Squire Technologies has launched its latest feature which will allow barbers and barbershops to order their supplies and products from Squire Supply.

The new feature offers barbers prices 15% lower than market value, the option of monthly recurring orders and free shipping, as well as 50% off with their first order throughout September.

On their Instagram page, the brand released a statement explaining the new feature and how it will continue to support the industry:

“We are excited to share that SQUIRE has taken another huge step in advancing the barber industry. […] We are with you and we will always continue to innovate the industry. SQUIRE has also committed to waive subscription fees through December 31 2020, to assist customers in offsetting the financial burden of operating through a crisis.”

To find out more, visit www.supply.getsquire.com or call 1 (800) 600 9302 to order now.

Barbershops and salons in certain areas of California have been able to reopen and operate indoors as officials announced an update on Wednesday 2nd September.

Those in Los Angeles County have been allowed to reopen with limited indoor services and will be in line with the state recommended reopening guidelines. Los Angeles County Supervisor announced the update on Wednesday 2nd September:

“LA County’s Health Officer Order will be updated to allow hair salons and barber shops to resume indoor operations at 25% capacity. Options for increasing capacity will be re-evaluated three weeks after Labor Day.” (@SupJaniceHahn, Twitter)

At a COVID-19 briefing, Los Angeles County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis added that barbershops and salons would be able to open and operate at limited capacity as of the 3rd September if they were in line with all of the Health Officer Orders.

Counties in the San Francisco area have also begun to reopen, but only outdoors at the moment, with barbershops and salons not expected to resume service indoors until late September.

Keep up to date with the latest government guidelines on reopening here.

Henkel North America’s Beauty Care Professional business has officially launched STMNT (pronounced statement), a new brand offering a range of effective, high-performing grooming goods with superior formulas and prestige packaging – designed to be accessible to all regardless of gender or style.

Sofie Pok aka @STAYGOLD, Julius Arriola aka @JULIUSCAESAR and Miguel Gutierrez aka @NOMADBARBER all collaborated on the brand to raise the standard of grooming products across the barbering industry. The range contains four lines of products; lines specifically curated by each creator plus a general care line. The products range from shampoos, conditioners and all-in-one care products to pomades, sprays and powders for both long and short styles.

Caleb Foltermann, General Manager of STMNT Grooming Goods, said “Over the past few years, barbering and grooming have evolved. Modern barbering is all about making a statement. It is sophisticated, lifestyle-driven, and genderless. We wanted to pioneer a brand that was authentic to the movement and made grooming products accessible to all. These three creators embody what it means to be a modern barber and they have the deep expertise to formulate products that are truly effective.”

STMNT is available at Ulta from September 2020, with suggested retail pricing ranging from $11.95 – $24.95.

For more information, follow STMNTGROOMING.com and @STMNTGROOMING and make your statement with the hashtags #STMNTGROOMING and #MAKEYOURSTMNT.

Back to normality!

As we wave goodbye to one of the strangest and bleakest summers we’ve ever seen, at BarberEVO we’re hoping to brighten up your autumn days with a splash of colour. Issue No.22 is bold, make no mistake about that!

The latest edition of our 104 page, printed magazine is brimming with inspiration and advice from some of the industry’s biggest names. As you flick through your copy, you’ll see how they’ve been fighting to make sure that this comeback is a success and that the barbering industry won’t be disappearing again any time soon.

We delve into everything from tech to going green (environmentally, that is). Danny Robinson shares details of his futuristic new Danny & Co. shop, while we look at the latest innovations in barbershop technology, and on the other end of the scale, all-natural brands and barbershops.

We focus on tattoos, from independent artists like Quyen Dinh, to studios like Deerheart Collective, finding out how the pandemic has affected them day-to-day.

Our interview with the always colourful Tom Baxter is a great read – he tells us about his fantastic new educational series, and why the industry needs to go back to basics when it comes to colouring techniques.  

We’re also speaking to some fantastic barbershops from all corners of the UK to find out how they’ve found things post-lockdown. Luka Chitty of Luka’s Barbers tells us about his incredible new project, Together Create, which he hopes will inspire small, local businesses to come together and create something beautiful.

This issue really is about coming together and supporting the industry, local businesses and artists in this very weird period in time. I hope reading it brings a little spark of hope to your day and inspires you to check-in and support each other.

Stay safe, stay creative, and look out for your community – we’ll get through this together!

Over the past year, approximately 60 Black barbers in Mississippi have received training to engage their clients in discussions about mental health.

Mississippi is one of six Southern states ranked in the bottom 10 for mental health care access. Hairdresser and teacher at Trendsetters Barber College in Jackson, MS, says “As a barber, people listen to our advice a lot, and the training just brought that out more.”

Wiggins received training courtesy of The Confess Project, an Arkansas-based group that teaches Black barbers across the South how to integrate emotional support into general ‘shop talk’ and remove the taboo of emotional conversations in environments like male waiting rooms.

“I’ve had clients (before) who committed suicide, clients who had depression,” Wiggins said. “This has made me pay attention more to different words a client might use. Or if a client wants to let others get before them, basically they don’t really want a haircut and maybe want to talk more. It makes me pay more attention, because it may be something that could save that person’s life.”

Founder of The Confess Project, Lorenzo Lewis, has worked with barbers across Southern states to provide barbers with the tools to support their clients. The results so far have been encouraging: “On the micro level we’re working to build stronger, healthier relationships,” Lewis said. “On the macro level, we see that poverty may be decreased. Men come in the shops that have better employment outcomes and better mental health.”

To find out more and how you can get involved, visit www.theconfessproject.com.

Two hairdressing entrepreneurs have joined forces to spearhead the growth of a new hair replacement system venture.

International award-winning barber Sam Wall and salon owner Rob Wood have teamed up to grow Novo Cabelo, a new business founded in the North East to help popularise the emerging phenomenon of hair replacement.

The concept, already hugely popular in the US, is now reaching the UK and allows men and women to regain hair without having to undergo a hair transplant. A hair replacement, which lasts between three and five months, is proving to be an effective and cost-effective option which is becoming more established in the UK marketplace.

Novo Cabelo – which translates as ‘new hair’ in Portuguese – is working with people across the North of England to help them regain the look they want, including post-cancer patients who have lost their hair through medical treatment.

The business is also working with several salons to help them discover the concept of hair replacement, as a means of introducing new, potentially revenue-boosting initiatives as they continue to reopen after months of lockdown.

Sam, who travels the world to create the styles of A-list stars, will be carrying out hair replacement systems from his base at Hidden Heights Creative Studio, in Gateshead. Novo Cabelo is his latest entrepreneurial venture, following the launch of his eponymous ‘Mr Sam Wall’ product range and 5:AM membership service.

“This is an exciting concept which has only quite recently come over to the UK, but I heard about hair replacement systems while I was in the States working and I was amazing how real and natural they looked. They are a great alternative to a transplant, which can be quite a traumatic and invasive procedure, and the cost makes it very accessible for so many more people,” said Sam, who recently joined Rob and his team at Novo Cabelo.

“This is something totally new for me and it’s really exciting. As a stylist, I travel the world helping people to achieve the looks they want, and educating aspiring barbers in how to create that for their clients, and that is what our profession is all about. Through being able to offer hair replacement systems, I’ll be able to help clients feel great about their appearance in a whole new way.

“The interest we have had has been phenomenal, there is a big demand for this service, and we can’t wait to start helping people to rediscover their confidence through turning to Novo Cabelo. I’m really grateful to the team for allowing me to be part of the business.”

Follow @novocabelohair on Instagram to keep up to date with the venture.

While this year has seen a lot of events and competitions cancelled or postponed, Wahl is keeping spirits up by going ahead with its annual British Barber of the Year competition.

Past winners include Carl Taylor of Murdock Barbers of London, Keune ambassador James Beaumont and Andrea Raymond, who now has a place on the Wahl Artistic Team.

Wahl have said that this year they will be ‘doing things a little differently,’ with more details on this to be released in due course. In the meantime, barbers can submit their entries via wahl.co.uk and completing the entry form.

Barbers are encouraged to submit four images showcasing their best work along with a biography on themselves and their career.

Finalists will be contacted and provided with further details once entries close on 26th October 2020.

Good luck!

Government officials have warned the NHBF that they will close the hair and beauty sector if they don’t follow safety guidelines.

The NHBF is launching the #DoItRight campaign to ensure hair and beauty professionals across the UK understand exactly what is required of them to keep working and reduce the risk of further restrictions or lockdowns. 

The NHBF want to stress how important it is for everyone to follow the guidelines and operate in a COVID secure way to protect yourselves, your employees, clients and to protect the industry from being locked down again.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has issued a statement to the NHBF which says all businesses are at risk of receiving formal action from local authorities if they are not following their risk assessments. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice from a local authority officer can lead to prosecution in the criminal courts and penalties including fines or up to two years’ imprisonment.

In England, the main points that people need to remember are:

• Wearing a visor – the guidelines which were updated on 14 August now say you must also wear a Type II face mask for extra protection
• Using a booking-only system and maintaining social distancing in the workplace
• Frequent washing of hands
• Using screens and back-to-back/side-to-side working 
• Frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and tools, especially after each client
• Contacting clients before appointments to check if clients have COVID symptoms, in which case they must cancel
• Displaying the COVID 19 Secure notice in a prominent place

The rules are slightly different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but they apply to everyone working in hair and beauty: hairdressers, barbers, nail technicians, beauty therapists, eyebrow and eyelash professionals and beauty aesthetics practitioners, including mobile workers in hair and beauty. 

Hilary Hall, chief executive of the NHBF says, “We have worked hard to ensure hair and beauty salons, barbershops and individual professionals can get back to work but because some are failing to follow the guidelines, they are putting the whole industry at risk. We’ve launched our #DoItRight campaign to help hair and beauty businesses across the UK understand the guidelines that apply in their part of the country.  The last thing any of us want is to face further restrictions, further lockdowns or a second spike in coronavirus infections. The impact on our industry would be devastating.  Please do your bit to help and show you’re putting the industry first as well as protecting the safety of your teams and your clients.”

The full Safer Workplace guidelines are available to view in full at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/close-contact-services

For more information and FAQs, please visit www.nhbf.co.uk/coronavirus and follow the National Hair & Beauty Federation on social at @nhbfsocial.

Barbershop management tool Squire has announced the suspension of subscription fees. The move, which will see all subscription fees waived until 2021, will provide further support to the barber industry.

The app allows users to discover barbershops, book appointments, and pay for haircuts directly from your mobile. Customers are charged $0.99 to book appointments, which is added at checkout.

The app has staff management, marketing and POS capabilities for barbershops, and has, at time of writing, over 2,000 partners.

Visit www.getsquire.com for more details.

After a slight delay due to the country-wide lockdown, the Fellowship for British Hairdressing 2020 Sassoon Scholarship is now open for entry, with a new online element providing increased accessibility.

One lucky recipient will now be given the opportunity to choose two in-person Sassoon Academy courses, as well as two online Sassoon Academy courses. The winner will also receive a professional tool kit and can claim up to £50 per day towards travel and accommodation costs, courtesy of Denman International. On top of that, the Scholarship recipient will also receive PR profiling through the Fellowship.

Fellowship for British Hairdressing President Ken Picton says: “Vidal Sassoon was Patron of Honour for the Fellowship, and dedicated to supporting the next generation of hairdressing talent. The Sassoon Academy offers some of the best training in the world, but it’s not always within reach of every hairdresser. With this in mind, the Sassoon Scholarship was set up with the support of Denman International to make this world-class education available to all. We can’t wait to see this year’s applicants, and are delighted to be able to offer a life-changing education opportunity to one lucky recipient after what has been a challenging year for the industry.”

To apply, hairdressers need to fill out a form on the Fellowship for British Hairdressing’s website, outlining their career achievements to date and explaining why they think they deserve this incredible opportunity. The closing date for entries is Friday 18th September. After this date, 12 candidates will be interviewed online, with a shortlist announced on Friday 25th September. The judging panel will consist of members of the Fellowship Chancellery, as well as a representative from each supporting company.  The judges’ decision is final.

Courses must be taken between October 2020 and May 2021 (subject to availability), and the scholarship is offered exclusively to Fellowship members.