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Fresha Launches NEW Deposits Feature!

Fresha’s game-changing deposits feature delivers unrivalled income protection for hair, beauty and wellness businesses against late cancellations and no-shows. 

As the most requested feature from its 60,000 hair, beauty and wellness partners, Fresha has now launched its new deposits feature. 

With the issue of no-shows and late cancellations costing salons, barbers, beauty salons and spas many thousands of pounds in lost revenue every year, Fresha Deposits gives partners a new level of protection against loss. As of today, businesses using Fresha can now collect deposits for appointments, with advanced features allowing partners to customise the deposit based on the service being booked, or the client type. Deposit payments are quickly and securely received in advance of appointments, and partners can rest easy, knowing they’re protected if a client cancels or fails to show up at all.  

Simple to use and highly effective, the deposit paid by the client is deducted from their bill following their service, and in the event of a late cancellation or no-show, the deposit is retained by the salon to protect them from a loss of income.  

Fresha CEO and co-founder William Zeqiri says: “Addressing the issue of lost revenue through no-shows and late cancellations is a priority for hair, beauty and wellness businesses, and for us at Fresha. Deposits add another vital layer of protection for our partners in addition to the existing no-show and late cancellation policy features that are already reducing revenue loss by up to 60%. Our new deposits feature further protects our partners from what is a preventable loss of income.” 

Setting up deposits on Fresha couldn’t be easier. When you join Fresha’s free appointment scheduling software and enable Fresha payments you can: 

  • Enable deposits across your entire service menu, or apply deposits to selected services. 
  • Decide how much to charge upfront. You can require clients to pay a partial amount or the full price at the time of booking, with advanced options to customise the amount depending on the service being booked.
  • Decide who pays a deposit. You may require all clients to pay upfront, or apply deposits only to certain groups, such as first-time clients. 

With new feature innovations driving growth and delivering protections for its partners, Fresha co-founder Nick Miller adds: “Fresha has already processed over 250 million appointments, so reducing revenue loss from no-shows and late cancellations makes a huge difference to individual businesses, and the global industry. Deposits will revolutionise how our partners manage this issue, so we’re delighted to make it available.”  

Fresha salon software is transforming the way hair, men’s grooming, beauty, spa and wellness businesses are managing, promoting and protecting their businesses. Join Fresha FREE at https://www.fresha.com/for-business   

Good Dye Young available exclusively at Chris and Sons

Good Dye Young, the hair care company rooted in vibrant color, is a brand that started as a semi-permanent hair company and has blossomed into a hair color and hair care company boasting products made for any type of person and any type of hair. 

Today, Good Dye Young offers a wide range of salon-quality and vegan & cruelty-free products, available exclusively from Chris and Sons Hair and Beauty Supplier. 

Their semi-permanent hair color line includes their core bright, bold colors, Lighter Daze, a collection that includes a range of pastel shades, Darker Daze, a collection of jewel toned shades, METALHEADS, a line inspired by metal music and two additives to create custom colors. 

Color Kind Hair Care is the brand’s hair care line that keeps hair color vibrant and promotes healthy hair. Poser Paste is a washable hair makeup color that is fast and fun to use and I’m Bored is an award-winning line that includes five semi-temporary shades that last 2-6 washes. 

The Good Dye Young HQ is in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a vegan, cruelty-free semi-permanent hair color and hair care company, started by Hayley Williams and Celebrity Hair Stylist Brian O’Connor. Good Dye Young started with semi-permanent hair dyes and has just recently expanded into hair care as well. Good Dye Young isn’t just a hair company, it is a collection of salon-quality products aimed at embracing differences and encourages experimentation. Good Dye Young’s mission is to create a community that is inspired by self-expression, individuality, inclusivity, and vibrant color. 

For more information on Good Dye Young, visit www.gooddyeyoung.com and follow Good Dye Young on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter @gooddyeyoung. 

Good Dye Young is available exclusively from Chris and Sons Hair and Beauty Suppliers.

Keep your tools close to your chest!

The Dark Stag brand has announced a new product to the market, The Dark Stag Chest Holster.  

It’s the best solution to help barbers save time by reducing travel to and from the station. It can save up to six minutes per cut, allowing barbers to spend more focussed time with the client. 

Made with hardwearing and washable canvas, multiple mesh front pockets for increased visibility of your tools and a stitched faux-leather embossed clipper pocket giving you the convenience of knowing where all your essential tools are at all times. A fully adjustable, one size fits all accessory designed and made with barbers in mind. 

Designed and built exclusively for barbers, the Chest Holster makes it easier to locate your tools at all times. Durable, easy clean and sporting a selection of pockets (even one for your clippers), it has fully adjustable straps to fit all shapes and sizes.  

Available to pre-order for delivery in early April.  

For more info, go to www.darkstag.com/product/barber-chest-holster/ 

Wahl Barber Dryer Competition Winners Announced

The winners of the Shaw Times competition, that was giving away the amazing new Wahl Barber Hairdryer, been announced. 

The competition was produced in collaboration with Wahl UK and their main man, Simon Shaw in collaboration with BarberEVO to celebrate Simon’s new column in the magazine ‘Shaw Times’. 

The Wahl Barber Dryer is a cracker, with rapid drying speed, and a concentrated air flow, boasting 2200w. Wallop, as Simon would say! 

The winners are: 

The Blackwood Barber Co, Manchester @theblackwoodbarberco 
Made Barbering Academy, Glasgow @madebarberingacademy 
Patrick Forster Barber and Shop @patrickforsterbarberandshop 
Graeme Milne, Future Studios @barber_graeme 
Ellie Rogers, Rubeus Barbers @ell_gracex 

Congratulations to all the winners who have been notified. 

Introducing the Newest Uppercut Deluxe Barber Ambassador, Charlie Venn

Australian born men’s grooming brand, Uppercut Deluxe, has announced its newest addition to the Uppercut Deluxe Team, Charlie Venn. 

The Uppercut Deluxe Barber Ambassador Team is made up of the very best barbers from across the globe, with each Ambassador passionate about the industry and devoted to the craft. 

Charlie has been on the radar of Uppercut Deluxe for over four years, gaining attention as a young barber with natural talent, but Charlie had been interested in the brand for even longer. 

It was when Charlie sat in the chair at an Uppercut Deluxe popup and purchased his first tin of Monster Hold that he decided he was going to pursue his interest in Barbering and take up the trade. 

From there, Charlie’s passion was ignited as he dove into the history of barbering and began cutting hair, a passion within him was ignited and hasn’t since slowed down. 

Charlie has proved that hard work pays off; from first gaining attention, to becoming a member of the Uppercut Deluxe Collective and now moving into the Ambassador team. 

“Charlie’s passion for the industry is second to none,” said Uppercut Deluxe Founder Steve Purcell. 

“Charlie first got our attention a few years ago just tagging us in photos, and his raw talent was unmissable.  

“When we first introduced the Collective Charlie was a no brainer. Since then, Charlie has always jumped at everything thrown at him and gone above and beyond for the brand. 

“That attitude, his passion for the industry and then, of course, his skills behind the chair make him a really natural fit for our Ambassador team. 

“Charlie is a welcome addition to our team, and I am beyond stoked to have him on board.” 

Charlie’s shop, Lucky Sevens is a mix of old and new, he has taken his favourite elements of the classic American Barbershop and combined them with modern touches like bright lights and vibrant colours. 

The shop is really a reflection on Charlie and his style, a guy who pays respect to the past but isn’t afraid to put his own spin on things. 

The same thing can be said about Charlie’s approach to cutting hair. He is a master at ‘modern classics’, cuts that are inspired by classic 40’s style but bought into the 21st century with extra volume, texture and a softer finish. 

Devoted to the industry and beyond passionate about barbering, Charlie Venn is a valued addition to the Uppercut Deluxe Ambassador team.  

BLACC + BLOND LAUNCH GENDER NETURAL PRICING

BLACC + BLOND, a hair salon based in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter, has ripped up the classic perception of what a brand can be within their industry. 

Whether it be virtual haircuts during lockdown, raising funds for mental health and anti-racism or becoming one of the most sustainable salons in the world, it’s remarkable what can be achieved during a global pandemic if you genuinely care about making a change. 

This International Women’s Day (March 8th), they are now taking the huge leap of becoming a Gender Neutral Salon. The goal? To create more equality within the hair industry. They believe the traditional pricing model within the salon is an outdated concept that highlights the disparity between men and women in society. 

Their “40/40 vision”, in regards to their new haircut price, is teamed with the slogan “Length Doesn’t Matter, Time Does.” Based on the fact that all of their haircuts are the same time (one hour), so why should women pay more? 

Going Gender Neutral with pricing isn’t necessarily a new thing, however, Owner, Anil Salhan, claims that most of these salons have a predominant female client base. Whereas BLACC + BLOND has a 50/50 split of men and women as their clients, which makes their initiative that extra bit riskier. 

He states that it’s important for men to help create more gender based equality, because of how privileged men are at times. From his own experiences with racism, he mentions how empowering it is when Caucasian people help the anti-racism cause. “I hope that this inspires other men in society to at the very minimum, at least acknowledge the inequalities that women can face”. 

BLACC + BLOND are in the process of compiling their Sustainability Report, with supreme confidence that they will be accredited as Carbon Neutral in the near future. This means they will become one of the, if not first, gender and Carbon neutral hair salons on the planet. 

A status that would be remarkable for an independent business that fought to stay alive during a global pandemic. Whether it’s been his personal life or career wise, Anil has had to battle to get to where he is today, which he believes has made his brand foundation so strong. The fight for gender equality is just another chapter for BLACC + BLOND. 

Denman’s International Business Manager ready to save lives!

Martyn Wady becomes a trained First Responder. 

WFH has its benefits and being on hand to save a life has to be one of the best! Martyn Wady, Denman’s International Business Manager spends much of his time in his home office in rural Bedfordshire and took on the challenge of training to become one of Britain’s First Responders. Martyn says “I live in a rural village and even at the best of times it’s a challenge to get an ambulance here in under 8 minutes. In recent times with the pressure on the NHS, it’s even harder. The chances of surviving a cardiac arrest after four minutes reduce massively with every passing minute, so the sooner you can start CPR the better. I’m trained to use oxygen and a defibrillator too and I can get pretty much anywhere in my local area faster than an ambulance.”

Martyn undertook five full days of training and 25 hours of online learning and commits to further monthly training. He is ‘on call’ weekly and attends Category 1 and 2 emergencies (life in danger and possible life in danger) which can include anything from an elderly person taking a tumble to catastrophic bleeds and heart attacks. “Our role is to provide First Aid where needed and assess and monitor patients until the ambulance arrives. Often, we carry out the primary assessments and vital statistics which enables the ambulance crew to act fast and provide the necessary treatment when they do arrive. We are often first on the scene and with long ambulance wait times, we can be looking after a patient for hours, so a lot of what we do is monitoring and reassurance,” explains Martyn.  

Image: Martyn Wady

When on call Martyn must be ready to drop everything and go and ensures he has his kit prepped at all times. While the idea of being called to an emergency can be scary, Martyn admits that when it happens his training kicks in and he just follows procedure. Martyn concludes “It’s scary but you just have to remember your training and the fact that in pretty much every case you can’t make it worse. What you can do is buy the patient crucial time that might just save their life.”  

Dark Stag introduces two more ambassadors to the team!

British-based manufacturers of superior barber tools; Dark Stag are pleased to announce the expansion of their ambassador team!  

Introducing two new members to help the company’s ever growing online presence. 

Congratulations Deone Luke and Ross Mathieson! 

Ross Mathieson, Best known as @ross_blue_steel_barber

Ross has made a name for himself already with many accomplishments such as: BBA Hall Of Fame Winner, Barber Of The Year Winner, BMB Barber Of The Year Finalist, Josh O.P Hair Awards Finalist. Ross has also recently completed a teaching qualification with Train Aid. 

Dark Stag says “We are excited to take on such great barbering talent as part of our ambassador programme and can’t wait to see what the future holds!” 

Deone Luke, Best known as @D1_Trims 

Deone started her apprenticeship in 2017 and in 2020 she went on to have an award winning year.  

With a recent promotion to senior barber and head of social media, Deone says “I’m 21 and have a very strong passion for my career. I love doing all the social media and editing.” 

Overwhelm V Procrastination

Business consultant Phil Jackson from Build Your Salon, offers these tips for avoiding being overwhelmed.  

We all know that business can be brutal, life can be challenging, and being overwhelmed can be a frequent struggle for salon owners. But many salon owners are making things worse for themselves. That’s because, on the surface, their overwhelm looks like procrastination. 

Perhaps your goals are a little woolly.  Maybe you’re inattentive or you seek distraction when you should be working. Or it could be that you find you are constantly inventing excuses not to do something. If that sounds at all familiar, you’re procrastinating and a stern talking to might well be what is needed. Eliminate distractions, switch off your notifications and find the best time of day to focus on your work. Rekindle the passion for the task by reconnecting with the reason behind it. Getting more organised can help with procrastination too. Schedule your tasks and break them down into smaller chunks. 

But trying to deal with overwhelm the same way is a recipe for disaster. Imagine you have a friend who feels small and alone. They appear teary or irritable. They might even have physical symptoms of overwhelm. Anxiety makes their heart race or they feel short of breath. How would you treat that person? With a stern talking to? With a kick in the butt to get things moving? With scheduling and discipline? Of course not, yet we treat ourselves this way all the time. 

So many of us are over critical. The way we repeatedly speak to ourselves, in our heads is beyond anything we would dare say to someone else. Yet this continual chipping away of your own self-esteem has long-term effects. In fact, it can be devastating if you are feeling overwhelmed. 

The better approach is to increase the time and effort you put into self-care to reduce your anxiety. Take out your journal and try to identify what is at the root of those feelings of fear. Break overwhelming tasks down into tiny chunks. Celebrate each time you make progress. Delegate as much as you can to your team, to outsourcers, even to your children! But most importantly, be kind to yourself. 

Reuzel techniques on show at Aaron Michael’s barbershop

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.