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In A Different World 

In A Different World 

Mar 24, 2025 | HOME INFORM, INDUSTRY NEWS, INFORM

Diva Pro advertorial at CHM.com

In A Different World

Innovative and heavenly to hair health, the new Atmos Professional Stylers from Diva Pro Styling ensure your tailored finish is speedy and shiny – all without damaging your client’s hair  

When you reach for your heated styler, you want to know you can trust it. That it’s going to give you incredible results quickly, and without damaging your client’s hair. Meet the innovative new range of stylers that you can put your trust in – and deliver deliciously different (but always gorgeous) finishes unique to your signature style and bespoke to each client in your chair.  

 The new Diva Atmos Professional Stylers herald the next generation of styling, signalling a groundbreaking advancement in pro hair tools. You’ll get unprecedented speed, efficiency and care, all thanks to the intelligent Adaptive Heat Technology that continually adjusts the heat output of the styler’s plates, ensuring consistent heat from root to tip. We’re talking true one-pass styling – that means saving you precious salon time while minimising heat damage for your client. 

With your styler an extension of your skilled expert hand, you need to know it’s going to always deliver. Why should you trust the new Diva Atmos Professional tools? Let’s break it down…  

 Heat Recovery? They’ve Got It Nailed!   
With an industry-leading recovery rate of 12°C per second, Atmos is twice as fast as comparable tools, maintaining the precise temperature needed for flawless results.  

Clever Heaters = Better Results  
They use premium MCH heaters for stable uniform temperature, longer lifespan and energy efficiency.  

Healthy Styling, Thanks To Oil Power! 
Floating ceramic plates infused with macadamia and argan oils, alongside keratin, deliver enhanced shine and nourishment, while far-infrared heat protects natural oils.  

Versatile And User-Friendly  
They’re available in four plate widths – 13mm Super Slim Styler; 25mm Standard Styler; 42mm Wide Professional Styler; 51mm XXL Wide Styler. Atmos Professional suits every hair type and styling need, whether hair is short, textured, long or voluminous. The rounded housing makes curling effortless, while silicone heat-protective cool tips keep your fingertips safe!  

Professional Precision  
You have the power thanks to adjustable heat settings from 80°C to 235°C, a three-metre heat-resistant swivel cord and an auto shut-off function. These stylers are reliable and energy efficient.  

You Can Go Global   
Designed with multi-voltage capabilities and a UK/EU plug adaptor, the Atmos Professional Stylers are ideal for worldwide use – great for global travel.  

Brilliant For Business In The Salon   
As a busy stylist, you’ll love the faster, consistent results that cut down on styling time. These stylers also deliver locked-in curls, waves and flicks that last longer. And that clever energy-saving technology means they’re cost effective across the long term. Boom!   

With Diva Pro Styling you have the ideal fusion of cutting-edge technology with practical design, all with one goal in mind – to meet the evolving needs of stylists and consumers around the world. And with the new Atmos Professional Stylers, you have that perfect blend of innovation, efficiency and hair health right at your fingertips, empowering you to create. Showcase your difference with Diva Pro Styling.    

Deliver the different to your client every time, whatever their style, whatever their hair type, with Divo Pro Styling’s new Atmos Professional Stylers. For more information, visit divapro.co.uk.  

@divaprostyling  

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Who’s The 2025 Gloss Boss?

Who’s The 2025 Gloss Boss?

Mar 19, 2025 | HOME INFORM, INDUSTRY NEWS, INFORM, INFORM HEADER

Who’s The 2025 Gloss Boss?

Winners revealed for all categories of Redken’s Shades EQ competition

by AMANDA | INFORM

Sienna Wetteland, based at Norfolk’s Headlines Hair & Beauty, is heading to New York – her prize for being named the overall Shades EQ Gloss Boss at this year’s UK and Ireland awards from Redken. 

Sienna (@sienna_headlines) also took home the Brunette Gloss Boss title. In the other categories, Laura Kimberley Cole (@laurakimhair) grabbed the Blonding Gloss Boss prize and Michaela Marshall (@michaelacreates.ldn), based at Somewhere in Queens Park, won the Texture Gloss Boss crown. And nailing the People Choice’s vote, which saw a winner voted from the runners-up from the three main categories? That was Millie Keal (@Millie_Strands) from Strands Hairdressing in Hampshire. 

Redken’s easy-to-enter digital Shades EQ Gloss Boss Awards is all about celebrating hair that beams with high-shine colour and a healthy-looking finish that stops the scroll. All captured on a before/after Instagram Reel, entries deliver grade-A glossing skills with a side order of fun.

The Gloss Boss Award judges were looking for colour, technique and placement skills, as well as a jaw-dropping style and finish to seal the deal. They included Amanda Nottage editorial director, Creative HEAD; Carla Rose, Redken Artist; Keeks Reid, beauty director, Cosmopolitan and TV presenter; Samantha Cusick, Redken Business Advocate and Redken Advocates Claire Martin, Rory Mcphee and Tia Lambourn

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 receive complimentary tickets to a Redken Masterclass and Redken on Stage.

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The L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2025 Is Your Platform For Fame

The L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2025 Is Your Platform For Fame

Mar 13, 2025 | HOME INFORM, INDUSTRY NEWS, INFORM, INFORM HEADER

The L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2025 Is Your Platform For Fame

Which category will you enter?

by AMANDA | INFORM

It’s big. It’s bold. And it’s back! The L’Oréal Colour Trophy competition has thrilled audiences for nearly 70 years, elevating talent and celebrating hairdressing heroes from across the UK and Ireland. This electric celebration of colour artistry and creativity motivates and inspires, offering the perfect platform to ALL colourists and hair pros to fuel their technical fires and see their careers go stratospheric.

Embark on a journey of self-discovery, challenging your imagination and your skills to deliver something special that pushes fresh trends, showcases technical excellence and excites your clients. Successful entrants will go straight into competing live at one of the two most iconic nights in the hairdressing calendar – the UK and Ireland Grand Finals.

Choose Your Category
The L’Oréal Colour Trophy is free to enter, and winning leads to a host of incredible opportunities. Are you ready? Let’s go!

L’Oréal Colour Trophy Award
Entrants create a total colour look on any model of any gender or gender identity of any hair type. With eight regions, 12 per region make it through.

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L’Oréal Colour Trophy STAR Award
For 16- to 25-year-olds. Before and after photos are required and entrants will be interviewed on their work by the judges should they be successful.

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L’Oréal Colour Trophy Afro Award (UK only)
Entrants create a total colour look on any model of any gender or gender identity of a hair type texture between 3C and 4C.

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L’Oréal Colour Specialist Award (UK only)
For hair colour aficionados who have completed the 15-day L’Oréal Colour Specialist Diploma. Entrants must create a colour look on any model of any gender or gender identity of any hair type.

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L’Oréal Colour Trophy Future Talent Award
For college students, part- or full-time, who are studying on a listed eligible course.

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L’Oréal Colour Trophy Future Talent Award
For college students, part- or full-time, who are studying on a listed eligible course.

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Winning Changes Everything!

 

“It’s all been a bit emotional and overwhelming. I’ve been obsessed with this competition from the very start of my career”

Gee-Kent Ho, Gee-Kent Ho, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Winner, UK L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2024

 

“Winning has created brand awareness for New Hair Order – on an industry level and with new clients recognising our win and wanting to book”

Mark Byrne and Lisa May, New Hair Order, Dublin Winner, Ireland L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2024

All The Important Dates

April 3 – Entries close at 6pm

May 6 – Finalists announced at lorealcolourtrophy.com and lorealcolourtrophy.ie

June 9 – Ireland Grand Final

June 30 – UK Grand Final

Follow @lorealpro_education_uki #LCT25

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BHC Report: Govt Must Halve VAT To Save Salons

BHC Report: Govt Must Halve VAT To Save Salons

Feb 19, 2025 | HOME INFORM, INDUSTRY NEWS, INFORM, INFORM HEADER

BHC Report: Govt Must Halve VAT To Save Salons

Employment and apprenticeships will be decimated unless there’s action, warns explosive industry report

by AMANDA | INFORM

No new apprenticeships by 2027 and a 93 per cent fall in employment by 2030 – those are the stark findings from an incendiary British Hair Consortium (BHC) report on the future of UK salons unless the government halves VAT.

The report – by independent consultancy CBI Economics and based on responses from more than 2,000 salon owners and professionals – highlights how an unbalanced tax system is decimating the industry, largely because the sector is far more labour intensive than most other high street businesses, with limited chances to reclaim VAT costs. This is leaving VAT-registered businesses at a disadvantage, particularly with the rising levels of ‘disguised employment’. The latter described the practice of hiring contractors to avoid VAT and NI payments.

This unlevel playing field sees employers often contributing more than double the tax (12 per cent more) than the disguised model. The industry shift to self-employment has coincided with a decline in overall sectoral employment, which may have cost the Treasury £2.4bn in VAT receipts alone since 2009. The continuing drop in employment would create a sector “largely devoid of the employment rights that come with being an employee”.

The report also noted that cutting VAT on salon labour costs would be hugely cost-positive, potentially reversing the decline in VAT registrations.

“A ‘one size fits all’ tax system doesn’t work and has created an unlevel playing field. This report shows how cutting VAT to 10 per cent won’t cost the government a penny. It would save salons across the country and ensure the future of our industry, which sits at the heart of the high street” – Toby Dicker, BFC co-founder

Rising costs that are due to hit in full force in April following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, have exacerbated the crunch for many salon employers. With the Spring Forecast due in five weeks, the BHC – which represents 50,000 UK hairdressing professionals – says the government must act urgently on VAT.

To show your support, the BHC is urging salon owners to visit bhc.co.uk to download the report and personalise the templated letter, which can be emailed to local MPs.

The BHC is a working group representing all areas of the UK personal care sector, including the Salon Employers Association, Salon Owners United, the Hair & Barber Council, the Freelance Hairdressers Association, the Men’s Hairdressing Federation and the Fellowship for British Hairdressing.

Reaction From Salon Employers

“The changes from the last Budget have made it very hard for salons to continue to offer the benefits of employment and we will certainly not be able to take on as many apprentices going forward. This will kill the future of our industry.” – Laura Geary, director at Headmasters, one of the UK’s biggest salon groups and one of the largest providers of apprenticeships

“Last year’s change in NI contributions has forced us to close our salon in Ormskirk in West Lancashire after 57 years of trading. Nearly all our competitors in Ormskirk are self-employed and we cannot continue to be competitive.

“We’re also a specialist provider of hairdressing apprenticeships – the largest in Liverpool. Last year we had over 300 applications but were only able to find employment for 60 apprentices because fewer salons can afford to take them on. Apprenticeships are the main route for sustainable careers in hairdressing, but the model is under threat if there aren’t enough salons able to directly employ hairdressers.” – Charlie Collinge, director at Collinge & Co, Liverpool

“One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced over the years has been VAT. A growing number of salons now operate with chair renters who don’t have to pay VAT, which allows them to keep their prices low and creates an uneven playing field.

“I also worry about the future for the next generation of stylists. Who will train them? Recently I had to make the difficult decision to let my two newest apprentices go because I simply can’t afford them. My training provider has no salons on their books looking for apprentices this year, as chair rental salons don’t typically train apprentices. If salons like mine continue to be squeezed, they’ll become less and less viable, making it even harder for employers like me to secure a stable future.” – Denise Thomas, owner of Denise Thomas Hair Salons, in Liverpool

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Apprenticeship Reforms Aim To Cut Red Tape And Time

Apprenticeship Reforms Aim To Cut Red Tape And Time

Feb 18, 2025 | HOME INFORM, INDUSTRY NEWS, INFORM, INFORM HEADER

Apprenticeship Reforms Aim To Cut Red Tape And Time

Changes to English and maths qualifications for over 19s and shorter apprenticeship duration included

by AMANDA | INFORM

The Department for Education is removing English and maths functional skills exit requirements for adult apprentices, alongside a reduction in the minimum apprenticeship duration from 12 to eight months and a streamlining of End Point Assessments. 

Businesses will now be able to decide whether adult learners over 19 need to complete Level 2 English and maths qualifications to pass their apprenticeship. The change comes in with immediate effect. 

The reduction in the minimum amount of time it takes to complete an apprenticeship – cut from 12 to eight months – will take effect from August 2025, with an eye on speeding up the development of future workers.  

 Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, said: “Businesses have been calling out for change to the apprenticeship system and these reforms show that we are listening. Our new offer of shorter apprenticeships and less red tape strikes the right balance between speed and quality, helping achieve our number one mission to grow the economy.”  

The reforms also include changes to End Point Assessments (EPAs). From April 2025, the assessment process will become more streamlined. This includes more proportionate assessment methods that remove duplication, potential for on-programme assessment where appropriate and greater flexibility for training providers to deliver certain assessment elements. 

Caroline Larissey, chief executive of the National Hair and Beauty Federation, commented that the change to English and maths requirements could appeal to those who “excel in practical skills but struggle with formal qualifications”. “This could lead to a more diverse and skilled workforce, better equipped to meet the evolving needs of our clients,” she said. 

Cathy Weston, director of quality and standards at the NHBF, added that the change was “particularly promising” when considering completion rates and could “significantly improve success rates” while maintaining high standards. 

 However, Larissey said the increase in apprentice minimum wages and the need for “more robust employer incentives” still posed challenges: “The NHBF will be pressing the government for answers on how they plan to support employers in maintaining sustainable apprenticeship programmes, particularly in a sector where margins are already extremely tight.” 

 

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