Captain Fawcett and BarbersRide has announced the phenomenal opportunity to own a bespoke work of art by the extraordinary Vincent Kamp, one of Britain’s most exciting and distinctive artists. The subject of the painting will be none other than the winner of this competition who will be invited to sit for their own portrait and as such, be forever immortalised in Vincent’s magnificently imagined world.

The competition opens on 28 April, 2021 and closes 30th June, 2021 at 11:59pm GMT.

Just 1,000 tickets will be made available and the winner will be decided by a raffle. Tickets are just £10 each. There is no limit to how many tickets you can buy, so more tickets means more entries and more chances of winning! All monies raised will be donated to Make-A-Wish.

Vincent Kamp will pick the winner out of a hat live on Instagram TV (date TBC).

This astounding competition is open to all, across the globe. However, the initial photographic studies for the painting will take place at Captain Fawcett’s HQ in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK.

All monies raised will be donated to the 2021 BarbersRide Charity Appeal for Make-A-Wish. By entering the draw, you will actively support their excellent work helping make dreams come true for seriously ill children and their families.

Vincent Kamp is known for sequences of highly cinematic paintings that tell a powerful tale. Populating his dark, gritty underground world of urban subculture, friends of the Captain Fawcett will recognise familiar faces, including Fawcett Ambassador Maxwell Newton. Vincent’s esteemed work is of such calibre & high renowned that original paintings sell for upwards of £10K. Good Lord! 

To enter this competition to raise funds for charity, click here.

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.

Follow @probarber_wordseries on Instagram or @probarberworldseries on Facebook for up to the minute updates on this not to be missed competition.

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.

To start the survey click here.

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.

The time has now come for one voice to represent the many industry professionals from all parts of the hair, barber, beauty and nail sector joining together, working together for the betterment of the sector.  The British Hair & Beauty Collective is finally here!

Hairdressers, Barbers & Beauty professionals across the UK have been calling for the fragmented personal care sector to be fully represented for many years. More recently, the Coronavirus pandemic exposed the weaknesses in the industry exposing fault lines that have been with us for so many years.

The Government have now recognised the need for the Personal Care Sector to be given their own department within the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy  (BEIS) team to help with the many issues surrounding Covid-19, compliance and more moving forward.

Therefore, The Hair & Barber Council along with Salon Owners United have formed a collaboration and are now delighted to launch ‘The British Hair & Beauty Collective’  – a much needed unification and collaboration with one voice representing all in the sector, able to talk to Government directly as one collective and giving us a clear strategy for the future.

Applications to join the ‘Collective’ will follow shortly.

Keith Conniford, Registrar and CEO of The Hairdressing Council, trading as The Hair and Barber Council: “The fragmentation of our sector has been an issue for many decades, one of the main reasons successive Governments have never taken our industry seriously. Very sad to say, this situation is becoming worse instead of better, and unless things change we will never be taken seriously or regarded as the professional industry we truly are. With the launch of this totally inclusive and equally represented Collective, we have a real chance to make a make a significant difference that will change the perception of our industry for generations to come.

Collette Osborne, founder of Salon Owners United said: “As a salon owner who employs many hair and beauty professionals and like many other salons, we feel there are far too many voices claiming to represent us, which can be very confusing. This has been exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic and the many challenges that now follow, so it’s now time for us to be represented by those working in the industry for the industry. I am personally delighted that this much awaited change has finally come which will help to calm the confusion and build a more inclusive and supported industry”

Contact details for Salon Owners United 

Collette Osborne

collette@hairven-salon.co.uk

Contact details for The Hair & Barber Council  

Keith Conniford

keithconniford@haircouncil.org.uk

JPMS^™ has announced Michaeline DeJoria has been named Chief Executive Officer and Jason Yates to President of the company.

Michaeline began working at JPMS in 2007, starting on the production plant floor and following in nearly every department of the business. Ultimately, this led to her role as Vice Chairman, where she has directed the company’s future development for all brands.

Along with bringing extensive experience and expertise to her new role, DeJoria also brings a millennial edge as one of the industry’s youngest CEOs. Jason has been with JPMS since 2012 when he served as the Vice President of Marketing and later expanded his leadership role to include the sales department. In 2018, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

In their new roles, Michaeline will be responsible for driving and directing overarching brand strategies across product, marketing and digital to usher in a new era of innovation, while Jason is continuing the work of operational efficiencies worldwide.