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Who’s In The Pink At The L’Oréal Colour Trophy Grand Final?

Who’s In The Pink At The L’Oréal Colour Trophy Grand Final?

Who’s In The Pink At The L’Oréal Colour Trophy Grand Final?

The return of the world’s longest-running live hair competition revealed a fruity favourite and jaw-dropping shows

by AMANDA | INFORM

Barnsley’s Russell Eaton salon is the 2025 L’Oréal Colour Trophy overall winner, with a candy pink hue by Angela Thomson that wowed the judges.

A clean-bleached buzz cut saw Scottish regional winner Jason Hall Hairdressing in Edinburgh take second place, while Eastern regional winner Trinder Hair Studios in St Albans scooped the third place.

L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2nd Place: Jason Hall Hairdressing, Edinburgh

L’Oréal Colour Trophy 3rd Place: Trinder Hair Studios, St Albans

Old Billingsgate provided the venue as L’Oréal Professionnel celebrated their 69th L’Oréal Colour Trophy Grand Final in the safe hands of sharply attired host Will Best. An X-shaped stage, backed by an immersive wall of video screens that played a huge role in the whole production, served a blistering series of model looks from UK salons and two exceptional show teams.

Chromatique by Berni Ottjes

L’Oréal Professionnel’s global artist Berni Ottjes and D&J Ambrose both presented other worldly creations with AI-generated worldscapes playing on the monster screens behind the models. Chromatique by Antwerp-based Berni, assisted by Josh and Sophie-Rose Goldsworthy of Goldsworthy’s, was a journey through time, to the present and the future beyond. Every hair finish was a sculpture, with each silhouette illustrating an echo of time. This was a symphony of texture, colour and form – mouthwatering coppers and deeper reds alongside future-facing blondes – with the show highlighting new innovations such as bio-based materials, illuminated hair accessories and 3D printed elements, all blurring the lines between fashion, art and technology.

Realhallucination by D&J Ambrose

Realhallucination by D&J Ambrose was a powerful presentation exploring how we see things through our digital eye. Darren and Jackie Ambrose, supported by iD Artists Zak Hulbert (Blushes), Morgan Graham (MG The Studio) and Stephen Campbell (Hair & Co) and with creative colour from Alex Lord, invited the audience to tap into sensory stimulation, to feel and see their journey through iconic fashion. The initial futuristic vibe melted into an anarchic punk-infused display including break dancing, digital graffiti, bleached buzz cuts, raw lengths with matte blues and grey tones, before switching again to a Westwood-informed Regency feel. Acrobatic dancers with neon braided pieces wowed; Goldfrapp’s ‘Strict Machine’ the pumping soundtrack that hit the hardest.

Aurélien Guibret, the new managing director of L’Oréal Professional Products, was joined by Sussan Verghese, UKI general manager of L’Oréal Professionnel, to reveal the overall winner. Once that confetti bomb of victory had exploded, DJ Nick Bright led the after-party celebrations.

The winners are

L’Oréal Colour Trophy overall winner: Russell Eaton, Barnsley

L’Oréal Colour Trophy 2nd Place: Jason Hall Hairdressing, Edinburgh

L’Oréal Colour Trophy 3rd Place: Trinder Hair Studios, St Albans

L’Oréal Colour Trophy Star Award: Tribe Salons, London

 L’Oréal Colour Specialist Award: Massarella & Jones, Leamington Spa

L’Oréal Colour Trophy Afro Award: Peg Hair, Brighton

L’Oréal Colour Trophy Moving Image: Mia Barraball, Headmasters Walton

L’Oréal Colour Trophy Future Talent: Alisha Drew, Jessica McDermott, Katie Miller, Olivia Braithwaite and Rosie Davies

L’Oréal Colour Trophy Regional Winners

Western: Anthony John Salons, Litchfield

Eastern: Trinder Hair Studios, St Albans

Southern: TGB Spa, Brighton

London: Brooks & Brooks, London

North Eastern: Russell Eaton, Barnsley

North Western: Unity Hair & Beauty, Liverpool

Northern Irish: Andrew Mulvenna, Belfast

Scottish: Jason Hall Hairdressing, Edinburgh

L’Oréal Set To Acquire Color Wow

L’Oréal Set To Acquire Color Wow

L’Oréal set to acquire Color Wow

Brand will join the beauty giant’s Professional Products division

by AMANDA | INFORM

L’Oréal are set to acquire Color Wow, the pro haircare brand behind buzz-worthy heroes such as XL Bombshell Volumizer and Dream Coat. Based in the US and UK, Color Wow was founded by Gail Federici in 2013 and includes a collaboration with global stylist Chris Appleton within their product portfolio.

The range of products have gained a loyal and devoted following among stylists, media and consumers, with more 130 beauty award wins. From their initial Root Cover Up kit to their Curl Wow extension, Color Wow provide a wide range of innovative solutions for some of consumers’ most tricky hair problems.

The brand has seen rapid growth, thanks in part to advocacy and its engaged online community. Launched as a professional brand initially, Color Wow is now omnichannel, sold in salons, stores and online.

For L’Oréal’s Professional Products division, the move strengthens their portfolio even further, which includes L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Shu Uemura Art of Hair, Redken, Pureology and Matrix, among others. “As a premium haircare brand, with high levels of proven efficacy at an accessible price point, this acquisition will give us an increased foothold in haircare and in the styling category,” said Omar Hajeri, president of L’Oréal Professional Products.

“Joining L’Oréal is an incredible opportunity for the entire Color Wow team,” added Gail Federici. “Becoming part of the world’s number one beauty company, will set the stage for Color Wow’s continued success and help drive our innovation to new heights.”

The deal will close following the customary closing conditions, including the standard regulatory approvals.

Tracey Ann Smith Gets New Role

Tracey Ann Smith Gets New Role

Tracey Ann Smith Gets New Role

Meet the new creative director of MOOD Hair Colour

by AMANDA | INFORM

Tracey Ann Smith has been unveiled as the new creative director of MOOD Hair Colour.

Tracey will lead and oversee all things creative across product development, visual identity, and campaign imagery, thanks to her experience of both brand and creative strategising, work on globally renowned campaigns and leadership of salon and art teams.

“I’m honoured to join a brand that celebrates individuality and creative freedom,” said Tracey. “MOOD Hair Colour for me has always stood out for its incredible heritage, product innovation and products that perform. I’m looking forward to developing the MOOD Creative Team and I can’t wait to push boundaries, showcase the brand and be part of this new and exciting era.”

“MOOD Hair Colour is all about self-expression, transformation, and fearless colour — and Tracey’s vision perfectly aligns with our mission to empower individuals, explore product innovation and of course, support the hairdresser,” added Eddie Renda, managing director of distributor, JGR UK.

Creative HEAD Enters A New Era

Creative HEAD Enters A New Era

Creative HEAD Enters A New Era

A letter from Creative HEAD founder, Catherine Handcock

by CATHERINE | INFORM

Catherine Handcock

Dear Creative HEAD Readers,

Can a magazine not only reflect an industry, but influence it, too?

Ever since launching 25 years ago, Creative HEAD has blazed a trail of innovation and energy through UK and Irish hairdressing, revolutionising and re-shaping the landscape with concepts like Salon Smart, The Coterie, the Big Hair Do, Most Wanted and the It List and so much more.

It has been an incredible ride, and at every step of the way we’ve always worked with superb talents – hair artists exploding the world of colour; business owners transforming how salons looked and behaved; independent and session stylists collaborating with creatives outside of the industry to redefine concepts of beauty…

And now the Creative HEAD journey is taking a bold new direction – and yet again, we’re working with the best.

Today, Thursday 5 June, we’re announcing a dynamic new venture with The Assembly Events, creators of the revolutionary new hairdressing and barbering trade show, HairCon. Together, we’re forming a new organisation, The Assembly Media Group, which will offer unprecedented opportunities to showcase, celebrate and champion hairdressing professionals and the brands that serve them.

We had been so impressed by HairCon when it launched last year and even put in a guest appearance with a panel discussion on their Social Stage featuring speakers from our Salon Smart business networking event. Walking around the venue in Manchester, we loved The Assembly’s collaborative approach to the industry – the way they’d teamed up with exciting event concepts like Noise and partnered with influential organisations such as The Fellowship for British Hairdressing. The event was packed with brilliant hair talents, exciting hair brands and innovative new ideas.

HairCon 2024

So, I was very happy when I happened to bump into The Assembly founder, Michael Dynan, earlier this year, and got to compliment him on his event. And as we got chatting about our respective brands, it became clear there was a really great synergy between Creative HEAD and The Assembly, that we were so similar in our approach to, and passion for, the hairdressing industry… And as discussions continued over the following weeks, we realised that there was so much we could do together. And that’s when the idea was born.

Forming The Assembly Media Group means we at Creative HEAD will continue to do what we love – but now we can do even more, and even better. Working with the team at The Assembly gives us access to their expertise in events and awards, their amazing creativity and their smart business thinking (honestly, you should see them in action – it’s breathtaking!). That will result in exciting new opportunities for you, our readers – new platforms for you to perform and share ideas, new showcases for your skills, new events to celebrate your original thinking.

As the person who founded Creative HEAD 25 years ago back in June 2000, I could never have dreamt of the incredible successes we have enjoyed so far, nor that we could be in such a position of strength today, alongside the brilliant team at The Assembly, ready to innovate, inspire and influence for many more years to come.

Together with Creative HEAD’s Editorial Director, Amanda Nottage, and Creative Partnerships Director, Joanna Kidd, I hope you enjoy what you’re about to see – that it excites you about hairdressing and makes you feel proud to be a hairdresser. Because that is what’s important to us and everyone within The Assembly Media Group.

With love,

Catherine Handcock

Founder and Publisher, Creative HEAD

“We Came Through The Gates As A Pretty Disruptive Force”

“We Came Through The Gates As A Pretty Disruptive Force”

“We Came Through The Gates As A Pretty Disruptive Force”

box o’ bollox… bride of gluttony… normal persons daily shampoo… If that’s how you name your care and styling products, chances are you’re going to raise eyebrows. Australian brand evo is celebrating 20 years of challenging the industry status quo, having established itself as a globally iconic professional brand now found in over 35 countries and true to its mission of “saving ordinary humans from themselves”.

by CATHERINE | CONVERSATIONS

Back in 2005, amidst an industry awash with unrealistic beauty stands and overinflated promises, Garth Gauvin, son of Aussie hairdressing royalty, saw the need for change. He envisioned a brand that could deliver salon-quality performance without pretending to be the solution to life’s problems. evo was designed to get people thinking for themselves with honest, personality-filled products that respect people and the planet.

That rebellious little upstart has now grown into a full concept offering. Today, evo offers everything from care and style products to professional treatments, tools and colour, giving salons and their clients everything they need, from basin to beyond.

In 2012, evo set its sights on global expansion, with Brad Gauvin, Garth’s brother, moving to North America to build the brand and the team on the ground. Since 2020, Brad has been leading the brand as managing director, championing its founding pillars of integrity, simplicity, innovation and personality from Adelaide, South Australia, proving that a haircare brand can indeed help to hold the beauty industry to a higher standard and inspire change for the better.

Creative HEAD caught up with Brad in an early morning/late night Zoom call to chat all things evo, that 20-year milestone and the qualities that have seen the brand go such an impressive distance.

Brad Gauvin

Twenty years is a long time in hairdressing. What is it about evo that’s helped it go the distance– clever marketing or product performance?

I mean, it’s got to be both. Hairdressers need something that aligns with their values, so in that sense evo was ground-breaking in terms of bringing tongue-in-cheek humour at a time when so many products back then were being uber-serious – and still are. That cut-through was really powerful, both with hairdressers and consumers. But products don’t stick if they don’t perform, and evo’s success has been rooted in having high-performance products that are simple to understand and use. But brands, like humans, need to keep evolving and when I look back over the 20 years, you know, we started as kids, literally, but also the brand was a bit juvenile in being disruptive, then it sort of became an adolescent and that maturity has evolved with new products that have been innovative and added different dimensions. Bringing in education has also been key to evo’s growth and development, as that’s something our community can be part of and connect with. So, the 20 years have gone pretty quickly, but there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the process and a lot of belly laughter, as well.

Your mum and dad ran salons in the 60s and 70s before launching a distribution business that’s been going 50 years. Hairdressing is in your DNA. How important has ‘family’ been to evo’s success?

It’s been a huge strength. That’s the whole platform – it’s created the passion and the connection. Everything we do is about doing salon business and protecting salon business. As distributors, it was our mission to bring innovative, creative brands to Australian salons – Redken, Sebastian, TIGI, for example – and there were lots of learnings that came from that journey that we were able to build into the evo brand. evo was founded by my brother Garth after he’d become a bit disillusioned with what was happening in the industry, with all brands looking the same, using deceptive marketing, greenwashing and other mistruths. He had the idea of, How about doing something crazy and just being honest? evo was something that really spoke to hairdressers and consumers with honesty, made them think and allowed them to make informed decisions.

In the UK, the hairdressing landscape has changed dramatically, with a big swing to self-employment, salon owners renting out their chairs, rather than employing teams. Do movements like these impact on evo’s business strategy?

We’re adapting to the fact there are fewer salons, there are more independents, and it means everything from our offerings to our communications needs to be different. We’re lucky in that we’ve been used to that from our dealings in North America. Freelancers have different business needs and our challenge is to find the right way to speak to, service and support them. It’s something we’re really conscious of, because we want to do business with both customer types.

Three key moments in the evo journey, according to Brad Gauvin

• The Vanity campaign we did when we came out as the brand that everybody knows today – that’s a big one

Vanity Campaign

• Building in our community in the UK in 2008/2009 with an exclusive partnership with Aston&Fincher was a pivotal moment, as was launching into North America in 2010.

• Launching our hue-verse professional colour range in 2021. That’s enabled us really to partner with salons. Retail is one thing, but that backroom connection is the anchor and it’s been an important move for growing the business.

evo’s pro colour range has been a game-changer

Pro brands selling their products in Boots… What’s your take on that?

We were born pro-only and now we describe ourselves as salon-first. With digitisation, we’ve really been forced into this omni-channel play. What’s critical for us is every time someone walks into a salon, they can’t just go online and buy that evo product at a discounted price. Our way of dealing with it is through controlled distribution, including in places like Amazon, so that it removes all the unauthorised resellers, keeps the market clean and ensures pricing is consistent with salons.

And do your salon customers understand that approach? This is a big trust issue, after all.

We’re very open and transparent in our communications, so I think it’s understood. The last thing salons need now, when retail is already in decline, is to suck more out of their business, so our focus is on supporting and protecting that business. Other brands do things differently and some make interesting choices, yes.

Brexit, COVID, Trump tariffs. When it comes to your global distribution, there must have been some challenging moments?

With Brexit, we all just had to get on and deal with that regulatory and logistical stuff pretty quickly, but that’s business – things crop up and you just work through them and adapt. The uncertainty that the US is bringing about now is unfortunate, because it slows business down at all levels. Hopefully, common sense will prevail. No doubt there will be some work to do around pricing, but we’ve beentrying to hold off as much as possible because nobody wants price rises.

The destination evo campaign celebrates the brand’s 20th anniversary

You’ve got two Brits representing your brand, Tom Smith and Ky Wilson. Why did you choose them for evo and how are they helping to shape the brand?

Tom has been with us for a while, he’s the Colour Creative Director for the brand. As a master colour technician, he’s been involved since day one in the creation of our professional colour range, hue-verse, working internally with our team to deliver the innovation our customers want. He’s an excellent educator and communicator too, so he’s been instrumental in sharing his knowledge with our distributors and into salons across Europe and the US. Ky is a walking, talking evo person who was made for the brand, there was such a natural connection. He’s a showman and outstanding artist who has the power to share evo with existing and potential new customers. We want to work more with both of them, together with our outstanding creative team.

Finally, you’re celebrating your 20th anniversary with a new campaign, destination evo. What can we expect to see, hear, feel?

So, destination evo is a metaphorical place where people can come together, be themselves and where good hair feels like home – that’s one of our key taglines. People love the inclusivity in evo, and that’s been brought to life in a campaign where all stylists will see characters they identify with, and that will be rolled out across our marketing channels over the next 12 months, along with salon merchandising, so it lives and breathes and sells it too. In terms of the UK, look out for some events around October time, with workshops and education where people can come and see our creative work in action – it’s going to be a real celebration.