The Professional Beauty Association (PBA), the largest and most inclusive national trade organization representing manufacturers, distributors, salon and spa business owners, and licensed beauty professionals, is excited to provide two important reminders regarding NAHA. As the top hair and makeup competition in North America, NAHA is the premiere platform for beauty professionals to push the boundaries and bring their artistic visions to life.

The first is to announce the call for entries for NAHA 2022 opens June 14th. The second is to provide details regarding the live awards show for NAHA 2021, which will take place August 29th at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Tickets are on sale now.

Call for Entries Opens June 14th for NAHA 2022

Categories for the 33rd Annual North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) are as follows:

New in 2022, NAHA is replacing the Men’s Hairstyling category with Barbering. Additionally, NAHA is bringing back NAHA Remix, which allows artists to enter previously submitted collections as long as they meet certain criteria.

Entrants for all categories must be licensed cosmetologists or barbers, with the exceptions of Student Hairstylist of the Year, Makeup Artist of the Year and Inspiring Salon of the Year.

Key dates for NAHA 2022 are as follows:

Entries Open: June 14, 2021

 Entries Close: September 10, 2021

 Finalist Announcement: November 10, 2021

NAHA 2022 Award Ceremony: January 30, 2022—Long Beach, CA

For specific category rules and to enter, please visit probeauty.org/NAHA2022.

Tickets Now on Sale for the 2021 North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA)

NAHA 2021 will take place on August 29th at Cosmoprof North America (CPNA) in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center. NAHA is the must-attend event for the who’s who of the beauty industry, where attendees experience the magic of the red carpet, mingle with the best and brightest in the business and watch artistic vision come to life.

Usually held in Long Beach in January, NAHA 2021 was pushed back to August to ensure it could remain live and in-person. “This will undoubtedly be an unprecedented event,” shares Nina Daily, PBA’s Chief Marketing Officer and incumbent Executive Director. “The level of artistry that will be on display, set against the backdrop of Las Vegas, is just what the industry has been craving.”

 NAHA 2021 will be hosted by Michael Shaun Corby and will feature a Mainstage Performance by 2020 NAHA Hairstylist of the Year Silas Tsang, an Artistic Presentation by Ulta, and many other surprises.

For pricing and information on VIP packages, as well as special offers exclusively available to Professional Beauty Association members, visit probeauty.org/naha. For media credentials, please contact press@probeauty.org or fill out this form.

Sunderland barbershop owner, Shado Hasso and brother Basil, to offer free haircuts to those with disabilities as a way ‘to give back to the community’.

The brothers, who both own their own Star barbershops respectively, have joined together to dive into the charitable venture together. Shado had even went into care homes pre-pandemic to give free haircuts but currently is unable to continue this.

He has been offering the free service to those who have disabilities which make it difficult to earn an income to afford the expenditure such as a haircut and has done for the last four years.

“We want as many people to know so that more people can benefit from it” says Shado. He also states that the service is for anyone with any disability and at any age, and that they don’t even have to book beforehand.

They have been praised by both locals and people online for the hard work and kindness, receiving messages of positive affirmation on Facebook and by their patrons.

City Image Barbers announced today, 9th of June 2021, that they will be providing all of their full-time employees with healthcare throughout their nine locations.

In very powerful video they posted on their Instagram today, they presented their employees with the news that they will now receive a benefits package including; free healthcare, free dental, free vision, paid sick time, paid vacation time, and 401k benefits.

They addressed that the barbering industry was far behind in regards to proper healthcare, and given the state of the world over the last year and a half they made it a personal mission to make sure that their workers were now taken care of.

They say “We decided to make it our personal mission to put this on our shoulders and push the industry forward and set the standard not just for our company, but for the entire industry as a whole”.

The barbering chain managed to achieve this momentous triumph with no funding from outside investment.

The link to the video is posted below, please go and like and follow –

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP4RZ_OBrpi/

image: https://www.facebook.com/cityimagecaldwell/

Exauce Imbo discovered a love and passion for hair from a very young age.

He watched his father in awe growing up while his friends came over to the family home to get their hair done, Imbo considered what he saw to be nothing short of an art form.

With years and years of persuaded hair cuts on his brothers he is now established himself as one of Glasgow’s (Scotland) black haircare barbers – a title which also follows with a list of celebrity clients, which include Celtic Footballer, Odsonne Edouard, Rangers Footballer, Jermain Defoe as well as reality TV stars, Wes Nelson and Chris Biggs.

Even with the risk of opening his first shop during the global pandemic, he knew that he owed it to his 14-year-old self to keeping going, for the both of them.

In his interview with BBC Radio Scotland, Exauce told Stephan Jardine how his family – specifically his brothers helped pav the way for his success.

He goes on to say “”I had plenty of disasters along the way. But you learn from it”, also jokingly says that due to both his brothers being younger, they had no choice other than to go along with it.

Having now at the age of 19 launching his own shop near Ibrox football stadium Exauce informs the morning show that he has been fully booked both over June and July, finishing with “It comes down to the craft itself. If you are giving out a good service, a good haircut, if you communicate with your client and they like it they will come back to you. If they don’t, they won’t”.

Black-owned salons and barber shops are set to be turned into possible COVID vaccine sites, says Health officials.

City Health Officials and the National Association, as part of a White House initiative, has established a plan to help train Black-owned hair salons and barber shops to help provide accurate information and dish out vaccines where possible, along with providing information says Lori Tremmel Freeman, Chief Executive Officer of NACCHO.

On Wednesday the Biden Administration said they were teaming up with multiple organisations such as the Black Coalition Against COVID, the University of Maryland Centre for Health Equity, and the Shea Moisture company. The initiative is to be called “Shots at the shop” is to engage black-owned barbers and salons throughout America to promote vaccine education and have local outreach.

This could be an indicator as to why salons and barbers have been chosen to host these educational events, Freeman goes on “The role that NACCHO’s going to play is trying to match barber shops and beauty shops with local health departments, so that we can forge a relationship there and figure out if any of these business locations can also become vaccination sites or what it would take for that to happen”.

For generations salons and barbers have been safe havens for African American people, especially in the time of segregation. They could gather in numbers feel safe in their community, and now decades later the safe space of feeling continues and discuss topics such as health and wellbeing.

Lincolnway Barber Shop in Plainfield, Illinois is celebrating its amazing 140^th birthday by treating its customer to haircuts costing $1.40!

“This barbershop is 140-years-old, pretty much in the same spot in Plainfield, Illinois, and I’m the fourth generation to own it.” Said owner Don Kinley.

Mr Kinley still sweeps the floors and cutting a few heads at the Lincoln Way Barber Shop in Plainfield, just as many of his family did before him; grandfather, and great-grandfather who first bought the shop in 1881.

Kinley then goes on to say, “It’s probably maybe one of the oldest businesses, family owned, in the state of Illinois.”

Albert Worst, Don’s great grandfather, bought the barbershop in the very same street in Plainfield block 140 years ago this week, and back in the day it was so much more than just another place to get a haircut.

“It was the place where people gathered,” says Sharon, Kinley’s Wife.” It was the place where people would express their views on everything. It was political. It was about all those things and what’s happening with the farms and businesses in town and all.”

Regular customer, Paul Fey, says “”It’s an anchor in the community. Trusted family. Trusted name. And a trusted haircut,” he has been coming back for 35 years.

On Sunday they start the festivities with family, former workers, and to top it all off, a barber shop quartet. They also start their promotional $1.40 haircuts.

“I loved what I did. It wasn’t work or anything and still made a few bucks. Never dreaded a day going to work.” Kindley says finally – and that he plans on leaving the business to his children and grandchildren.

Barber launches mental health support for barbers: Care Behind the Chair

Oran Lasocki has launched a supportive network for those working within the barbering and hairdressing industry called ‘Care Behind The Chair’.

“We all focus on supporting our clients and providing a safe space for them to discuss their feelings and experiences of mental health, we rarely consider our own mental health as an industry. This network will facilitate informal sharing and conversation opportunities for those who have or are currently experiencing mental health illness in any form. Through coffee and conversation events held digitally, CBTC aims to be whatever users need or want it to be. I am keen to hear from readers about what this network could look like, what potential users might find helpful, and how shops and businesses could get involved.”

Our values:

• All welcome – everyone has a place in CBTC
• Confidential – when signing up to an event, everyone agrees to respect the privacy and confidentiality of their fellow users.
• No judgements – everyone in attendance will create a safe and welcoming environment for each other to share.
• Supportive – everyone in attendance will provide a supportive environment to their fellow users.

Oran is a 29-year-old from Aberdeen, Scotland, living in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, and now managing at Barber Barber UK in Spitalfields London. Oran has been barbering for eight years, managing to work in some of the best shops and companies in the UK.

“I have always poured my time and efforts into my work, which had been somewhat a cover for how I was feeling and how my mental health was. In 2020 and alongside the pandemic I was diagnosed with clinical depression and high anxiety, I went to work with meds and therapy straight away which has been a positive step in my journey.“

“I slowly started to tell friends, family and colleagues, which sparked a question, ‘why aren’t there any social or wellbeing networks for people in our industry?’. Which is why I wanted to start Care Behind The Chair. We put on a brave face and leave our issues at the door while we are at work making sure that every client gets the best experience possible, but now this will be a space for us to get together and voice our worries and talk about our mental and physical wellbeing.”

“I need your help to get this network off the ground, I want it to be created by us and for us. If you want or need anyone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on carebehindthechair@gmail.com or if you are interested in helping and joining the network to help it positively grow.”

Email Contact: carebehindthechair@gmail.com

World-leading manufacturer of grooming tools for barbers and stylists, Andis Company, is delighted to announce that renowned barber, men’s stylist, educator and photographer Kevin Luchmun has joined the brand as ‘International Artistic Team Lead’.

INSPIRATION MEETS EDUCATION

In a newly created role that seeks to accelerate Andis’ international presence by building upon its global reputation for world-class tools, education and creative inspiration, Kevin will play a pivotal role in the development of educational programs and artistic directions for photoshoots. He will also be instrumental in the formation of new programs to continually develop the creative and editorial talents of Andis’ audience of creators.

BEHIND THE CHAIR & BEHIND THE LENS

As one of the UK’s most recognisable and respected men’s stylists, Kevin’s technical hair cutting skills have positioned him as one of the industry’s most inspiring barbers, men’s stylists and educators.            

A multi-award-winning stylist spanning barbering and men’s hairdressing, Kevin’s work on editorial photoshoots and collection photography, and the relationship between hairstyling, fashion and the visual presentation of technical cuts, has seen his creativity extend into a signature photography style. As passionate about photography as he is about hairstyling, both are approached and revered in equal measure with his work appearing on the covers and in the pages of international trade and consumer magazines, on the catwalks, online and across social media where Kevin has amassed a following of over 90k on Instagram alone.

According to Angie Perino, Andis Global Education Manager, it’s Kevin’s multi-faceted skills base, creative vision, technical precision and stage craft both as a hair artist and educator that led to the creation of this new role. “We’re so delighted to be partnering with Kevin as we continue to expand our outreach to barbers and stylists around the world. 

“We pride ourselves in providing world-class educational programs and inspiration that provide the road map to a successful career! Kevin will be working closely with our other internationally renowned educators, including Kenny Duncan – our North American Artistic Team Lead in the USA and Canada – to merge all strands of our educator network into a global vision that empowers barbers and stylists to express their individuality, maximise their creative talents and exceed their artistic potential through hair and imagery.” 

THE FIRST MISSION: FLUID VOL3

Following the worldwide success of FLUID Vols. 1 & 2 – a combined artistic hair collection and educational concept that integrates with Andis’ groundbreaking Virtual Education resource, Kevin’s first assignment will be to lead the creation of FLUID Vol.3.  Angie Perino: “This program will include educational videos, learning modules and a stunning look book with steps to teach our learners how to create the featured looks.  Kevin will be contributing to creating a vision for the collection, selecting models, orchestrating photography and video and finalising all details of the final edits. I can hardly wait to see Kevin’s inspiration come through in our very first Andis FLUID collection captured in the UK!”

KEVIN LUCHMUN – ‘JOINING ANDIS WAS MY DESTINY AND A DREAM COME TRUE’

For Kevin Luchmun, joining Andis is a dream come true. Unlike ambassadorships that hinge on commercial arrangements alone, Kevin has long-held a deep rooted respect for Andis and was determined to work with the brand from the outset. “Very early in my career I got the opportunity to work on the Andis stage at Salon International. From that moment I was passionate about Andis and I was always intent on working with the brand. For me there was never an alternative to Andis; I’ve waited a long time for this to come to fruition.

“Now I’ve reached this point in my career and have so many achievements and accolades, the timing and the type of position couldn’t be more perfect. I look forward to working with Angie and the global team to elevate Andis’ brand appeal and educational resource base, as well as highlighting the precision and performance of its industry-leading tools.”

Kevin officially joined Andis on May 1st 2021.

The first Monday of the month is a special day inside O’Neil’s Barber and Beauty Shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Children get a free haircut, and a unique opportunity to work on their reading ability, with books sprinkled throughout the shop. Indeed as soon as they come into the shop, they collect a book and become engrossed in the plot prior to sitting in the chair.

Once in the chair, the barbers assist with any difficult or hard to understand words, and enquire about the plot and story that the children have been reading.

Shop owner O’Neil Curtis created the Line 4 Line program in 2014 with volunteer Lucy Perera. Each year this program serves 200 kids aged between 3 to 16 years old.

You can find out more about this amazing program here: https://www.facebook.com/Line4LineBR/

Do not adjust your computer screen or handset… we bring you news of the Lahore based barber Ali Abbas…

Ali is, somewhat controversially, swapping his clippers and scissors, for meat cleavers and blow torches.

Sometimes pictures (and a video) speak louder than words… so watch at your discretion…!

and DO NOT try this at home, or in your barbershop!

Abbas charges $13 / 2,000 rupees for the ‘treatment’ and has seen his popularity and fame grow rapidly thanks to the hype around his unusual technique and tools.