The Chief Executive of the National Hair and Beauty Federation, Hilary Hall, has announced her retirement.

In post since 2013, Hilary stayed on during the coronavirus pandemic , as she had originally shared her decision with the NHBF board earlier in 2020.

Hilary commented, “I have loved every minute of my time with the NHBF and working in this wonderful industry. I’d like to thank Ian Egerton, NHBF President, and the rest of the NHBF Board who have helped to steer us in the right direction, making sure that everything we do is in the very best interest of members.”

Richard Lambert is the new CEO, having joined from the National Landlords Association. Upon taking up the new role, Richard said, “I am thrilled to be appointed as Chief Executive for the National Hair & Beauty Federation and look forward to working with such a vibrant, forward-thinking industry,” comments Richard. “I’m committed to understanding our Members and their concerns, shaping the organisation’s services and communications to support them and creating an open, empowered culture from which we will continue to lobby government for change.”

We thank Hilary for her sterling efforts and wish Richard the very best of luck in the new role.

Following the decision by the Northern Ireland Executive that all close-contact service businesses such as barbershops and salons were required to close until November 13th, a group of Belfast barbers have sought legal advice on available options.

Sean Lawlor (pictured) of Cambridge Barbershop, Andrew Kavanagh of Camlough Barbers, David Lutton of The Corner Barbershop, and Padraig McShane of Cut N Edge have teamed up and hired Phoenix Law to engage with the Executive, particularly around the decision making process that led to the return of such strong restrictions on their businesses.

The group of barbers have raised concerns about how Government ministers have interpreted scientific advice, with the result being an enforced lockdown of their businesses, despite no hard evidence to suggest that barbershops or salons are areas of high transmission of Covid-19.

We wish the barbers involved every success, and hope that, most importantly, their businesses can get back on an even-kilter sooner rather than later.

The six finalists have been announced for this year’s prestigious Wahl Professional UK British Barber of the Year. 

In the line-up are: 

Kyle Rowland – @bk_barber_

Kilian Maddison – @ Amigos_barbers

Dale Hince – @dalehince

Guray Kesman – @guraykesman

Shaun Buckingham – @shaun_fgman

Luka Chitty – @lukasbarbers

There will be a live announcement of the winners mid-November, and we wish all the finalists the best of luck. 

The six finalists for this year’s prestigious Wahl British Barbershop of the Year have also been announced.  

The six finalists are:

Ruffians, Shoreditch @ruffians

Andy’s Barbers Bicester, Oxfordshire @andysbarbers_bicester

Avanzato Grooming Lounge, London @avanzato_grooming_lounge

BiberianGray, Cheltenham @BiberianGray

Cutters Yard, London @cuttersyard

R.W. Wolf Barbers, London @rwwolfbarbers

There will be a live announcement of the winners mid-November, and we wish all the finalists the best of luck. 

Andis Company, a leader in professional tools and education for the barber, beauty and animal grooming industries, has created a new platform focused on in-depth instructional offerings: Andis Virtual Education.

Professionals will be able to dive deeper into education than ever before, with more one-to-one attention in small classes, with some running from between 1.5 to four hours in duration.

Global Education Manager for Andis Barber and Beauty, Angie Perino said, “Our innovative Virtual Education platform will change the game and raise the bar for professional expectations of digital education.”

Andis Beauty and Barber Virtual Education courses begin at $50. Andis Animal Virtual Education courses start at $35. Class fees range based on class length and products included with purchase of tuition.

For more information about Andis Company or the brand’s educational offerings, please visit www.andis.com

Dre Perrin, the owner of Bespoke Men’s Spa in Teaneck, New Jersey, has been honored for his work in weaving together his diverse community. 

Dre has had a street corner renamed after him, it is now called Bespoke / Dre Perrin Way on the corner of Queen Anne Road. Dre’s shop is the oldest black-owned business in Teaneck. 

One of his regular clients describes Dre as being like the mayor of Teaneck. Dre says: “When you walk through the door we don’t talk about politics, religion, sexuality, or race, everyone here is equal, that’s why its so peaceful in here.

“When I first started around here there was a black barbershop, a white shop and a Jewish shop, but I wanted to create diversity so I do everyone’s hair. There’s no hair type I haven’t cut, curly, kinky, or straight. I hired a diverse range of barbers too. I have Latino, White, Dominican, and Jewish barbers here. 

Dre is the first African American man to have a street named after him in Teaneck and does all he can to help the community including sponsoring a Jewish hockey team, (they won the championship this year, that made him happy!) he’s always cheering on others and that’s one of the reasons he has been honored in this way.

There’s a new place to get a haircut in downtown Quincy, MA, and the owners said they want to give you the traditional barbershop experience your grandfather might’ve had when he was just a boy.

Master barber Matthew Thomas, at Gold Line Barbershop, at 830 Maine Street, said their company started out in 2015 in California with a mission to re-create the classic American barbershop with vintage cash registers, traditional barber equipment like antique chairs and more.

He said some of the services they offer are also vintage.

“Straight shaves, skin fades, traditional classic men’s hairstyles. We specialize in all classic men’s hairstyles we do the greaser 50’s haircuts. We do the classic 1920’s haircuts; and we also do a lot of modern cuts as well,” said Thomas.

Thomas said they plan to renovate the storefront with a new gold flake design. They said they signed a long term lease and hope to be in the community long term.

Good luck to Matthew and the team from all at BarberEVO!

North York Community Council, Toronto, has passed a motion to rename a street after a local barber and musician.

The new Jimmy Wisdom Way, which will replace Locksley Avenue from Eglinton West to Hopewell, is named after a renowned member of Toronto’s Jamaican Community.

Wisdom was a talented musician, active community member and leader who helped many newcomers ‘from his barber’s chair’ for more than 35 years.

The street is located right by Wisdom’s barbershop to honour his life and legacy. 

“We are grateful to Councillor Colle for his recognition and leadership to honour our father, affectionately known as Jimmy Wisdom,” said his daughter Ninfa Wisdom.

Wisdom passed away in 2019, but his shop attracted a wide range of clients.

“In renaming this street ‘Jimmy Wisdom Way’ next to where he worked, mentored, and inspired in his barbershop for over 35 years, we honour a man who devoted his whole life to celebrating and respecting his Jamaican roots and culture and weaving this into Toronto’s fabric,” said Mike Colle, Ward 8 councillor who presented the motion.

A four-week close services lockdown has been announced by the First Minister in Northern Ireland. Hair, beauty, barbering and mobile businesses will close from Friday, 16th October at 6pm, unless there is a medical need for these services.

The NHBF is pressing the Northern Ireland Government for urgent clarification on what financial support will be available to our sector and how this will be made available for those who most need it.

Richard Lambert, chief executive of the NHBF said: “It is hugely disappointing that this announcement has been made without any mention of specific financial support. We urgently need assurances from the Northern Ireland Executive that as a minimum they will be providing cash grants for businesses required to close in local lockdowns similar to that of the rest of the UK (England is up to £3,000 per month for each business forced to close). The hair and beauty industry is already under immense strain and many salon and barbershop owners are worried about the survival of their businesses, and the jobs of their employees.”

The NHBF has continued to lobby the UK government and those in the devolved nations to demonstrate that the reopening of close contact services such as those within hair and beauty has not contributed to the current rise in Coronavirus cases. In a recent NHBF poll, an overwhelming 96% of salons and barbershops in Northern Ireland had not been contacted via Test, Trace and Protect (4,107).

The hair and beauty sector has a significant role to play in maintaining the overall health and wellbeing of the public.” With it highly likely that the country will be living with Coronavirus for some time, it is absolutely essential that services such as ours remain operational to support the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of the general public through this crisis.”

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster said: “The Executive has given careful and painstaking consideration of the right blend of actions that will do maximum damage to the virus but minimum harm to life chances today and tomorrow.

“We understand that these interventions will be hard, but they will not be in place for a moment longer than they need to be. I would ask everyone to work with us to save lives and protect our health service.”

The BarberEVO team wish every barber and salon professional the best of luck as you navigate these tricky times. We are so proud of the immense resiliency shown by all in this industry throughout 2020 and are in no doubt that you will continue to adapt, and most importantly, overcome all challenges!

Tom Chapman, founder of The Lions Barber Collective, has announced that they have received a £30,000 grant from The National Lottery in the UK, which will go toward training more than 100 barbers in ‘barber talk training’ in conjunction with World Mental Health Day.

Tom says: “This awards allows us to train more barbers to recognise the signs if someone is struggling, to ask the questions we may be scared to ask, to listen with empathy and without judgement and give them the knowledge to signpost people on to the help they may need.”

Furthermore, The Lions Barber Collective has been working with Exeter College recently and hope to take the training into other colleges with the aim of training the next generation of the hair industry in these skills.

Tom concludes: “I am grateful to everyone in our industry who has ever asked those difficult questions, don’t be scared to talk about mental health.”

We salute Tom and the team of Lions for all of the amazing work they do to support people throughout the UK and beyond.

Leading professional barbering and grooming tools manufacturer Andis Company has released a striking new copper edition of its best selling ProFoil® Lithium Titanium Foil Shaver.

The tool’s sleek new metallic copper colourway paired with professional-grade power and low-irritation titanium foils makes this a must-have cordless shaver for barbers and men’s grooming specialists that demand reliable power, consistent performance and outstanding results.

“The Profoil® Li Shaver is the perfect solution for finishing a close cut and achieving a sharp, clean look without using a straight razor,” said Angie Perino, Andis Global Education Manager. “It’s the ideal tool for professional barbers and men’s stylists who need to achieve a close shave all day long.”

The ProFoil® Lithium Plus Titanium Shaver achieves super-smooth results and improved hair feed due to a tiered head design featuring two rows of independent cutting blades. A close shave with less irritation and bumps is a result of the gold titanium hypoallergenic foils, engineered to maintain their shape better and last longer. This lightweight, compact shaver delivers a powerful, quiet performance using a lithium-ion battery that delivers up to 80 minutes of runtime on a single charge. The shaver is ideal for both left and right-handed users thanks to a centrally located power switch controlled easily by the thumb.

For almost 100 years, Andis® Company has been a leader and innovator in the men’s grooming industry with its innovative technology and top-tier educational offerings. Andis offers free online educational resources at master-barberschool.com where barbers can learn new tips and techniques.

Discover the Copper ProFoil® Li Plus Titanium Foil Shaver at www.andis.com