take on projects that are true to my style.

Session is a competitive industry. How do you stay sane?

I used to be pretty competitive. I would flick through magazines, and it would make me feel envious, thinking, ‘Why didn’t I get that job?’ or whatever. But one of my best friends is a stylist who has gone on to become one of the biggest names in the fashion industry. I remember having a conversation with him some years ago and he said, “The funny thing is, it’s never how you think it is. So, sometimes you don’t get a job and you think it’s because you’re not good enough or someone doesn’t want to work with you. And it’s totally understandable that you would think like that because you don’t have all the information. But I’m in that room when the conversations are taking place, and it literally could be just a random reason why someone else gets the job. It’s not personal at all”. So, that was good to know and understand, I do try to keep a healthy distance from these things nowadays. I do feel like I deserve to be where I am. Sometimes you don’t get the job and a week later something else great comes in.

The Last Magazine, photography by Nathaniel Goldberg

Who do you enjoy collaborating with? Who brings out your best work?

When I work, I’m always stood right next to the photographer, constantly touching the hair and changing things because I know photographers respond to that. I see how light falls on the hair and I see how the hair might affect the light on the face, things like that. A lot of hairdressers are thinking about their hairstyle; but I’m thinking about the picture. I’ve done a couple of projects with Paolo Roversi, which was very liberating. I have also done some amazing shoots with a Swedish photographer called Julia Hetta, where I really got to push it and do some great hair. I also got to work with David Bailey, which I absolutely loved because he’s a legend. But right now I’m really enjoying working with new, up-and-coming photographers. I’m working with a guy called Sam Rock, who is just killing it at the moment, he’s an amazing talent. Another great one I shoot with is Drew Vickers, and it’s always very collaborative with him. I like it when I’m able to have a voice and some creative influence over the outcome of the shoot.

Everyone’s a photographer on social! Are you a fan?

Sometimes I feel that we’re drowning in imagery. The algorithm means that great work is getting diluted by the mediocre work that surrounds it. People barely look at things for more than a few seconds, so I think that’s a downside. It’s the constant scroll on the phone! I used to be a voracious reader, I’d read a book every week, and then because of looking at my phone there was a time when it was taking me months. And so, I just checked out from it. I wasn’t posting anything at all. Right now, we’re trying to detox in our house a little bit, so the kids get an hour when they’re home from school where they can chill and be on their iPads or whatever, and then we all switch everything off so no one’s on their phone in the evening. I just think it’s healthy, you know.

For me it’s all about doing stuff that I really enjoyed before in the analogue world, and then getting to a place where I’ve generated enough work that I actually want to post on social media. It’s why I’ve found myself this little salon-cum-studio space in Stockholm and I’m going to make it this place where every week someone comes over, a bit like a go-see, and I’m going to do their hair and then shoot them, so I generate my own imagery in a quiet, organic, real kind of way. It won’t be retouched and it will be done in my own time, not rushed, like on work shoots, just me and that person. That’s the goal for me. That’s how I’m able to compute social media.

“I see how light falls on the hair and I see how the hair might affect the light on the face, things like that.  A lot of hairdressers are thinking about their hairstyle; I’m thinking about the picture”

What’s exciting you right now?

Well, my energy and focus is really on the new place. As well as being a little salon to do clients, and the portrait studio, I am planning to publish my own little books and ’zines, I’m about to release the first one, which is a collaboration with a young Scottish photographer called Rachel Lamb, we cast it and shot it all in Glasgow. I even borrowed my old boss James Margey’s salon to do all the haircuts. So, it was kind of full circle for me. I am really excited about that project because I’m not just the hairdresser, I’m the creative director and publisher too. I guess it’s a response to the digital and AI thing, I just wanted to make something tactile, that doesn’t just exist online.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?

Lots of decisions are difficult because you have to confront fear – your own or someone else’s – but I guess moving to Sweden would have to be up there. After 20 years in London, it was a real gamble. It’s tough to maintain a successful career, learn a new language, start over, make new friends when you travel as much as I do. My new studio is also a big risk because I’ve been so transient for so long now that it’s a bit scary putting roots down. I’ve invested a lot of money, time and energy into it.

You’ve spent a long time in the session world. Any advice for someone just starting out?

There’s something very authentic and approachable about the new generation of hairdressers working in session, and what they’re doing is actually informing a lot of the work that more established artists are doing. You’ve got all these gender-fluid, non-conformist kids who have all that language around their work and everybody wants to be in that space now, right? I mean, traditionally, all the big ideas would come from the fashion industry and trickle out into society but now those ideas are coming from young people and fashion is trying to keep up. So, what I would urge young session stylists to do is shoot with your friends, own your identity, show it through your skills because what you’re doing is interesting and it is changing the world. And it looks great!

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Tim Binnington Turned Down Investment In His Brush Business From Dragons Den – And Here’s Why

Tim Binnington Turned Down Investment In His Brush Business From Dragons Den – And Here’s Why

Jun 26, 2024 | DOCUMENTS, EXPLORE, TALKING SHOP

Tim Binnington Turned Down Investment In His Brush Business From Dragons Den – And Here’s Why

The man who helped build the Headmasters empire is striking out once again

by CATHERINE | DOCUMENTS

For over 30 years Tim Binnington worked tirelessly as part of a team that grew the Headmasters group to a staggering 56 salons – one of the UK’s biggest – with a combined turnover of £32 million. Nobody would have batted an eyelid if he’d shown up for work one day and announced he was going to golf his way through retirement. Instead, in 2024 he’s busier than ever running a completely different business – the Manta, a revolutionary hairbrush that aims to stop breakage while boosting shine.

The Manta came about in 2014 when Tim’s wife Dani was suffering from a life-threatening illness that caused her hair to fall out. As it started to grow back Tim saw how ordinary brushes caused pain and breakage. Dani could only bear to use her fingers as a comb, and that’s when Tim got the idea.

Creating a hairbrush that was as gentle as running your fingers through hair was the goal, but it also needed to protect and stimulate hair growth, working with hair and not against it. “If you brush your hair with your fingers, and you come up against a knot you don’t just yank it – you put a pin in the knot and give it a little wiggle to loosen it. That was my eureka moment,” says Tim. So began a labour of love that, 10 years and £600k of their own money down the line, he and Dani are still completely absorbed in.

Tim Binnnington

“It took almost five years just to develop the Manta,” says Tim, who now is something of an expert on how brushes are manufactured (want to know the difference between a single shot mould and a twin-shot overmould? Tim’s your man). “I needed it to be totally flexible, quite unlike anything else on the market, and it had to be made of materials that feel really good on the skin.”  Guess where he found what he was looking for. That’s right, the adult toy world.

“I know, I know,” he laughs. “But I wanted the experience of massing your scalp or brushing your hair to be sensual and enjoyable, because from my years as a hairdresser I knew that what people love most is getting their hair washed. Traditional brush manufacturers couldn’t help me, so I ended up at Love Honey, where I found materials that were sensual, hypoallergenic, heat-resistant, durable, easy to clean and – even though you don’t need this in an adult toy –anti-static too. So, basically, everything I needed.”

When the Manta eventually launched in June 2018, it looked unlike anything else on the market. Its Flexguard technology, where each bristle sits on its own base and moves 360 degrees independently through the hair, was so unique it was patented. It sits comfortably in the palm of your hand so you can move and manipulate the brush as you see fit, following the contours of your head and allowing the bristles to glide along and not pull on the hair.

“When we launched, we had such a great reaction from salons,” says Tim, “and they are really important to us were originally going to be our main retail outlets. But as soon as it started moving, we had Covid and as everything shut down, we had to pivot online and focus more on the consumer.”

Fortunately for Tim, something else that came out of Covid was thinning hair, and a newfound consumer awareness of the importance of hair and scalp health. Good news for for Manta sales, surely, as the brush has the added benefit of gently exfoliating the scalp, creating a flake-free, product buildup-free, healthier scalp, which is perfect for hair growth.

“Absolutely,” says Tim. “Everyone is more aware and we are in more demand. We’re launching in Boots this year, in a healthy hair and scalp section. We’re sold on 15 airlines but we’ve just launched on Emirates Airlines as well because they’ve recently introduced a healthy hair and scalp section. And we sell in places like South Korea and Japan, where they’ve always been into scalp health.”  A key promotional channel has been QVC, both in the UK and the US, as that’s where Tim gets to actually demonstrate Manta’s point of difference from competitors such as Tangle Teezer and WetBrush.

Did someone mention Tangle Teezer? When creator Shaun Pulfrey appeared on Dragons Den in 2007, he was famously rejected by the Dragons who told him hjis brush to detangle knotty hair was “a waste of time” (Pulfrey subsequently sold a majority state in his business for £70 million). Earlier this year, Tim and his wife Dani also walked out of the Dragons Den empty-handed – not because they didn’t receive investment offers, but because they turned them down.

The duo had asked for a £240,000 investment for four per cent of their company. Three Dragons – Peter Jones, Sara Davies and Touker Souleyman – were interested, but they all wanted far more equity than Tim and Dani were prepared to sacrifice.

“We valued the business a lot higher than the Dragons would, but our experience in the Den made us realise the extent of the value of our business,” says Tim. “There are millions of people who are suffering with hair breakage and thinning hair, which Manta can help. Sadly, the Dragons were more interested in the money than solving the problem.”

The Manta family continues to grow.

With the bit clearly between his teeth, Tim continues to innovate. Alongside the original Manta, there’s now a Manta incorporating a mirror for on-the-go touch-ups and a pulsating version, known as Pulse, that uses vibration either to invigorate hair and scalp, or relieve stress and tension. And the newest addition is the Manta Kinks, Coils and Curls, especially developed for the unique needs of 3a to 4c curly hair. Together, the Manta family has won almost 40 awards – including Creative HEAD’s Most Wanted Award for Innovation in 2020 – and as a nod to where the journey originally began, Manta have donated almost 8,000 brushes over the years to The Little Princess Trust, a charity supplying real hair wigs, free of charge, to children who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment or other conditions.

“If you brush your hair with your fingers, and you come up against a knot you don’t just yank it – you put a pin in the knot and give it a little wiggle to loosen it. That was my eureka moment.” 

“The business is doing well,” says Tim, who still squeezes in one day a week at Headmasters, and who credits a lot of Manta’s success to the team who work with him. “We have got our original investment back, but to be honest I didn’t go into it to make money – it’s only ever been about helping people. My goal is to get more and more people changing the way they brush their hair. And even if they say, ‘I’ll never use a Manta, but I’m going to mindfully brush my hair and be careful with my scalp,’ we will have achieved something. Because when a woman gets to 60, 70 or 80 she will have better hair, and that will make her feel better about herself and have more confidence. And the better you feel, the better you are to others, so it makes the world a better place.”

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Focus On: Efi Davies – The Avant-Garde Supremo Who Just Made The 2024 Most Wanted Hair Icon Shortlist

Focus On: Efi Davies – The Avant-Garde Supremo Who Just Made The 2024 Most Wanted Hair Icon Shortlist

Jun 25, 2024 | EXPLORE, PORTFOLIOS

Focus On: Efi Davies – The Avant-Garde Supremo Who Just Made The 2024 Most Wanted Hair Icon Shortlist

Why Toni&Guy’s International Artistic Director has her eye permanently on the next generation.

by ATHERINE | EXPLORE > PORTFOLIOS

 

Toni&Guy’s International Artistic Director, head of the Avant-Garde and Long Hair Departments and leader of the Session & Editorial and Styling & Finishing courses, and now taking her place on Most Wanted’s prestigious Hair Icon shortlist for the first time… It’s fair to say that Efi Davies is one of the industry’s most impressive creative talents.

An innovator whose mastery of braiding and hair up styles knows no bounds, Efi is pivotal when it comes to conceptualising and art-directing the editorial and avant-garde concepts within Toni&Guy’s global collections and campaigns, working closely with Global Brand Director Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck and Global Creative Director Cos Sakkas (who is also on the Hair Icon list).

But none of it would have happened if Greek-born Efi hadn’t decided 25 years ago to pay a visit to her sister in London… Instantly hooked by the fashion and music scene, Efi took a job as an assistant at Toni&Guy, where founder Toni Mascolo took her under his wing and ignited her dream of pushing boundaries within the industry. 

Creative HEAD caught up with this incredible artist as she took a break from Fashion Week…

 

Toni&Guy’s International Artistic Director, head of the Avant-Garde and Long Hair Departments and leader of the Session & Editorial and Styling & Finishing courses, and now taking her place on Most Wanted’s prestigious Hair Icon shortlist for the first time… It’s fair to say that Efi Davies is one of the industry’s most impressive creative talents.

An innovator whose mastery of braiding and hair up styles knows no bounds, Efi is pivotal when it comes to conceptualising and art-directing the editorial and avant-garde concepts within Toni&Guy’s global collections and campaigns, working closely with Global Brand Director Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck and Global Creative Director Cos Sakkas (who is also on the Hair Icon list).

But none of it would have happened if Greek-born Efi hadn’t decided 25 years ago to pay a visit to her sister in London… Instantly hooked by the fashion and music scene, Efi took a job as an assistant at Toni&Guy, where founder Toni Mascolo took her under his wing and ignited her dream of pushing boundaries within the industry. 

Creative HEAD caught up with this incredible artist as she took a break from Fashion Week…

What would you say are your strongest points as a hair artist?

Oh, that’s not a very easy question to answer… I try not to repeat myself and like consistently to evolve and come up with new ideas to share. I love pushing the boundaries of traditional hairdressing, constantly experimenting with something  unique. It doesn’t happen very often but it’s all about experimenting, right?

Do you have such a thing as a typical week? If so, what does it look like?

No two weeks are the same. Whether teaching at the Academy, working backstage at a show or on set on a collection, I strive to transfer my skills, knowledge and experience to the young creatives around me, who I expect one day will go on to make my work seem old-fashioned. Every week brings its own challenges and opportunities, so life is always unique and interesting.

You’re the International Artistic Director at Toni&Guy, which is a REALLY BIG DEAL. What elements of your role give you the most satisfaction?

It’s the opportunities to inspire and be inspired, the ability to mentor and nurture new talent, and the chance to innovate within the industry. I have lived the dream and hope that it’s now my turn to pass on the torch.

These images are from my current collection using macramé techniques on synthetic hair that I melted and stretched to create beautiful bob shapes, precisely interlacing the models’natural hair to sit how I wanted it. It creates a poetic yet futuristic feel.

The last three weeks (or months): where have you been, who have you worked with, and what have you been planning?

The last few weeks have been packed full of creative shooting and prep days. We have been heavily involved with London Fashion Week Men’s and were a part of the British Fashion Council’s 40 Years of London Fashion Week exhibition. I had the honour of having two of my avant-garde creations on display that celebrated Toni&Guy’s 20-year partnership with the British Fashion Council.

Looking back, who/what has got you to this point in your career?

A lot of hard work and determination. Every origin story requires a bit of magic and mine came in the shape of Anthony and Toni Mascolo. I will be eternally grateful to them both for seeing something in me, taking me under their wing and, through the sheer power of their own passion, opening my eyes to the idea of innovation and creative vision within the industry. Also to our CEO, Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck, who has been behind me throughout my career, giving me amazing opportunities and encourouging me in everything I do.

I have worked with Tolu Coker for several seasons and have an amazing relationship with her. I create bespoke hair pieces and headdresses to complement her collections and love being educated on her culture and how I can follow it through into the hair.
This image shows one of my favourite moments from last fashion week in February. The Toni&Guy Session Team and I created beautiful clean yet edgy finger waves. Everything was tailored to the individual model, which made it look really natural.
This is ‘New Wave’ from the Toni&Guy 2007 Kaizen collection. It was the first haircut I did for a Toni&Guy collection and I absolutely adore this image.

Your ultimate creative collaboration – what would that look like? Who would be in it?

Throughout my career I have had the priviledge to work with incredible people – stylists, photographers, make up artists and designers – and I am grateful to them all for their friendship and influence. 

What excites you about hairdressing right now?

The continuous education and sharing of knowledge within the industry. Whether through demos or social media platforms, the constant exchange of new ideas and techniques helps us all to evolve and push the boundaries of what we can achieve in hairdressing.

What frustrates you about hairdressing right now?

The decline of the younger generation. Less and less  Not enough young people coming into our industry.

What’s your opinion on why so many hair pros work for free backstage and on set, and how do you think they can establish more value for the work they do?

Many in the hair industry are driven by passion and a love for their craft, so find themselves agreeing to work for free. While it’s okay to do that occasionally and it gives you great experience, it’s really important to make sure you get proper credit for your work and that your contributions are acknowledged. It’s also important to keep a strong image bank of work to document your work across social media as much as possible!

This image is from my avant-garde Crystal collection from 2010. It is very important to me because it’s created from the model’s natural hair, using a boning technique to create structure and add height
These pictures are from a shoot I did for the Journal Magazine with David Mannah. I trapped the hair inside of resin, pushing the boundaries to create something cool. The futuristic bob incorporates some 1920’s influences through the cut, and with the Mohawk I wanted to create an edgy, punk feel.

Describe your perfect Fashion Week experience.

I have worked with Tolu Coker for several seasons and have an amazing relationship with her. I love working on her shows. It’s a true collaboration, where we meet and disuss her ideas and inspirations and I create bespoke hair pieces to complement her designs. She has educated me so much about culture that I have taken and used in my own work. For AW24 I created and dressed 20 wigs in three days!

What can be done to encourage more young people into the industry?

As hairdressers, it’s crucial to transfer our passion and excitement to the younger generation, keeping them motivated and inspired – they are the backbone of our industry and future. One way to do this is by attending open days at schools, where we can educate and inspire students in an environment where everyone feels comftorable.

And these questions from a couple of your peers!

From Naomi Brooks, The Hair Sanctuary, Manchester: When you are going through a creative block, what do you do to get back in the flow and get your creative juices flowing again? 

Hi Naomi! We can all find outselves stuck in a bit of a block from time to time. The first thing I do is take myself out of situation that has caused it. I might go for a walk, or start working on something new. Sometimes, a bit of rest and a change of scenery are just what I need to return to my work with fresh eyes and renewed energy.

From Siobhan Haug, Haug London Haus, London: What’s been your most memorable overseas trip, and why?

Hi Siobhan! A lot of them have been with you ☺…. I will never forget going to Tokyo in 2010 and seeing my avant-garde collection for the first time, live on stage. It was such a proud and honorable moment for me. I will never forget it.

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