Barbers in London are being trained to test the blood of customers to help combat high blood pressure.
Run by London South Bank University, the project was set out in order to raise awareness of high blood pressure, specifically in Black and Asian men, who are statistically more likely to have undiagnosed high blood pressure.
So far, eight barbershops in South London, Croydon, Mitcham, Thornton Heath, Bromley and South Norwood, have signed up to provide on-the-spot checks for customers, which began on Monday.
The idea came from a similar project that took place in Los Angeles between 2016 and 2018. The US project ran from 2016 to 2018 and 68% of people found to have high blood pressure ended the study with healthy levels.
High blood pressure affects more than one in four adults in England, accounts for more than one in 10 visits to GPs and contributes to 75,000 deaths every year – but millions of people are thought to go undiagnosed.
Hugh Benain, from Finishing Touches in Mitcham, said the project could help save lives.
“We’ll be offering our customers on-the-spot blood pressure tests and health information for them to take away,” he said.
“High blood pressure is a silent killer and providing tests and information from our barbershop could save lives.”
Nicola Thomas, an LSBU professor, said: “Sadly, millions of adults in the UK have high blood pressure and half are undiagnosed which can lead to strokes or heart attacks.
“It is the trusting relationship that customers have with their barbers that is so important – we need to take healthcare out into the community.”
With great hair comes great responsibility – at least that’s what the team at leading men’s grooming brand The Bluebeards Revenge believes. That’s why they’ve worked around the clock to launch a brand new range of zero waste shampoo bars for men!
This new range has been developed especially with eco-conscious men in mind, providing a plastic-free alternative to bottled shampoos. In fact, every bar saves the use of two plastic bottles, which is particularly important considering it’s now estimated that Brits throw away around 520 million shampoo bottles every year.
Launching on April 27, this new vegan friendly range features a trio of solid shampoos with three unique fragrances to choose from – Classic, Cuban and Original. Each of these SLS and paraben free bars are enriched with coconut oil to provide vital hydration to damaged hair, while effortlessly washing away build ups of dirt, sweat and styling products.
On the release of these small-but-mighty bars, Brad Wicks, Head of Marketing at The Bluebeards Revenge, said: “As a brand, we’re really proud of the steps we’re taking to create a more eco-friendly range for our customers.
“At the beginning of 2020, we made it our mission to improve the recyclability of our products, with a goal to drastically reduce the amount of virgin plastic and single-use packaging we use by 2022. The launch of our new 100% plastic-free Shampoo Bars not only shows our determination to meet this goal, but our commitment to continue improving for the future.”
The search is on for the Barber Of The Year 2021, as the Professional Barber World Series announces a brand new competition aimed at finding the best in the business.
The competition which is sponsored by Dapper Dan, with BarberEVO as proud media partners, is calling all barbers to sharpen their scissors and enter this prestigious competition.
Competition organisers said: “After an uncertain year for the industry, it is finally time to pick up the scissors once more and get snipping. With this in mind, what better time to introduce a brand new photographic competition for all barbers worldwide? The Professional Barber World Series is designed as a springboard for all barbers looking to hone their skills and test their talents against the best in the business. Judged by industry stalwarts and highly qualified educators, this simply can’t be missed. Top prizes and media coverage for all winners and runners up.
The competition has three categories:
UK BARBER OF THE YEAR
INTERNATIONAL BARBER OF THE YEAR
YOUNG BARBER OF THE YEAR
Prizes include a DSLR camera, Barberblades vouchers up to £500; BarberEVO front cover photoshoot; a five day Sid Sottung Academy Course; up to £400 in Nearcut credit.
MEET THE JUDGES:
Sid Sottung: international educator with 30+ years in the business, 20+ years in education and Global Andis educator.
Baldy: Owner of Baldy’s Barbers, Andis International European Lead educator.
Simon May: Dapper Dan founder, 20+ years barbering, owner of Wolf & Co Barbers
Brandi Lashay: Owner of the Barber Doll House LLC, 24+ years in the industry, BaByliss Barberology Platform educator.
Colin Petrie: Founder of Hard Grind barbershops, 10+ years in the industry, part of the American Crew Elite Team, Matakki Scissors Ambassador.
Tyrik Jackson: CEO Premier Barber Institute and Sharper Image Barbers, international educator.
At long last, our friends in Northern Ireland are able to get back to work, as the barbering/ salon industry opens back up.
As of today, Friday April 23, Barbers, hairdressers, and other close contact services are allowed to reopen across Northern Ireland.
“It has been a rollercoaster, so it has!” said Barber, Matthew Postlethwaite. “Not knowing when we were going to open, waiting to open, and just really praying that we can back to work ASAP.
“So it is just a big relief to be getting back!”
Best of luck from Barber EVO to all out friends in Northern Ireland!
Residents of Milwaukee were offered the chance to have more than just a haircut at Gee’s Clippers barbershop recently when the popular barbershop was offering Covid-19 vaccinations.
Gaulien ‘Gee’ Smith, owner of the shop had teamed up with Anthem Blue cross Shield, Hayat Pharmacy and Unite WI to turn his wellness clinic into a Covid vaccination site.
The clinic, located at the back of his barbershop at 2200 N. King Drive, operated every Saturday starting March 27 through April 17.
“I’m geeked,” Smith said of the opportunity for Gee’s MKE Wellness Clinic. “This is something that I’ve been wanting to do for some time once I knew that the vaccine was coming out. There are so many African Americans — for their own reasons — not getting the vaccine.”
Having a site in the heart of the city would encourage more people to get the vaccine and make it more accessible. Milwaukee County officials recently expanded the eligibility to get the vaccine to those as young as 16 years old in certain ZIP codes.
“Getting back to normal,” he added, “means being part of the cure. The vaccine has been proven safe,” said Smith, who has done public service announcements with Froedtert Hospital and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield promoting the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in Blacks.
An Aberdeen barber group is giving its entire workforce the day off when pubs reopen to help boost the local economy.
Sovereign Grooming will close its Aberdeen salon on April 26 – the day lockdown restrictions are eased – to allow its team to support local food and drink businesses.
Kyle Ross, Sovereign Grooming’s managing director, said recent closures on the high street highlighted the importance of businesses standing together this spring.
He stated: “Our city centres are a business eco-system, and when one sector suffers, it has a knock-on effect for everyone.
“That eco-system has been on a knife-edge at various points over the past year and we feel it’s more important than ever to pull together and help our city centres recover.
“We employ 18 people, so in the grand scheme of things, this is a very small gesture. However, we feel it is important to send a message of support and solidarity, and to do our bit to support Scotland’s city centres.”
The barber group is also delaying the official opening of its flagship New Waverley salon in Edinburgh by 24 hours to give staff the chance to support nearby bars and restaurants.
Mr Ross, who launched Sovereign alongside business partner Ryan Crighton, has won a number of industry awards since opening, including Best Barber UK in 2017.
HAVE YOUR SAY IN SAPIO RESEARCH’S SURVEY AND BE IN WITH AN CHANCE TO WIN £50.
Sapio Research are looking for barbers from all different backgrounds to share their knowledge on all things hair, from education and inspiration to where you buy your products.
The survey will take no longer than 15-20 minutes to complete, and for 50 random respondents, they have a £50 cash prize to give away.
Your experience and understanding of the hairdressing industry is invaluable, and your feedback will help to make improvements and put your needs first. Rest assured that all of your answers and the information you provide will be entirely confidential.
A barber who was given a generous tip by a mystery customer has asked for the anonymous do-gooder to reveal themselves so he can say a simple, ‘thank you’.
David Cardoso, owner of new barber’s shop, Billions, in Victoria arcade, re-opened his doors on Monday, April 12, ready to get “hands on” now that the restrictions were lifted.
Billions Barber Shop originally opened on July 4 last year, but – like other businesses – had been repeatedly closed due to lockdown.
After a haircut on their first day back open, Mr Cardoso was surprised to see an envelope on the floor.
Inside was a card wishing him the best of luck as well as £60 in cash.
The card read: “I am so impressed that you started your business during a pandemic.”
David Cardoso was “really touched” to receive such a gesture, and now hopes to say thank you to the anonymous donor.
Mr Cardoso said: “I thought this was very kind and it really did touch me.”
The NHBF is calling
for a prolonged period of stability in order for hair & beauty businesses
have a fighting chance of recovery, following the results of its latest State
of the Industry survey.
The
sector remains divided about the future with 46% of respondents unsure if their
business will survive until the end of social distancing. Under the
requirements in place prior to the most recent lockdown (Nov/Dec 2020):
Almost 1 in 4 salons (23%) were not earning enough to cover outgoings such as rents, overheads, staff costs and stock etc.
38 per cent were just about breaking even.
only 2 in 5 of businesses across the entire hair and beauty sector were making any kind of profit.
Throughout
the pandemic, the NHBF, working with partners in the sector, was able to secure
further reliefs and financial support for personal care businesses in each of
the four nations. Despite this, fixed outgoings and a lack of ability to
diversify and generate income during lockdown has left businesses with no cash
reserves, growing debt, and at the brink of closure. In fact, Local Data
Company statistics indicate that ten per cent of the industry had been lost to
the crisis by December.
Successive lockdown closures have also had a dramatic impact on
employment:
1 in 6 business owners (16 per cent) have made redundancies as a result of the pandemic, with only 2 in 5 able to rule out further redundancies when furlough ends.
59 per cent have cut staff hours in order to save costs.
More than half of businesses have had to cut apprenticeships during the pandemic (55 per cent).
Only 11 per cent are likely to take on new apprentices in next three months, despite recent government incentives.
Richard Lambert, NHBF chief executive, says: “Financial stability will be the key to returning to profit and stability. Hopefully most hair & beauty businesses who have been able to return to work in the last few weeks will have enjoyed record income. However, they need the chance to get their head above water. As things stand, they’ll have to start repaying rent arrears and the debts and loans accrued over the last year just when business rates relief and furlough come to an end.
“Tackling this tsunami of financial obligations under long term social distancing requirements will scotch any chance for the industry to be profitable. It will be even less likely that businesses will have the resources, capacity or financial ability to take on or keep apprentices, putting the future skills of the sector in real jeopardy.”
The NHBF recommends that the most beneficial
policy measures over the next six months would be:
Social distancing measures and operational restrictions within close-contact guidance should be phased out as soon as it is safe to do so if the sector is to return to profit.
A temporary reduction in VAT
Easier access to support grants should businesses struggle to recover
An extension to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) should the economy have failed to recover after September.
As featured in the April edition of BarberEVO North America
Looking to rewrite the standards of grooming and fuelled by the knowledge and artistry from leading barbers, the STMNT brand looks to go beyond the product. We caught up with the co-creators of STMNT to find out a little more about what their brand has to offer.
The STMNT brand is a product of the collaboration between some of the industry’s most innovative and cutting-edge artists: LA based, Julius Cvesar and Sofie Pok, as well as Miguel Gutierrez aka Nomad, from Liverpool, UK. Between the three, they have more than 50 years’ experience in the barbering industry, as well as a wealth of knowledge in hair education, visual arts, fashion and editorial.
We asked the group, how did STMNT come to be?
Miguel said: “STMNT was born out of a vision between three creators who all hold the same standards yet have completely different styles to add into the mix. We originally got started after being approached and slowly realized a dream team was being created, that’s when we all got onboard and decided to fully immerse ourselves into developed the brand to what it’s become. Our whole direction was to become a grooming brand that was performance driven, bold and premium in packaging, fragrance and ingredients.”
Talking to the team, it is so clear how well the three get along and fit together creatively. Julius said: “I believe we were specifically chosen to co-create STMNT because of our multi-faceted roles as not only leaders within our industry, but with the already diverse background in visual arts, film, photography, fashion, and education. We all are still active barbering professionals with clientele in our chairs, yet we’ve truly brought a whole new perspective to being a well-rounded image consultant. I believe my connection to raw imagery inspired by metropolis cityscape and brutalism, alongside my visual delivery that takes a lot from my genuine love for art and fashion made me a standout artist to collaborate with my two fellow co-creators.”
So, what makes STMNT stand out amongst the crowd?
“The beautiful thing about STMNT is that it can work for the girl on-the-go, the guy getting ready for a formal event, the couple at the gym, or the family on vacation. STMNT promotes individuality and acceptance. Barbering has been known as a male dominated field, but we knew how important it was to build a brand that would serve the stylists, cosmetologists, and barbers all the same” says Sofie.
Miguel added that the brand is completely gender neutral, and all of their products are cocktail-able: “We are truly set far above any barber brand in my view for versatility and range of types of product.”
In terms of creative process, unlike other brands that just stick a well-known name to a product, the STMNT creators were involved in every part of the process.
Julius continued, “In creating STMNT, it was important that myself, Sofie, and Miguel as the professional co-creators not only put our combined knowledge and expertise to use in creating the line, but truly worked in unison with our brand development team’s strength to bring the line to full fruition. The storytelling and vision had to be vividly clear across the board with every department.”
The question on everyone’s minds? What statement are they aiming to make?
“STMNT is bold, it is demanding, and it’s the definition of how we all choose to live our lives. We hope to inspire others to find their purpose and share their gifts with the world and to get specific! Stand up for who you are and the changes you are trying to make” said Sofie.
“We are really aiming to rewrite the standards of men’s grooming” adds Miguel. “The industry has been and will always be in a transition state from one thing to the next, but I believe what we’ve created will live on way beyond any other trends currently out there.”
“When co-creating STMNT, one message (or statement) I really wanted to purvey is that being a barber is more than just a hair service – we are so much more. These products were developed with not only acknowledging the core essentials in product styling with the line, but also innovated new iterations of product attributes that can notably be standout to professionals and clients alike. Bridging the gap between Barbering and Salon ecosystems, the acknowledgement of gender-neutral aesthetics, and a focus on professional grade to lifestyle driven performance were all key points in making our statement.”
To find out more, read about STMNT in our April edition of BarberEVO North America or go to https://www.stmntgrooming.us/
