BarbersRide 2023 is thrilled to announce that Denman has agreed to be the official sponsor of this year’s ride which kicks off in August around Ireland.

Denman will be providing VIP toolkits for the riders and brushes for all the goody bags at each stage of the ride.

The charity of choice for this year’s ride, ‘Make a Wish Foundation’, has a special place in the heart of Denman Chairman John Rainey MBE. Back in 2000, Denman sponsored a child through Make a Wish foundation. That child was James Baker, a boy suffering from a life-limiting condition that causes tumours and a series of complex medical conditions. James had just one wish, which was to stay in a hotel in Belfast.

John Rainey wanted to do even more, so when he discovered that James had both a passion for the Belfast Giants Ice Hockey team and art, John arranged for VIP tickets to a Giants Hockey game and coaching from two local artists too.

James Baker is now 33 and has gone on to be a thriving artist as well as creating designs to decorate Denman brushes – he even has his own private box donated by the Belfast Giants Ice Hockey Team to protect him from infection.

Recently Xavier Berrell and seven riders dropped by for a visit to Denman HQ in Bangor to meet the team and say hello to James. James is pictured centre with all the bikers.

BarberEVO are proud media sponsors for BarbersRide and you can find out all about this year’s incredible event at www.barbersride.com/theride#full-ride-details

Vernon Jackson began Gifted Program haircuts at Noble Barber and Beauty after ‘hearing so many horror stories’ at other shops, reported the Guardian.

Even on his days off Vernon Jackson goes in to work at his barbershop in Cincinnati – it’s because that’s the day he has set aside to give free haircuts to children with special needs.

The kindness which Jackson offers at his Noble Barber and Beauty shop earned a profile from CBS News this week. Jackson told the network he began his Gifted Program haircuts in 2021 after “hearing so many horror stories that parents were going through with … barbers or stylists having no patience with their [children]” at other shops.

Academic research suggests that the reported lack of patience for parents struggling to buy haircuts for their special needs children poses a real dilemma for them. Studies have shown people typically feel more confident and in control in both social as well as professional settings with good, fresh haircuts.

Jackson resolved to sacrifice his day off and open his shop only to children with special needs who were looking to get a proper cut. And what’s more, he tells the children’s parents that their money’s no good there on those days.

“There [are] no other barbers or stylists in the shop, and I [can] give them the full attention they need,” he said in the CBS News report.

Jackson found that at least some of his off-day clients who are sensitive to unfamiliar environments and sounds find the empty shop comforting. His goal is to get the children acclimated to barbershops in general so they can eventually feel comfortable going in for haircuts when there are other patrons around.

Friends and other benefactors sponsor the haircuts that Jackson gives on his day off through donations to an online GoFundMe campaign, according to what he told CBS.

Gifted Program parents “would pay any amount of money just for their child to be able to have an experience like any other person”, he said to the network. “And at the end of it, I can tell them, ‘It’s covered.’”

Those parents often try to tip Jackson a gratuity, he says, but he tells them: “No, trust me … this is a gift from the community, myself – please receive it.”

Instagram users flood Jackson’s account on the platform with encouragement and compliments whenever he posts videos of him cutting the hair of Gifted Program clients.

“I have happy tears,” one user wrote in the comments of a video that Jackson posted showing him lining a Gifted Program boy up in March. “You are truly doing amazing things.”

The Fellowship for British Hairdressing has launched its Fellowship Luncheon & Hair Awards for 2023 – the biggest and best independent awards event in the industry.

The Awards are split into four different categories, the Image of the Year Awards, Art & Commerce Awards, Honours Awards and new for 2023, the SPOTLIGHT Award. All of these can be easily entered online using The Fellowship’s Awards Platform.

All awards winners will be celebrated at The Fellowship for British Hairdressing’s Luncheon & Hair Awards taking place at the Londoner in Leicester Square, London on Monday 4^th December 2023, which is assured to be the hottest ticket in town, where Fellowship members, sponsors, brand partners and their guests can network alongside the coolest new talent, whilst celebrating the evolution of the Fellowship as it continues to shape the future of hairdressing.

Commenting on the awards launch, Barry Stephens CEO, The Fellowship for British Hairdressing, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of our 2023 awards, including the brand new 2023 Spotlight Award. There are awards to suit everyone – whether you are a creative with beautiful collection imagery that would be suitable for the Image of the Year Awards, or more business focused with our Art & Commerce Awards. We also have our Honours Awards, which allow us to reward our Fellowship Team Members for their hard work and dedication to The Fellowship.”

Fellowship President Robert Eaton added: “Awards are a fantastic way to celebrate the exceptional talent we have within the industry, their passion, skills and expertise and we’re thrilled to have our own awards that allow us to give back to the very best in hairdressing talent, our members, and Fellowship Teams and Projects.”

CATEGORIES

2023 SPOTLIGHT AWARD

Split into two categories, the over 25’s and under 25’s, SPOTLIGHT is a virtual competition and the latest initiative from the Fellowship to find the next generation of talent and stars for the future.

IMAGE OF THE YEAR AWARDS:

• Fellowship Image of the Year Award
• Colour Image of the Year Award
• Men’s Image of the Year Award
• Afro Image of the Year Award
• Snapshot Image of the Year Award
• International Image of the Year Award

ART & COMMERCE AWARDS:

• Salon Group of the Year Award
• Individual Salon of the Year Award
• Session Hair Stylist of the Year Award
• Educator of the Year Award

HONOURS AWARDS:

• Hairdresser of the Year Award
• HALL OF F.A.M.E. Award
• Gold Medal Award
• Fellow with Distinction Award
• Fellow with Honours Award
• Member of the Year Award
• Projects – Achiever of the Year Award

Criteria for each of the categories can be found here: Fellowship Luncheon & Hair Awards Brochure 2023 and all entries should be submitted here: Fellowship Awards Platform

Men are increasingly making an event of getting their wedding haircut just right – taking their cue from how women have prepared for weddings for centuries.

Wedding haircut events – where a barber is booked to set up in the groom’s home and good friends are invited around for drinks and food – are the latest wedding trend.

Giuliano Dore, who set up Get Groomed Mobile Barbers as a response to a surge in demand for home haircuts and beard trims following the Covid pandemic, has seen a huge rise in demand for wedding events.

He said: “There is a tradition in many cultures of brides gathering with their bridesmaids to have their hair done and make-up just before a wedding. But in the past in the UK, men and the groom simply queued at the local barber shop waiting their turn!

“Now, everyone wants to have memorable photos and videos and to look their best. Men also want to make more of the preparations with both same-sex and heterosexual wedding days now including a barbering experience.

“It is quite common for two grooms to want identical haircuts and getting them done together ensures they look just right. Heterosexual men now want to ensure the best man and other male attendants look just right. Throw in some drinks and music; it is another fun aspect of the wedding.”

Get Groomed Mobile Barbers are booked online and can set up anywhere, bringing with them everything needed to ensure hair is styled, beards are trimmed or shaves are perfectly smooth. But Giuliano Dore says planning is essential.

He said: “I would advise grooms to consult with the barber first about the style they want. A dramatic change for a wedding day may not always be the most sensible thing to do. In many ways, it might be better to have a restyle a month or two before so the wedding cut is just a tidy up and there are no shocks for any party involved.

“A buzzcut is stylish on most people and suits men who want to look good on a formal occasion, but there is a danger you can go too short too quickly. For those who want to look more stylish with a bit of panache and individuality, a pompadour may be the right answer, but everyone is individual and it is an important day, so take time to get it right.”

In the home and workplace barbering has grown in popularity with both customers and barbers. Many traditional barbers have been struggling with the overheads of shop premises. At the same time, the public appetite for crowded waiting rooms reduced during the Covid pandemic and people prefer to have a home visit rather than sit being watched by a room full of strangers as they have their hair styled.

Said Giuliano: “People shop online for just about everything now, rather than wander down the High Street hoping to find the holiday, music, or service they want. The first place they turn is their phone and we find people want to book a haircut on our website and fix it for a time to suit themselves. We also have a number of corporates who book our barbers for workplace events.”

Get Groomed Mobile Barbers www.gogetgroomed.co.uk have qualified and skilled barbers operating in London, Birmingham and Manchester along with Guildford, Surry with plans to expand to other areas of the UK.

Stephen Farrar, owner of Custom Belmont is joining a band of friends to raise money for the #justicefortommy campaign. Tommy Kneebone was a thriving seven-month-old baby who passed away suddenly. The Kneebone family are raising funds to help cover costs as they strive to obtain justice by challenging the hospital care he received.

Tommy’s father, Josh Kneebone is a barber from Kent who has Strops Barbershop in Crowborough and is a friend of Stephen. Having seen firsthand the devastating effect of losing Tommy, Stephen has decided to raffle off a Takara Belmont Dainty chair to raise funds.

A Takara Belmont Dainty Chair is a much-coveted item to barbers, as it is seen as the pinnacle of quality in barbershop chairs. This is the perfect chance to have this iconic chair in your barbershop for the cost of a £10 donation. They are worth in the region of £1500.00 and he hopes to draw the raffle at the Barber Connect event in June in Telford.

To enter the raffle, please donate what you can. The suggested donation is £10.00, please remember to add your name to be added to the raffle, and support the #justicefortommy campaign. You can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/justicefortommy1?utm_term=eRbNx6XyWo,

Giuliano Dore, the owner of Get Groomed talks about how he was begged to break the law during lockdown.

The creator of a mobile barber website has revealed people were begging him to break the law during the lockdown and were asking for him to send a barber to their homes to give them a haircut.

Giuliano Dore, founder of Get Groomed, said: “We learned that a lot of people were trying to have haircuts regardless of a law stating that they couldn’t, which came as a surprise.

“We received so many messages each day from people wanting one of our barbers to come to their homes with us telling them: “It’s not going to work. It’s not possible. We can’t do that”.

“Although, we couldn’t satisfy their requests, as a young business it was great to know our website was making its mark and that promised good times ahead once the restrictions were over.”

Giuliano said the website, launched in London in 2017, was now back in full swing and expanding nationwide with new services in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, and existing services in London, Kent and Guildford.

“At the end of the third lockdown in April 2021, we able to fully reopen, albeit with very strict restrictions, and we were astonished at the response,” he added.

“Within 24-hours we saw a real spike in bookings, including a demand for haircuts, beard restyling and luxury shaves, which was so heartening after all the quarantine restrictions.

“Many of our clients told us they were opting for our at-home service to avoid being exposed to the virus in crowded barbershops and happily have stayed with us ever since.

“We also have a number of businesses looking for ways to attract workers back into the office who have started holding events where we set up mobile barbershops in the workplace.”

The Get Groomed website was founded by Giuliano and product manager Sabrina Vjaykumar.

For further information visit: www.gogetgroomed.co.uk

The Fellowship for British Hairdressing’s Project Men welcomes three new Brand Partners to work alongside the mentoring programme.  

Captain Fawcett, Matakki Scissors and Wahl will be working alongside project leader Simon Shaw to ensure the project members extend their knowledge and skills in all things men’s hair and barbering, as well as product knowledge and education in the latest techniques.  

Simon says: “We’re really excited to be working with our new Brand Partners, which will bring even more opportunities for the team members. Our calendar of events and education continue to raise the standards of barbering and men’s hairdressing, bringing together some of the best names in the industry to mentor the next generation.  

“Wahl is excited to be the Electrical Partner for Project Men, it’s a great opportunity to show the next generation what we can offer, and allows us to do more project days and offer amazing education to inspire the future generation of men’s hairdressers and barbers.” 

Captain Fawcett Founder Richie Finney, comments: “Captain Fawcett is simply delighted to have been invited to supply the wet products for the Project Men programme. This opportunity is hugely exciting for ambassadors and brand partners alike. Suffice to say that the Captain is chuffed to bits to be involved and further looks forward to welcoming the Project Men Crew to Fawcett HQ.” 

Matakki Scissors Director James Curd says: “We are delighted to collaborate with Project Men and the Fellowship for British Hairdressing. In the short space we’ve been working with this Project we have been blown away by the talent we have witnessed and the level of the work that is being produced by the team under Simon’s guidance. The opportunities for the delegates on this course are unreal, and we are excited to be recognised as a part of that in providing our scissors.” 

Director Emma Curd added: “We were incredibly excited to be asked to work alongside Simon Shaw and some other fantastic leading brands in the industry. Coming from a regulated professional background, I personally believe that excellent training, standards and continued professional development, is essential to any industry. We have always worked to provide opportunities for our ambassadors and working partners to meet those standards and share their knowledge.” 

Drop by booth #181 and see some of the industry’s top barbers doing cutting demos throughout the day today, Monday at the world’s largest Barber Expo, the CT Barber Expo which is now in its 11^th year.

Cutting today at the BarberEVO booth are:

Alex Rivera, Johnny B educator – 2.30 pm @chinnossalon

Queen of the South, the braiding ninga! – 5pm @queenofthesouth512

Drew Da Barber – 6.15pm  @drewdabarber

Come by and pick up the latest issue of BarberEVO and get the chance to feel like a BarberEVO cover star. Grab your best buddies and get a picture taken in the EXCLUSIVE COVER PHOTO BOOTH. You’re Instagram will thank you!

The team at Aaron Michaels barbershop in Livingstone in Scotland were treated to a morning of education from Reuzel educator, Paul Taylor Clinch @pirate_paulus.

Paul was showing the team some of the expert techniques he has perfected over the years following his training at the world-famous Schorem barbershop in Rotterdam, home of the Reuzel brand.

The team asked him to demonstrate the specifics of side parting placement. Paul spent the morning showing them how he approaches a haircut by using varying shape patterns, and by starting on the top of the head first, perfecting the style and then finishing with the fade, if required.

Finding the baseline, working with precision, how to make the client feel relaxed and the importance of the final silhouette was all discussed.

Paul is a great advocate of letting the head shape and hair dictate the finished style using his experience and knowledge as a barber. Also, he taught the importance of working efficiently.

He finished the session by going through the Reuzel product range he recommended and what particular product to use to get the best hold for the specific style. He encouraged the barbers to use the product in the hair before the blowdry, as there is no point in finishing a cut, then having to misplace the look by adding product later.

Paul finished by showing the silhouette of the pomp he created, saying “This cut was designed based on the style the client asked for, the growth pattern, and the shape of the head.”

Aaron Michaels, owner of the barbershop said: “We were delighted to host Paul here today, I’ve been following his work for some time. We have all learned new techniques, loads of tips and tricks and it has given my team a new level of confidence. It has reiterated some of the techniques they already knew but Paul has explained them in detail showing them exactly why they are doing them and the results they can get.”

The event was part of a Reuzel tour, and the team has visited Rum Barber barbershop in Glasgow the day before to educate on specific techniques as well as Reuzel product use.

Simon May of Dapper Dan hair products has put in many hours of hard work in order to enjoy the success he has today with his brand, and over the years, he has learned some invaluable lessons he would like to share on product development in the barbering industry.

Simon takes up the story. “The hardest part of product development is knowing when to stop! Dapper Dan’s first offering ‘Matt Paste’ took me 10 years and five different cosmetic labs to perfect. But in reality, the time spent agonising over this exceptional product was as much to do with my own inexperience as it was the difficulty in creating such a unique styling product. 

“As the Matt paste was my first product, I wanted it to be everything to everyone. And although we achieved as close to this as humanly possible, as time went on and as the Dapper Dan styling range grew, it became easier to focus in on the unique attributes of each product. Tailoring each development to specific requirements, in order to build a balanced and effective range of grooming products for men. 

“Cosmetic product development is all about consistency! The process of development is long and difficult, with many obstacles and disappointments. This is why staying consistent with the brief and objectives from the start is paramount.” 

Simons top tips for product development.

1. Be confident! Remember that you are a professional in your field, and the chemist or company you commission to produce your products don’t have that same level of practical experience.

2. Trust your gut! If you’re talking to a potential cosmetic company about developing a bespoke range of products, Make sure you feel they are suitable from the start and are listening to your unique requirements.

3. Start Small! We all have two or three favourite products that we work with as barbers. Start by developing one or two of these first. You know these products best and you can keep costs down with development fees.

4. Be original! As the barber industry has grown over the past 10 years, so has the amount of men’s grooming brands along with it. Avoid market saturation by developing products and a brand that offers something new.

5. Have Fun! The road to completing a successful development and taking delivery of your first batch of products can be long and hard. I remember looking forward to the early Dapper Dan samples turning up like it was Christmas day. Then testing the products in my shop with my team and involving clients etc was all very exciting. 

Over the past 10 years, Dapper Dan’s global presence has grown exponentially. As has the range of Dapper Dan products.

“Considering we started with just one product, it’s crazy to look at how the brand and range of products has grown and evolved. This is mainly due to Dapper Dan being represented in so many markets around the world. Each one having slightly different hair types and cultural styles.'”

See dapperdanbrand.com