SalonFocus July-Aug 2011

Ways to make money online

Salons urged to spot signs of skin cancer

THE ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE FOR SALON OWNERS JULY/AUGUST 2011 | £3.50

How you can help Mary Portas save the high street

Warning over hair waste fines

www.nhf.info JULY/AUGUST 2011 SALONFOCUS PAGE 3

WAVELENGTH

SAVING THE HIGH STREET? IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

It’d be a brave (some might venture foolhardy) soul who’d dare to call the feisty retail expert Mary Portas stupid, so let me stress right from the outset the headline above is not aimed at the “Queen of Shops” herself. No, for those with a memory for these things, it is taken from Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 US presidential

campaign against (the first) George Bush, where it was an insult used to great effect to highlight the latter’s perceived lack of understanding about what was really concerning Americans on “main street” at the time.

Yet it is relevant in the context of the Portas review announced by the government in May which, as we highlight on page five, has been tasked with looking at how to “bring the bustle” back to British

high streets. This is because, however authoritative and insightful it will be, and as hard-pressed salon owners already know only too well, by far the best and quickest way to bring back bustle to our high streets is, simply, to turn around the economy.

When people feel confident about their jobs and the money in their pocket they are more inclined to spend, simple as that. Certainly, there may well be useful recommendations and suggestions to be made about how to improve the retail mix of our high streets, how to ensure we do not all end up living in “clone towns” and how to encourage the growth (and survival) of more small, independent retailers – and salons will undoubtedly be very interested to hear what Mary has to say about this – but the truth is the health of the high-street is inexorably linked to the health and performance of the economy and the success (or otherwise) of the economic decisions this government is taking; one cannot recover without the other.

Having said that, NHF president Mark Coray is absolutely right in urging salon owners to roll up their sleeves, get involved and offer their wisdom and ideas to Mary. Salons, led by the NHF, can offer a unique insight

and, as seen by our Cut and Dried? VAT campaign earlier this year, can often come up with radical and innovative solutions. So, please do take some time to bring your creativity and flair to bear on the problems facing our high streets and let both us (at [email protected]) and Mary know your thoughts.

On a completely different, and much sadder, note, first this year hairdressing lost Terry Calvert

and Christofer Mann, then it was with great regret that we heard of the death of Joshua Galvin in April. The profession has been losing some of its best-loved names this year and, again, our condolences go out to Joshua’s family, colleagues and friends. He was an inspiration who will be sorely missed.

Finally, SalonFocus, as we report on page 10, has been short-listed in the “Publication of the Year” category of this year’s Trade Association Forum “Best Practice Awards”, which celebrate the work of industry and trade associations around the UK. Obviously, if we win I personally will be over the moon and it’ll be great credit to the whole NHF and external team who put SalonFocus together.

But, for me, the more important point is that even making it to the shortlist of this prestigious national competition is a real achievement for the NHF. At the end of the day SalonFocus is your platform for highlighting not only how hairdressing is rising to the challenges and issues it faces but the achievements and successes of individual salons. We’ll keep you posted, of course, on how we do when the awards are announced later this month. But wish us luck, as a win for SalonFocus will be a win for hairdressing as a whole as much as it will be a feather in our own caps.

“However authoritative and insightful the Portas review will be, by far the best and quickest way to bring back bustle to our high streets is, simply, to turn around the economy.”

PAGE 4 SALONFOCUS JULY/AUGUST 2011

CONTENTS

NEWS05 Salons ‘hold key’ to Portas high-street review06 Hairdressers urged to help spot skin cancer08 Minimum wage to rise, despite NHF warning09 Don’t risk £300 fine over rubbish, salons warned10 London salon aims ‘four’ new colour heights 11 Japanese straightening comes to UK12 Online bookings ‘trebling every three months’13 Salons urged to investigate ‘peer lending’14 Have your say on reality TV

FEATURES24 Oiling the wheels of success – hair oil is

becoming a salon favourite25 Done deals – NHF president Mark Coray on his

experience of Groupon26 Do get into hot water – choosing the right

water system and boiler28-29 Web insights – online retailing, the future is

already here30 Share the chair with care – how to make a

chair rental agreement work

INSPIRED17-19 Cutting edge – images from RUSH’s Artistic

Team Collection 2010

BEAUTY13 Beauty Spots – nailcare sales soar

REGULARS03 Wavelength – It’s the economy, stupid06 HairClips – Coversure advice on insurance11 Movers and Groovers – new president for

Fellowship for British Hairdressing16 Cutting Brief – your legal problems solved21-22 Federation Focus – Rush inspires with first

mentoring seminar 32 Column – Jamie Stevens on TV and training 33 Events – key dates for your diary34 Backwash – you have to laugh

Audrey Morgan is the

NHF’s London

Region NEC

representative

and runs Results Hair & Beauty

in Hemel

Hempstead.

Angela Reid is

owner of Salon 108 in Stanley,

Derbyshire.

Linda Cornell is the NHF’s North

West Region NEC

representative

and runs Gray’s Hairstylist in

Lancaster.

Valerie Findlay

is senior associate

with Woodfines’ Solicitors in

Bedford.

Daniel Field

runs Daniel Field Organic and Mineral Hairdressing

in Barnet, north

London and has

been making and

retailing hair and

skin products for

38 years. A former

Prince’s Trust

ambassador, he

is also a lifelong

pioneer of

safer, ethically

sound haircare

products.

Seema Flower

is owner and

managing

director of

ColourNation London Hairdressers

in Covent

Garden. As well

as successfully

running a busy

salon, Seema is

registered blind

and specialises

in offering

training around

the Disability Discrimination Act.

Celebrity

hairdresser

Jamie Stevens

is hairdresser-

in-residence for

TV shows Gok’s Fashion Fix and

How To Look Good Naked as

well ITV’s This Morning. Last

year he was The

Clothes Show Style Awards’ Celebrity Hairdresser of the Year and he was the

2009 British Hairdressing Awards Men’s Hairdresser of the Year.

Gillian Dowling work for Croner as employment

technical

consultant.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

SALONFOCUS IS PUBLISHED BY:National Hairdressers’ Federation,One Abbey Court, Fraser Road,Priory Business Park, BedfordMK44 3WHt: 0845 345 6500t: 01234 831965f: 01234 838875e: [email protected]: www.nhf.info

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t: +44 (0) 1536 747333f: +44 (0) 1536 746565w: www.mainlinemedia.co.uk

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While every care is taken in compiling this issue of SalonFocus including manuscripts and photographs submitted, we accept no responsibility for any losses or damage, whatever the cause. All information and prices contained in advertisements are accepted by the publishers in good faith as being correct at the time of going to press. Neither the advertisers nor the publishers accept any responsibility for any variations affecting price variations or availability after the publication has gone to press. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the publisher, to whom application must first be made. The views expressed by contributors to SalonFocus are not necessarily those of the NHF, the publisher or its editor. © 2011 The National Hairdressers’Federation.

Material for consideration in this section of the magazine should be submitted on CD-ROM as high resolution jpeg or tiff files to The Editor, SalonFocus. Submissions should be made on the understanding that the National Hairdressers’ Federation has the right to use the material in any part of the magazine and any of its other publications, promotions or website, free from any copyright restrictions, or appearance fees other than the issue of artistic and photographic credits where applicable. Please include salon name, photographer & stylist.

Front CoverHair: RUSH Artistic TeamPhotography: Vanessa WoodgateMake-up: Vicky FenelonStyling: L’Oreal


NEWSFOR TODAY’S SALON OWNER

The National Hairdressers’ Federation is urging salon owners to get involved and express their views to retail guru Mary Portas on how to revitalise the UK’s town centres, following prime minister David Cameron and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg asking her to carry out an independent review into the future of the high street.

Management consultant and retail expert Mary, best-known for her straight-talking TV series Mary Queen of Shops, was asked in May to look at how to “bring the bustle” back to the high street, and is now gathering opinion before reporting back to the government in the autumn.

“With town centre vacancy rates doubling over the last two years, the need to take action to save our high streets has never been starker,” she said.

“I am calling on business, local authorities and shoppers to contribute their ideas on how we can halt this decline in its tracks and create town centres that we can all be proud of,” she added.

A link has been set up on her website http://www.maryportas.com/news/2011/05/17/the-future-of-the-high-street/ for comments and views.

The review has a specific remit to “address the problems of vacant shops, adopt new business models, prevent the proliferation of clone towns and increase the number of small and independent retailers”.

Federation president Mark Coray stressed the NHF, as both the largest single voice of hairdressing and by the fact it represented everything from chains to micro businesses, could bring a unique perspective to the Portas review, and would be making a formal submission as well as encouraging individual salons to give their views.

“Mary Portas has called for ideas as to how to make our high streets more prosperous, thriving and diverse – we’re ready and eager to help, and look forward to making a valuable contribution to her review,” he said.

John Peers Hair Studio in Rochdale

was featured on Mary Queen of Shops last year, and owner John Peers believed the Portas review would probably come up with some valuable recommendations.

“Mary Portas is passionate about the high street and about sole traders, and the advice she gave to me was fantastic,” he told SalonFocus.

“But at the moment my high street is looking more like a low street, we’ve had Toni&Guy, Body Shop, Thornton’s, Mothercare and Principles all shutting down. It’s also very variable, we had a record Wednesday the other day and then a record low the following Saturday.

“So Mary can do what she wants but until the wider economy turns around the question is: will it make any difference? For me it’s simply a case of keeping in

there, keeping service levels as high as possible, keeping clients happy and making sure you’re offering the best you can,” he added.

The review has come as research from L’Oreal has suggested hairdressing salons are now one of the key sectors keeping the high street alive through the current tough economic times.

Its study The Long and Short of It has argued that fewer than one per cent of hairdressers who set up shop in 2009 closed their doors last year, and there has been a 53 per cent increase in the number of new salons opening.

If the UK’s 34,000 salons and 3,000 barber’s shops were to merge and form one huge “Hairdressing Plc” they would have a combined turnover of £5bn, employ 245,000 people and outstrip high-street giants such as Next in size, it calculated.

The average amount spent per client per visit was now £29, around half of British women coloured their hair and the number of men now having their hair coloured had risen by half since 2008.

However, while 95 per cent of women on average spent three hours per appointment in the salon chair, the same percentage of men sat it out for fewer than 30 minutes.

The hairdresser’s chair was now something of a “sacred space” for many clients, with women ranking their hairdresser as one of the top five people, outside their family, they would be prepared to confide in, along with their doctor, a nurse, priest or close colleague.

More widely, however, consultancy Ernst & Young has predicted the UK high street faces a difficult decade ahead, with consumer spending set to remain below pre-recession peaks until at least 2013 and growth in spending to be subdued for a further seven years.

Depressed wage growth and rising inflation would see consumer spending grow by just 0.6 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent in 2012, before rising to 2.2 per cent in 2013, it added.

MARY PORTAS: HIGH STREET CHALLENGE

SALONS ‘HOLD KEY’ TO PORTAS HIGH-STREET REVIEW

JOHN PEERS: MAINTAIN SERVICE LEVELS

Hairdressers are being urged to use their close knowledge of their clients’ hair, skin and heads to act as public health “gatekeepers” for warning signs of deadly diseases such as the skin cancer melanoma.

The Melanoma Taskforce, a panel of skin cancer experts brought together by MP Siân James and including organisations such as Cancer Research UK, the Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity and Teenage Cancer Trust, last month launched a set of “skin check” guidelines for health, beauty and hair professionals, developed in conjunction with the British Association of Dermatologists.

These aim to provide clear and simple information about signs of skin cancer, including how to spot irregular moles and skin lesions and advice on ways to direct clients to their GPs for further advice.

Hairdressers and health and beauty professionals were uniquely placed to be able to notice changes in moles or suspicious lesions, and therefore could help save lives by

being more aware of the signs of skin cancer and encouraging people to seek medical advice, the taskforce’s Pallavi Gulati told SalonFocus.

“We have to emphasise we are not asking hairdressers to become medical professionals. But hairdressers can play an important role in flagging up to clients if they have a mole on their head or they spot something that doesn’t look right and then encouraging them to go and see their doctor,” she said.

Research by Nottingham City Hospital had suggested more than 80 per cent of hair and beauty professionals would like to know more about how to recognise the signs of skin cancer, she added.

Pallavi’s call has been backed by NHF president Mark Coray, who attended the launch of the guidelines at the Houses of Parliament in June.

He stressed hairdressers should not be afraid to have these sorts of conversations with clients, particularly during the summer months when people are more likely to be exposed to sunlight.

“When I was doing my training, learning about the anatomy of the body was a key part of the education, so the knowledge hairdressers can have in this area can be important,” he said.

“I would definitely, definitely be prepared to speak to clients about something like this; it is about the relationship, the friendship, you have with the client. If you see something aggravated or red or which has changed shape or whatever it might be, the client may not have noticed because they can’t see it.

“Obviously you wouldn’t expect someone fresh out of college to take on this sort of responsibility but it is something hairdressers can take a lead on. It is good to speak to clients about this sort of thing,” he added.

Hairdressers can download the guidelines from the British Association of Dermatologists’ website, www.bad.org.uk through the tab “Public Information”.

In a separate move, skincare and sun protection products manufacturer La Roche-Posay ran a Melanoma Awareness Month in May, highlighting the importance of people checking their skin regularly for skin cancer and using high-protection sunscreen.

NEWS

PAGE 6 SALONFOCUS JULY/AUGUST2011

HAIRDRESSERS URGED TO HELP SPOT SKIN CANCER

SUN LOVE: BUT BE AWARE OF CANCER RISK

INSURANCE ADVICESpecialist insurer Coversure is advising NHF members that underwriter Allianz has changed its policy conditions regarding sensitivity testing. An endorsement notice which requires salon owners to ensure they always follow manufacturers’ recommendations when it comes to sensitivity testing if they want to remain covered, is being sent out to policyholders. Anyone with questions about the change should contact Coversure on 0800 4588181.

CHEQUE RETHINK?MPs have called for a controversial plan to abolish cheques by October 2018 to be put on hold. The plan by the Payments Council follows the abolition of the Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme from June. The Treasury Select Committee has said it plans to re-open an inquiry into the future of cheques it first started in 2010 following public disquiet about the move.

GREY POWERWomen aged 75 and over are visiting the hairdressers more often than any other age group, according to academics at the University of Kent and Gakushin University in Japan. It found over-74s were attending hair salons three times as often as in 1961.

COLOURANT GUIDANCEHabia has issued new guidance on the use of colourants on under-16s following changes in European Union legislation. It can be downloaded from www.habia.org

PARENTAL LEAVE PLANSGovernment plans to allow parents to share time off work in the first year of a baby’s life will be welcomed if they make it easier for female staff to maintain their careers, but not if they lead to a red-tape nightmare for salon owners, Federation president Mark Coray has said. The government is consulting on the proposals, which would take effect from 2015, until August.

HAIRCLIPS

MP SIÂN JAMES: GUIDELINES LAUNCH

MARK CORAY: SPEAK TO CLIENTS

HAIRCLIPS


MINIMUM WAGE TO RISE, DESPITE NHF CALLS FOR RESTRAINT The national minimum wage (NMW) is to rise from this autumn, after the government and the Low Pay Commission (LPC) ignored pleas by the National Hairdressers’ Federation for a two-year freeze to help hard-pressed salons cope with the tough climate on the high street.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said in April it was accepting recommendations from the LPC that, from October 1, the adult NMW should increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour with the rate for 18 to 20 year-olds to rise by 6p to £4.98 an hour.

The rate for 16 to 17 year-olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour and the new rate for apprentices, which took effect from October, will rise by 10p to £2.60 an hour.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “More than 890,000 of Britain’s lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate – reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK’s lowest-paid workers.”

But Federation president Mark Coray warned it would simply add to the pressure many salon owners were under right now.

“This is disappointing. Hairdressing is a very manpower-heavy sector and over the past three to four years the NMW wage has increased consistently. It is now close to what a stylist might earn plus commission,” he said.

“The danger for salon owners is that such a small pay gap can end up demoralising stylists who have worked extremely hard to get to where they are.

“If you look around, very few other people are getting pay rises at the moment so why does the NMW need to go up, seemingly automatically?” he added.

The Federation argued in its submission to the LPC that, with VAT going up this year and the government’s public spending squeeze leaving consumers feeling less confident, the last thing salons needed was a hike in the NMW (SalonFocus, Jan/Feb 2011).

NHF NEC member Linda Cornell, who runs Gray’s Hairstylist in Lancaster, predicted it could make life harder for young would-be stylists as salons became more reluctant to take on juniors.

“For me personally it is not going to make any difference because I already pay above the NMW precisely so this sort of thing does not come as a shock,” she said.

“But for some salons it may well have the effect of discouraging them from taking on juniors,” she added.

The LPC’s recommendation to the government also revealed that hairdressing has one of the highest proportions of NMW jobs in the country, with 28 per cent of jobs paid at the NMW, compared with only eight per cent in retail and seven per cent in social care.

But in terms of total jobs paid at the NMW, hospitality and retail topped the scale, accounting for around 44 per cent of all minimum wage jobs in the UK.

The government has asked the LPC in its next report to consider how to give businesses greater clarity on future NMW levels, including looking at the feasibility of making two-year recommendations.

The government has also unveiled

changes to how apprenticeships in England and Wales are to be accredited and certified in future, and even what they will be called.

As part of the Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act, which came into force in April, the government has set out specifications for apprenticeship standards for England and Wales.

The changes will mostly affect educators and training providers but one key change for salon owners is that, in England, a Level 2 apprenticeship will now be known as an Intermediate Apprenticeship while a Level 3 will become an Advanced Level Apprenticeship.

In Wales, a Level 2 will now be called a Foundation Apprenticeship and a Level 3 simply the Apprenticeship.

Alan Goldsbro, chief executive of Habia, the government-approved standards-setting body for the hair, beauty, nails and spa sectors, said: “Whilst the government requirements make sense in terms of tightening up the quality assurance and integrity of apprenticeships to meet the new legislation, there is clearly going to be a knock-on cost to training providers in particular. As a result, Habia is looking at a range of online procedures and subsidies that will greatly reduce the bureaucracy and cost per learner.”

NEWS

LINDA CORNELL: JUNIORS COULD LOSE OUT

APPRENTICES: NEW STANDARDS

Ora

cle

Trai

nin

g/H

abia

www.nhf.info MAY/JUNE 2011 SALONFOCUS PAGE 9

A local council has reminded salon owners they risk a £300 fine if they fail to have a proper waste disposal contract in place, after an awareness-raising initiative highlighted widespread ignorance among salon owners about their legal “duty of care” when it comes to disposing of hair and chemicals.

North East Lincolnshire Council’s “community pride” team was prompted to carry out an education and awareness-raising week with local businesses in April following a complaint about a salon in its area which had been disposing of human and chemical waste within the domestic rubbish.

“We went to see the salon owner and discovered she did not know that she had a duty of care responsibility in regards to her waste and needed to have a proper waste agreement in place,” said Tony Burman, an investigations officer with the council.

“She was issued with a fixed penalty notice that, while being later rescinded, prompted us to carry out an awareness-raising and education week around North East Lincolnshire.

“We visited hundreds of business in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area and, of the 20 to 30 salons we inspected, not a single one knew they needed to have an agreement with a professional waste disposal contactor in place. Many of them, especially the smaller salons, assumed that they were not generating enough waste to need one, but that is not the case,” he added.

The Environmental Protection Act places a “duty of care” on all producers of commerical waste to ensure it is stored and disposed of in a proper and safe manner.

This means any business that has waste products that need to be disposed of must have a waste agreement with a registered commercial waste contractor.

Businesses that fail to do this can

be liable to a fixed penalty notice of normally £300, though this will commonly be reduced if the business pays within 14 days.

Frequent and persistent offenders can find themselves being prosecuted and facing a fine of up to £5,000, while the maximum penalty for fly-tipping or illegally dumping waste is £50,000 or five years in prison.

Firms must also keep the paperwork to show their waste has been legally disposed for a minimum of two years as well as maintain a file on their waste-disposal contract and be able to show relevant receipts or waste transfer notes from their waste collector.

“For salons disposing of chemicals and human hair it is even more important that they have a proper agreement in place with a registered waste carrier,” said Tony.

“While this was a local initiative, the fact so many salons did not know this does make me wonder whether it goes wider. So this is something that salons nationally need to be checking, and for organisations such as the NHF to be highlighting to members to ensure they are compliant with the law,” he added.

In a separate development, changes to the European Union’s Waste Framework Directive came into force in December that mean businesses offering waste collection services must now also offer recycling collections for paper, metals, plastics and glass from January 2015.

DON’T RISK £300 FINE OVER RUBBISH, SALONS WARNED

NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL: WASTE INITIATIVE

Salon software company Shortcuts has launched an online “search-and-book” facility that, it has argued, represents a major advance in how clients can make online appointments and bookings at salons around the country.

The facility, Mylocalsalon.co.uk, combines a salon directory with a booking facility so people can search for a salon and book an appointment at the same time wherever they may be in the country.

The directory lists salons according to business type, service, location, price and popularity, with clients able to book directly with the salon and receive an immediate booking confirmation. It also features a free iPhone application. Businesses pay a nominal £3 charge for each new client who books.

The service is available both to salons that already use the Shortcuts systems and those that do not, with a stripped down version called Mybooker able to be run alongside any other salon system.

As SalonFocus went to press some 360 salons and hairdressers had already signed up, said marketing manager Paul Rose, who predicted this could reach 500 within a few months.

“I would hope for hair it will be the number one, or only, booking directory out there in the market. We’ve taken the lead on everyone else,” he said.• Onlinebooking‘treblingeverythree

months’, page 12

ONLINE ‘SEARCH -AND- BOOK’ SERVICE LAUNCHED

MYLOCALSALON: DIRECTORY AND BOOKING COMBINED


NEWS

LONDON SALON AIMS ‘FOUR’ NEW COLOUR HEIGHTSA new upmarket salon, Four, has opened in London’s Mayfair with ambitious designs to become “the Vidal Sassoon of colour services”, in part through what it has argued is a revolutionary in-depth approach to pre-screening and consultation.

The salon has already attracted celebrities such as Only Fools and Horses’ David Jason and television chef Nigella Lawson through its novel approach.

Brooke Bohan, one of four directors, told SalonFocus the goal was for the 2,400 sq ft Conduit Street salon to become to colour what Vidal Sassoon was to the iconic “bob” cut.

Four’s approach includes:• pre-screeningbythreehighly-trainedreceptionists• anin-depthconsultation,inwhichthecolouristasksmore

than 50 questions, ideally at least two days before the appointment

• productsfromavarietyofsupplierstailor-madetoeach client’s need, including Wella, Symbio by L’Oreal, Colorissimo by Renbow International and Schwarzkopf

• theuseofiPad headshots, so clients can see exactly what the proposed colour looks like

• extensivemaintenanceguidanceforbetweenvisitsDirectors Brooke, Maleeka Taher (who has also worked

for Daniel Galvin), Charlie Double and Denise Arnold quit Jo Hansford’s Mayfair salon to launch the new business last November, developing a diagnostic approach they now argue is the most sophisticated in the sector.

Brooke said: “Jo Hansford and Daniel Galvin, the Adam and Eve of colouring, are the original people who gave us our methods, but our consultations are much more in-depth. We have devised a formula so we won’t miss out any information. People want to know the ins and outs as to why they aren’t achieving the highlighted look they expected.”

The process includes detailed questioning about what clients like and dislike about their hair and what their desired result is. “This is helped by the hundreds of database pictures, such as caramel browns, medium browns and light browns – because your knowledge of what chocolate brown is can be different from the client’s perception of what it is,” Brooke explained.

Clients then confirm a picture on the iPad after the detailed questioning, which is followed by taking a history of their hair. The colourists also ask lifestyle questions, such as whether clients swam or exercised regularly, which could mean more frequent washing of hair.

Anyone refusing a patch test would also not get a colour unless they signed a disclaimer to say they had been advised not to proceed, stressed Brooke.

“I would rather lose a client and gain a bit more of a reputation. A very small amount of people don’t want a patch test,” she said.

FOUR: COLOUR AMBITIONS

DIRECTORS (FROM LEFT): MALEEKA TAHER, DENISE ARNOLD, BROOKE BOHAN, CHARLIE DOUBLE

SalonFocus has made it to the shortlist to be crowned “Publication of the Year” in awards designed to celebrate the work of trade associations around the UK.

The winners of the Trade Association Forum (TAF) “Best Practice Awards” are due to be announced this month, and this is the first time the Federation’s magazine has made it this far in the judging process.

The TAF is backed by the government and the Confederation of British Industry and works to encourage the sharing of best practice among UK trade and membership associations.

It has run the awards for the past nine years and this year, it said, had been “overwhelmed” with entries, of which the quality had been “exceptionally high”.

This showed that even just reaching the short-list was an achievement the Federation could be proud of, and “recognition of the commitment shown to quality journalism by the NHF”, said SalonFocus editor Nic Paton.

The awards are due to be held on July 7 and will be hosted by rugby star Martin Bayfield.

SALONFOCUS: SHORTLISTED


JAPANESE STRAIGHTENING COMES TO UK

A new service from Japan that takes a diametrically opposed approach to thermal chemical hair-straightening treatments has been brought to the UK.

The Digital Perm from Japanese company Paimore is being supplied exclusively in the UK through Hair Expert Distribution.

The company says the service thermally reconditions the hair, enabling a hairdresser to create any texture from loose, boho waves to retro-style curl.

This, it has argued, is an advance on existing treatments to curl hair by using a refined chemical process with digitally controlled thermal heating.

Electric rollers are individually hooked to a unit which uses infra-red heat to help set the curl.

Unlike old-style perms, the curls are most prominent when dry and produce softer and larger curls more in keeping with current hair trends, according to the company.

Christian Toth, Hair Expert managing director, was at pains to distance the product from the ongoing controversy over hair-straightening systems that contain illegal amounts of formaldehyde, an issue that has been highlighted extensively by SalonFocus.

He said: “The so called keratin blow-dry or Brazilian blow-dry uses formaldehyde to bond keratin ingredients to the hair. The Digital Perm is a different process altogether. The chemicals are all safe to use and have received a cosmetic safety assessment to ensure they are in line with European Union safety directives.”

The first UK salon to adopt it has been Eleven Hair, in London’s Mayfair, which charges from £250.

Christian told SalonFocus he hoped to have more than 500 salons signed up and using the service by April 2012.

DIGITAL PERM: NEW APPROACH

CLIPSO GO-KARTINGClipso is to hold its 2011 Go-Karting Challenge Cup at the Daytona Go-Karting Track in Milton Keynes on July 31 and is looking for salon teams keen to enter. Past winners have included Kent Brushes and Wonderful Hair. Entry costs £220 per team (including donation to HABB Hair & Beauty Benevolent). Those interested should email [email protected]

SORBIE IN L’OREAL FINALS

Stylist Petros Mairoudhiou and colourist Sharon Wickstead from Trevor Sorbie Covent Garden have won a place at the grand final of this year’s L’Orèal Colour Trophy after being named winners at the London finals of the Men’s Image Award. The trophy will take place on July 4 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, where 28 salons will present models.

BRISTOL SKYDIVERSCongratulations to Noel Halligan and Victoria Bowyer of seanhanna Bristol who raised more than £500 for charity in April by skydiving from 10,000 ft for charity over Swindon. The money will go to Cots for Tots Appeal, a charity helping to build a new special care baby unit in St Michaels Hospital in Bristol.

STAR STEPHANIEStephanie Cameron, a stylist from Angels in Aberdeen, has been named new ambassador for Sexy Hair after the haircare company ran a “Search for a Star” competition. To bag the prize Stephanie had to submit an image of a “sexy” style she had created and explain why she would be great for the job. “I was so shocked when my name was announced but I’m thrilled to have won,” she said.

NEW FELLOWSHIP PRESIDENTMark Creed has been elected president of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing following the death in February of Terry Calvert. Mark, director of Philosophy Hairdressing and formerly fellowship chancellor, said he wanted to build on the work of past presidents “by consolidating British hairdressing as being the best there is”.

COLLINGE APP

Celebrity hairdresser Andrew Collinge has launched a new free App, Two Minute Up-Do, (pictured) which offers four two-minute videos demonstrating his up-do, which is secured in place with one pin. It has been developed with Denman and is available for download from the Apple App Store.

MOVERS&GROOVERS


More and more clients are now booking haircuts over the internet, with the number of salons opting for this high-tech appointments route trebling every three months, a leading player in the salon systems’ sector has estimated.

But with as many as 40-50 per cent of salons still not even having a computer on their premises, there is a clear risk a significant minority of salons could get left behind by this technological revolution and end up at a competitive disadvantage, Phorest business development manager Karolina Markan has warned.

She told SalonFocus online booking was “growing fast now” and, more importantly, those salons using online systems were seeing “a massive improvement in their business”.

Inevitably, it appears to be the salon multiples or high-profile celebrity-linked salons that are leading the field when it comes to online bookings.

HOB, for example, has just invested £10,000-£15,000 in rolling out the Shortcuts online booking facility for cutting and blow drying to all 20 salons after testing it in Radlett and Leeds.

Trevor Sorbie, in the West End of London, has said it gets 150-200 online bookings a month also using the Shortcuts system, though it currently restricts bookable services to cut and

blow-dries because of skin-test issues with colours, and clients not knowing what specific colours to book in for.

Industry estimates of online penetration in the UK salon market range from fewer than five per cent to as much as seven per cent, although it is thought at least half of salons do have access to the internet in some shape or form.

The challenge for salons was to move beyond email-only systems, which were often as labour-intensive as paper-based booking systems, and systems where clients had to wait for any length of time for confirmation of a booking, said Phorest’s Karolina.

The company’s myZanadoo system, for example, takes a credit card deposit, which Karolina said helped to guard against “no shows”.

HOB director Paul Simbler said its decision to invest in online booking was simply because it wanted to offer another option to clients.

The percentage of appointments booked online was currently still small, around five per cent, and while ideally everyone would eventually book this way, the reality was some people would always prefer personal contact, he added.

“I think it is at least five years away before small salons follow suit,” said Paul.

The system HOB uses is tied into a facility that emails new customers the day after their appointment thanking them and inviting them to book a new appointment.

Bree Davie, manager at Trevor Sorbie, said it had seen a spike in online bookings over the Christmas period when the salon was closed “so it definitely increased business”, and it also helped ease pressure on the reception desk.

Scotland’s Rainbow Room International, which has its own bespoke system at all 11 hair salons, plans to expand it to the two academies and beauty salon later this year.

Gillian White, IT manager, said more than 42 per cent of bookings were now online in some salons and the number of appointments booked online had grown from 3,150 in 2006 to 34,819 last year. Some 35,000 clients are registered to use the service.

The company had as a result reduced incoming call times by around 2,030 hours or 253 working days this year across the group as well as freed reception staff for other customer care and marketing activities.

“This is a growing market, or at least, it needs to be,” Gillian said. “As a new generation comes up they will find it alien to not use the internet to make bookings. The industry needs to move with the times.”

Online booking had the advantage of giving clients greater flexibility to manage their appointments and had increased the number of new clients booking higher-end stylists, she argued.

It had also cut the number of “no shows” because of taking a £10 deposit on booking.

Leicestershire salon group Barrie Stephen Hair also believes online booking is the way forward.

Barrie Stephen said: “We use it as an indispensable tool to aid the smooth running of all our salons but we always remember it’s the personal touch and excellent customer service that keeps clients loyal.”

RAINBOW ROOM: BESPOKE SYSTEM

NEWS

ONLINE BOOKING ‘TREBLING EVERY THREE MONTHS’

KAROLINA MARKAN: FAST GROWTH

PAUL SIMBLER: ONLINE INVESTMENT


SALONS URGED TO INVESTIGATE ‘PEER LENDING’

Salon owners struggling to get money from their banks are being encouraged to check out an alternative form of loans for small firms – “peer lending”.

An organisation called Funding Circle, backed by a range of private investors, venture capitalists and City “business angels”, has been set up as a new online financial marketplace where individuals invest small amounts – from as little as £20 upwards in £20 increments – which are then pooled to provide funding for small businesses and new ventures.

One salon that has already benefited is Aqffin, near Spitalfields Market in east London, whose director Ikkei Tobisawa borrowed £14,500 towards a second salon located in nearby Shoreditch.

His bank would only lend him up to £25,000, which was not enough for his purposes. But through Funding Circle he raised the extra money, spread across 143 lenders at an annual rate of interest of 9.16 per cent.

“It’s very quick. Funding Circle gathered lenders only in a second with an affordable rate,” Ikkei told SalonFocus. “It is interesting to see lenders’ names rather than a bank’s.”

Small businesses can borrow from £5,000 to £50,000 through the organisation, repayable monthly for terms of one or three years.

Businesses seeking a loan must have at least two years’ trading history, at least two years’ filed accounts and no court judgements outstanding of more than £250.

Lenders set the interest rate by bidding online. James Meekings, co-founder, said average rates to date had been 8.2 per cent compared with the 12 per cent typically charged by banks for unsecured loans excluding fees. The businesses seeking the loans accept the lowest interest rates offered.

Lenders pay Funding Circle a one per cent annual servicing fee which is only payable if the borrower makes their monthly payments.

Borrowers are also required to pay a £50 application fee which is refundable if they

go ahead with a loan, and a completion fee of two per cent of the total.

James said: “From our experience salon owners are incredibly busy people and they typically put off seeking external finance to grow or improve their salon simply because they’re rushed off their feet. Funding Circle streamlines the application process, keeping it all online meaning salons owners can apply for finance 24/7 and get

funds within two weeks – all at lower cost than the bank.”

However, Funding Circle is just one of several peer-to-peer lending sites that make loans to other individuals and small businesses, with others including Zopa, Yes-secure.com, RateSetter.com and Quakie.co.uk.

The concept has also been backed by the business organisation the Forum of Private Business.

Senior policy adviser Phil McCabe said: “We think it is an extremely good alternative route so much so we’ve been backing it right from the beginning. The nature of the platform means interest rate costs are driven down and the risk is spread.”

NAILCARE SALES SOARSales of nailcare products have soared as women have continued to paint their nails despite recognising they have to make economies elsewhere in their beauty regimes, according to research by Mintel. Sales of nail polish, which in 2009 accounted for nine per cent of all make-up sales, had grown at more than twice the rate of other colour cosmetics in the past five years, it found.

TEETH WHITENING CALLThe General Dental Council has called for tougher controls on who is allowed to carry out teeth whitening in the UK. It is urging the government to change the law to make teeth whitening a dental procedure, so it can only be carried out by dental professionals, rather than a cosmetic one, meaning it can be done on the high street.

GOOGLE CHAMPIONInternet giant Google is this month due to reveal its health and beauty “e-champion” following a nationwide competition during June to find the best small health and beauty business website. The winner will be promoted on Google’s Getting British Business Online website www.gbbo.co.uk and receive a selection of Google products.

FISHY PEDICURES?Health watchdog the Health Protection Agency has launched an investigation into the safety of fish pedicures, one of the fastest-growing beauty treatments in the UK. It has stressed it is as yet unaware of any cases of infection associated with the use of fish spas and the risks are “very small”, but it is “currently examining the most up-to-date evidence and will publish practical advice to help both salons and the public to minimise any possible risk in due course”.

GUINOT EXPANSIONFrench skincare company Guinot has revealed ambitions to open up to 100 branded salons across the UK over the next five years. The company has said the salons will be opened under a franchise arrangement as “affiliate salons”. The company already has 15 such affiliate salons in France but is not intending to open the first UK one until early next year.

BEAUTYSPOTS

JAMES MEEKINGS: STREAMLINED PROCESS

AQFFIN: HELP WITH SECOND SALON


ANALYSIS

HAVE YOUR SAY ON REALITY TV

Are shows such as Great British Hairdresser more than just a bit of light entertainment? Can they be beneficial to hairdressing or do they run the risk of cheapening or damaging our image? The NHF’s artistic committee is keen to hear your views.

Reality TV shows love hairdressing. Our craft has a central role in the BBC’s Young Talent of the Year series (which is, of course, co-judged by SalonFocus columnist Beverly C). Celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford had his own series The Hairdresser in 2004, while Jamie Stevens is another prominent name on our TV screens (see his column on page 30).

But is this sort of TV exposure good for hairdressing? Back in 2007, for example, the NHF had its fingers burnt by the BBC programme Hair Wars, which ended up portraying competition hairdressing in a very negative light.

For me, the danger is that, first, you are very much in the hands of the programme makers and editors, who can decide how to present you to make the best TV.

Second, if youngsters want to become celebrity hairdressers – as many do – they can create a false impression that it is easy to achieve.

The vast majority of today’s celebrity stylists have learned their craft the hard way on the salon floor and come up through the world of competitions, which I believe is a message that needs to be got across more proactively.

I think it is telling this year’s winner of Great British Hairdresser, Keris Weir (right), has a background in and commitment and dedication to competition hairdressing, something I feel judge James Brown really picked up on.

Having said that, reality TV shows can encourage young people to think about hairdressing as a career; they can show the level of skill and commitment needed to become a really good hairdresser. Anything that illustrates the passion hairdressers have for their craft can only be good.

So, what do you think? Do reality TV shows create a buzz in your salon? Do you feel they are valuable in highlighting the skills and talent of young hairdressers? Or are they simply manipulative, giving a misleading, selectively edited, impression?

We’d love to hear your views. Please email [email protected] or write to NHF head office, One Abbey Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park, Bedford, MK44 3WH.

Love or hate them, reality TV shows seem to be fascinated by hairdressing, with the latest, Channel Four’s Great British Hairdresser, reaching its climax

in May. But, asks Audrey Morgan, are they good or bad for the image of our

craft?

Audrey Morgan is the NHF’s London Region NEC representative and runs Results Hair & Beauty in Hemel Hempstead

The winner of this year’s Great British Hairdresser, Keris Weir, principal stylist at MG Hair Boutique in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, and fellow contestant Helen Holt, a stylist at Waring Salon in Derby, tell NEC representative for the North West Region Linda Cornell what it was like to be part of the show. At the time of interview there were still three episodes to go and the winner had yet to be announced.

What do you feel you have gained from being on the show?Keris: Knowledge of the session styling industry and the difference between salon styling and session work. I’ve gained experience of photographic shoots and how that industry works. I also proved to people the value of being classically trained.Helen: I have gained a much higher profile and more experience with session styling. It was only a small taste, but I am ready to do more, and hope I do!

Was judge James Brown a hard task-master?Keris: Yes! I was the whipping girl!Helen: He set tasks with either one hour or half an hour to complete. The tasks didn’t seem too difficult but under the pressure of the TV cameras they were hard and terrifying!

Do you feel James respects the other genres of our trade?Keris: I think the experience of working with contestants has really opened his eyes to how valuable our combined skills are. I feel so lucky I came from a competition background. It’s what carried me through.Helen: No, I don’t think James respected our very hard-working salon backgrounds. He is only a session stylist. He never colours hair and rarely does a haircut.

Has being on the show helped your business?Keris: For recognition, yes.Helen: My salon is much busier and I seem to need an extra hour in every day with the training, local papers and radio work!

Do you feel reality TV shows help or hinder our profession?Keris: All reality shows are edited in such a way to suit whoever they are profiling. All exposure is debateable, and we all get love/hate reactions.Helen: It all depends on the editor, director and producer and how they show you as a person. They can make you look amazing or useless.

REALITY STARS: LINDA CORNELL (CENTRE) WITH WINNER KERIS WEIR (LEFT) AND HELEN HOLT


CUTTING BRIEF

YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS

SOLVED

I have a query regarding the lunch-breaks to which salon staff are entitled. In our terms of employment it states that: “You are entitled to a rest break of 60 minutes to be taken… between 12pm and 2pm. Rest breaks do not form part of your working time.” One of our managers has asked me whether, in the circumstance that salon staff are allowed to work during their lunch-breaks (or part of this break) and leave early, is there any breach of the law? In other words, are we expected to insist they take their breaks? Under the Working Time Regulations, where an employee over the age of 18 works for more than six hours they are entitled to take an uninterrupted break of 20 minutes. If you have any young workers (likely to be juniors or apprentices) over compulsory school leaving age but under 18 they are entitled to take a 30-minute break if they work for more than four-and-a-half hours. If they are prevented from taking this break they can make a complaint to an employment tribunal. As an employer you have a duty of care over your employee’s health and safety and so you should encourage your employees to take the breaks they are entitled to.

As your employees have the contractual right to take an hour’s break between 12pm and 2pm there would be a potential breach of contract claim if they were denied the opportunity to take this break. There is nothing to stop you and the employee continuing the informal arrangement in place to take shorter breaks and taking the additional time worked off in lieu as agreed, provided the employee is still receiving their daily rest break detailed above. You may wish to take into consideration the precedent set by this arrangement.

If the manager wants to restrict the occasions where an employee would be permitted to work through part of their contractual break (above the daily rest break provided under the Working Time Regulations), it may be advisable to clarify with salon staff under what circumstances this would be agreed to and if any conditions (for example obtaining prior authorisation) would be required.

An apprentice is about to go on maternity leave and is asking about being paid for their holiday entitlement. When can they be paid for this? They will be off for 12 months. Presumably you should not pay employees for leave they have not yet accrued? Could they take this leave before they go on maternity leave?

The accrual system for annual leave can only be applied in the first 12 months of service. If the employee has more than 12 months of service they can request the full holiday entitlement in one go at the beginning of the holiday year if they wish.

Taking and being paid for the full current leave year’s holiday entitlement before commencing maternity leave is the most common way of dealing with this type of situation. An employee is not entitled to receive remuneration during the statutory maternity pay period. This would include holiday pay. But taking all the leave before maternity leave starts will save any arguments and potential legal challenge in respect of carrying over untaken holiday into the next leave year, which is not allowed under the Working Time Regulations.

We are getting a number of customers who turn up on the wrong day or at the wrong time for an appointment, convinced they are correct and we have made the wrong entry in the diary. Are we able to record telephone calls to keep a record?The recording of telephone calls is covered by various pieces of legislation, however there is a general right for a business to record calls to establish any facts relating to a business transaction.

There is no requirement to give a reason why you may be recording the call, however you would need to inform callers their call is being recorded, and to provide the caller with a copy of the call should they request it. You will also have to inform all of your employees that the calls are recorded.

However, think about the logistics. If it is just to prove a point about an appointment, is it worth spending money installing a system? Do you have the time to go through the system listening to calls while the customer – and others – wait impatiently? And if it turns out the customer is wrong, have you really gained anything from the system except for an embarrassed or irate customer?

An alternative way to use such a system may be for the salon to give the customer the benefit of the doubt at the time, identify and listen to the call later on and see whether or not there is a training need for any members of staff who may be poor at making proper diary entries for your salon.

Gillian Dowling from Croner, operator of the NHF’s Legal Lifeline,

answers your questions


INSPIRED

Images from RUSH’s Artistic Team Collection 2010

Hair: RUSH Artistic TeamPhotography: Vanessa WoodgateMake-up: Vicky Fenelon Styling: L’Oreal



FEDERATION

FOCUS

The NHF’s Inspire artistic team attended its first motivational and educational seminar with RUSH in April, as its mentoring year with the award-winning team got under way.

The seminar was held by RUSH editorial director Tina Farey and focused on editorial hair techniques.

It incorporated a live demonstration by Tina, where she demonstrated how to achieve a hair-up editorial look using hair doughnuts and how to create a fringe using hair wefts.

The team was encouraged to work on blocks recreating the looks Tina had demonstrated as well as get inspiration from previous RUSH shoots.

Inspire team member Colin McAndrew, of Medusa Hairdressing in Edinburgh was full of praise for Tina’s way of teaching.

“I learnt so much – I can definitely take away something,” he said.

“I learnt lots of useful tips, enjoyed watching the demonstrations and seeing the images. As a team it

will be useful and will help further ourselves,” added Holly Lewis of Jay-Jay’s in Bristol.

The next RUSH educational day will be a colour workshop with Chris Williams, international colour director.

In a separate development, NHF Inspire has welcomed Serafina Woodward to join the artistic team.

Serafina works as a master hair designer at Clipso Hemel Hempstead and will be part of the forward-thinking creative team, including attending all educational days and upcoming events.

By Stephanie Munno

SERAFINA WOODWARD: WELCOME

RUSH: MENTORING


RUSH INSPIRES WITH FIRST SEMINAR

A reminder for members that this year’s Federation conference and annual general meeting will run from Saturday October 1 to Monday October 3 at the Newcastle Marriott Hotel Metrocentre in Gateshead.

Sunday will be members’ day and will include a seminar by Julie Eldrett from 10am followed by artistic demonstrations from 2pm, including NHF Inspire, Team GB and celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford.

Entry will be by ticket only, with members getting one free ticket per salon with extra tickets priced at £20.

The President’s Banquet & Ball will take place on the Sunday evening, with tickets priced at £45 each.

The AGM will take place on the Monday, commencing at 10am, followed by the formal conference and open forum.

Members wishing to attend can obtain a registration form from: National Hairdressers’ Federation. One Abbey Court, Fraser Road, Priory Business Park, Bedford MK44 3WH. Tel: 0845 345 6500 – 01234 831965, E-mail: [email protected] or downloaded from www.nhf.info

COUNTDOWN TO CONFERENCE…

WELSH NEWCOMERS RETURNS

The much-anticipated Welsh “Newcomers” Hairdressing Championships was relaunched in April at the Legacy Hotel in Cardiff, after a gap of more than 11 years.

The junior competition was supported by the hairdressing colleges in Wales as well as colleges across the border.

Judges were Ben Price, Liz Shipton and Andrew Bayliss, while the key sponsor was Simon Maclucus of Salon Concepts and Cloud Nine.

Welsh president Lloyd Griffiths said he hoped to secure an even bigger venue for next year to expand the competition into juniors and seniors. Presentations were made by national president Mark Coray.

Anyone wishing to help organise the next event should contact Carl Hinder on 07931 518642.


Avon Branch held its first “Style, Inspiration and Motivation” evening in April, attracting more than 250 people to what was a resoundingly successful event.

Supporters of the evening included Jay Jay’s artistic team, Keune Haircosmetics, Clarin Beauticians from Boots of Bath, Holly Lewis (representing the NHF Inspire team) and Gary Pearce, a member of Team GB – Men’s Team.

The evening consisted of presentations of prepared models portraying different trends and colours.

North East region had a good turnout for its championships in April, with some 125 entries and around 200 spectators.

Two new competitions were introduced: two-tone colour and

Benjamin Madle of Headhunters in Woking, Surrey has been named overall winner of this year’s NHF Photographic Stylist of the Year competition, beating off stiff competition.

Other winners of the prestigious event, which this year saw a flood of entries that made judging extremely difficult, included Kelly Lowery of Savannah Salon Spa in Newcastle upon Tyne, who won the men’s category, while the ladies category winner was Ozzie Rizzo of Ozzie Rizzo in London.

Other finalists were: Victoria Ghali of Gloss in Diss, Norfolk, Kathy Bloomfield of Axis Studio in Chelmsford, Leigh Winsor of Bowlers Hair & Beauty in Plymouth,

All finalists were invited to attend an awards ceremony at the British Open Championships in June in Cardiff.

Judges were NHF national president Mark Coray, Sam Grocutt, managing director of Essence PR, Team GB manager Wendy Harris, Guy Kremer, NHF Inspire team manager Rebecca Dickenson and Tony Labrum of TwoTone Design Associates.

“The candidates were really strong this year, it was a tough decision. Planning and attention to detail is key in photographic work. The hair has to be great and the overall feel of the image needs to fit the look,” said Rebecca.

PICTURE PERFECT

FEDERATION FOCUS

REGIONAL ROUND-UP

AVON: INSPIRING

YORKSHIRE: CLIPPER CUTTING

a salon team event incorporating one senior stylist and one junior. Other categories included fashion long hair open, go clubbing, juniors and bridal.

The event was sponsored by Dennis Williams, Wella, Goldwell and Matrix, and supported by Sabre UK (Fudge) and Denman.

Wahl artistic member Martin Fox came to Yorkshire region in March for a sell-out demonstration of gent’s clipper work at the Holiday Inn, Brighouse.

Martin wowed the packed auditorium for more than two hours with his clipper cutting skills and quick wit.

London Region is launching a series of one-day business events this autumn covering a range of key areas of salon management.

Topics being covered at the first event on September 19 include health and safety, front of house innovation and retail, effective exit strategies, chair renting and getting the most out of your talent.

It will take place at the De Vere Venue, Canary Wharf, London, with tickets priced at £50 for members and £100 for non-members.

Further details can be obtained from Alan Rapkin on 01268 755296 or email [email protected]

LONDON CALLING


Hair oil is rapidly becoming a modern-day haircare phenomenon – and is certainly something our team at ColourNation and, more importantly, our clients have fallen in love with. In an environment where there can be heavy demand for colouring, chemical processes and heat styling, all of which can put hair under stress, hair oil is simply about putting something back.

For us the initial attraction was that hair oil simply offered something completely new to our clients. Every now and then something truly original comes along that generates excitement, makes a real difference to hair and arouses interest from clients and stylists. It was clear to us from early on that hair oil had the poten-tial to do this, so we set about finding the product that we felt was right.

We looked at several oil brands before adopting Macadamia Natural Oil and Macademia Healing Oil Treatment, which we found ticked the majority of our boxes. It is a super-fine oil, the initial look and feel of the brand impressed us and, unlike some oils, it penetrates instantly and deep into the hair and doesn’t leave it oily or greasy.

FLEXIBILITYThe effect on the condition of the hair is amazing and we tried it on several hair types, as we have a diverse client base. One of the beauties of it is its effective-ness across a wide range of hair types, in fact on literally every hair type, even Afro. Whether the client has straight, curly, long or short hair; coloured, treated or untreated hair, hair oil can deliver results the client can see and feel.

It can also be effective for dehydrated, frizzy or chemically coloured/processed hair, can add to colour to enhance shine and improve colour performance and be added to styling products to bring extra nourishment and, again, shine. On top of all this it has anti-ageing benefits

for mature and grey hair, so it noticeably improves the condition of these hair types too.

Another benefit we found is the considerable retail positioning potential. We sell luxury gift boxes in range of sizes, including trial, miniatures and full retail. In a very short space of time Macadamia has taken four of our top 10 product sales slots – and that doesn’t happen unless a product truly works. What’s more, whereas other brands often need to train us on retailing, as a concept it is simple and easy to understand and there’s no education requirement either for us or the client.

We promote the range on menus at each of our styling stations, with both the retail product and in-salon conditioning treatments; this is then further reinforced with a prominent retail display.

With colouring, chemical processes and heat styling all putting hair under pressure, hair oils are

rapidly becoming a salon favourite, writes Seema Flower.

OILING THE WHEELS OF SUCCESS

Seema Flower is owner and managing director of ColourNation London Hairdressers in Covent Garden. As well as successfully running a busy salon, Seema is registered blind and specialises in offering training around the Disability Discrimination Act.

HAIR OIL

DONE

DEALS

COLOURNATION: HAIR OIL NOW WIDELY USED

HAIR OIL TOP TIPS• Many oils on the market have

multiple uses, from pre-shampoo to blow-drying and finishing, writes Jonathan Soons at Headmasters.

• While it’s great to have a multi-purpose product, hair needs different ingredients and different care when it is wet or dry. Therefore, it makes sense to choose a specific pre-shampoo oil, such as L’Oréal Professionnel série nature Oilixir and another oil to aid during blow-dry and finishing.

• It is possible to grow your salon business with simple services, such as the L’Oréal Professionnel Mythic Oil Blow-Dry. By simply adding a few drops to a blow-dry or using it as a finishing touch of sparkle, you can charge your client an extra £5 at no extra time, staff cost, or product usage.

• The oil market is growing, so it is important to stock more than one oil in your salon to offer your clients as much choice as possible. With different formulas and price points, you will be able to increase your retail business.

• Try mixing your oils with other styling products for added shine and ease of blow-dry.

L’ORÉAL MYTHIC OIL: MULTI-PURPOSE

It started when I was approached by one of Groupon’s reps who advised me I could get x number of new clients into the salon simply by using their site. It sounded almost too good to be true, but I decided to give it a go and went for a figure of offering 600 discount vouchers to Groupon users.

I offered a half head foil, full hair colour, cut and blow dry, conditioning treatment and head massage, which is normally £125, for £35, a 72 per cent discount, which is of course a massive saving. Because I was looking for it to drive footfall I made it available only to new clients and felt even if I got a 20 per cent take-up I would be happy.

What happens is you then get a printed list from Groupon of the numbers that had been sold, with their voucher codes, which you then tally with the security code the customers bring in. Groupon, too, gets a percentage of the fee from the client for making the “introduction”.

TWO-DAY SALEThe offer went up at one minute past midnight on February 13 and had completely sold out by one minute to midnight on February 14. So it was literally a two-day sale. It was a massive success. All three phone lines into the salon did not stop ringing. We even started to run out of coffee and towels, as we could not wash things up fast enough!

Salon retail sales are up by 20 per cent and actual salon turnover has increased, besides the voucher money. Moreover, one out of 10 of these new clients are now rebooking for June/July, while the salon database has grown by 600 new names.

One of the learning curves has been the realisation that, even with this success, you need to plan things to keep space for your regular clients. You do need to leave some gaps free and not let your bookings diary becoming dominated by these “cheaper” clients or you can end up losing money, as well of course risking losing loyal customers. Some salons I know keep a column aside in the book specifically for regular clients.

REWARD LOYALTYWe will take a breath in between but I am sure we will do it again. The next challenge, however, is we have had a few regular clients saying they, too, would like to get a discount. So we need to be thinking now how we are going to “look after” our regular clients and what will happen in the future.

Things I am looking into, for example, include offering regular clients 50 per cent off if they introduce another client. The NHF has branded voucher cards you can use for promotions such as this. Information on these can be found in the Salonplus order form enclosed. The message for me is that you need to be introducing promotions and attractions for your “regulars” as well as looking at new footfall through sites such as Groupon. But using sites such as these can be a useful additional string to your bow.

MARK CORAY: DEALS’ SITES CAN BOOST FOOTFALL

ADVICE


DONE

DEALS

If you read nothing else, read this….Deals’ websites can boost client footfall•It is important existing clients do not lose out•You may need to manage your bookings diary and/or •stylists’ workload carefullyConsider how you will retain new clients once the •discount has passed

OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDERWith the tough economic climate hitting consumer purses, the market for online savings codes in the UK has been growing fast. Researcher Nielsen in March calculated that over the previous 12 months almost 10 million Britons had used an online promotional code.

Possible benefits can be increased footfall and “buzz”. But possible downsides equally worth considering are whether there is any risk of devaluing your “brand” and the need to manage carefully stylist work-flow and client throughput.

You may, too, need to think how you are going to retain these new customers once the attraction of the discounted deal has passed. One option may be to offer an NHF loyalty reward card or gift voucher, which will have the added benefit of meaning you can still offer a discount but no longer have to pass a “cut” on to the website.

Earlier this year Federation president Mark Coray tried out “deals’” website Groupon to see how it could improve

footfall through his Cardiff salon Coray & Co. Here’s what he learned.


With colouring becoming an ever-more important part of the salon mix, investing in a bespoke

hot water system can make financial as well as business sense, says Angela Reid.

DO GET INTO HOT WATER

Angela Reid is owner of Salon 108 in Stanley, Derbyshire

ADVICE

CHECK YOUR BOILERThe summer may seem an odd time to think about your gas boiler, but the quieter summer months are in fact a good moment to carry out an “audit” of your hot water needs, writes John Jefferies, product manager for BusinessCare at British Gas Business.

Key to this process, of course, will be to look at when your boiler was last serviced and whether you have access to a reliable engineer.

While splashing out on a new boiler may sound like an extravagance, you need to consider the “lifecycle cost” of maintaining and repairing an older boiler versus investing in a new one. If your boiler is more than 10 years old it may make sense to replace it for a more energy-efficient model

Another factor to consider is that, as modern boilers are often smaller in size, replacing your boiler may actually create space savings within the salon. It can also be a good opportunity to get your pipework looked at and review whether the type of fuel you are using is the most cost efficient.

It goes without saying that regular servicing of a gas boiler can reduce the likelihood of a heating or hot water failure. This is especially important for heavy water-use businesses such as hairdressing salons where boilers may experience greater wear and tear, and which will normally be totally reliant on a consistent supply of hot water. A salon without hot water will most likely be an empty salon. To this end, a comprehensive maintenance contract can also be well worth the cost and provide peace of mind.

Finally, an annual service and a safety inspection of your flue is necessary to comply with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, which state that every employer has a responsibility to ensure their gas pipework and appliances are regularly maintained.

British Gas Business offers gas servicing and annual maintenance agreements through BusinessCare, and NHF members can receive up to a 10 per cent discount on BusinessCare services. Please call 0845 0733839 for further details.

Before you run your own salon, hot water systems are probably not something that will cross your mind as a hairdresser; they certainly didn’t for me.

But the rising cost of energy, plus the fact that as a salon owner it is vital you have a reliable, consistent supply of hot water, means the decisions you make about a boiler or a hot water system, both before you open and once you are up and running, are extremely important.

When I bought my salon in 2008 it did not have a dedicated hot water system, just a conventional electric heating system. I had plumbers coming in and telling me all sorts of different things: that I would need an expensive new combination boiler and that even then my water pressure might not be great. I was worried it was going to cost me thousands of pounds for something that was not even going to be guaranteed it would work reliably.

HIGH USAGEThe difficulty is that most plumbers specialise in domestic water heating and simply are not going to understand the sort of requirements a salon has. My salon is not large – it only has two backwashes as well as a kitchen and bathroom – but our water usage is still intense.

Probably some 80 per cent of our work is colouring, which has taken off massively

in the past few years, and so we might be washing colours off for 5-10 minutes at a time which, with on average 15 clients a day, quickly adds up. Also, if all you have is a dribble of water it is inevitably going to take twice as long to do a client’s hair.

My husband then one day spotted Salon Master on the internet.

We got them in to have a chat and ended up investing in their Classic model. It’s essentially a tank that we had installed in what used to be the outside toilet and which runs on a timer switch.

It’s made such a difference. The main benefit is simply peace of mind. We know we are not going to run out of hot water and the water pressure is really good – in fact it’s become a bit of a talking point with clients. Clients comment on how nice it is and how it is a bit like having a head massage.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the running cost. It is cheaper than running a domestic system, and our monthly bills are around 30 per cent less than I would have expected them to be. What’s more, the system can accommodate up to four backwashes, so there is scope to grow should we want to.

A WATERLESS SALON IS AN EMPTY SALON

INSIGHTS


WEB

Salon retailing used to be so simple. Clients would pick up products as part of their salon visit or it might be a case of taking a card order over the phone and popping a package in the post.

That still happens, of course, but nowadays salons that don’t want to lose out need to be embracing online retailing. An internet “shop window” offers convenience, secure payments and, of course, opportunities to build on all aspects of customer loyalty, both for the salon and for the products you provide.

Like most good salons, I look on my clients as ongoing “projects”. I treat my clients’ hair as a joint effort between us both. That means not just the service in the salon but full advice and products for home maintenance. And what I definitely don’t want is them running out of my products. Ever.

It’s also well recognised salons selling higher quality retail products not readily available on every high street can enjoy a distinct competitive advantage. The higher the quality and more exclusive, the better. I choose Amara Haircare because it ticks all my quality, purity and performance boxes and is only sold to a small number of salons in the UK.

TECHNICAL ADVICEWhen it came to setting up my retail website – http://danielfield.net – I turned to a “techie” friend who used the Joomla! content

management system (www.joomla.co.uk), which is provided free under what is known as an open-source licence. I asked him to create a pop-up VirtueMart shop (http://virtuemart.net/). This is also a free open-source licence that you can use alongside Joomla! to create an “e-commerce solution” which is then wrapped into the main site.

Obviously this is something that can require fairly specialised knowledge to do properly, so if you aren’t overly technical yourself it may make sense to investigate hiring a specialist to do it for you – but be absolutely clear what it is you want the site to do, what your budget is and how it will get updated and maintained and by whom (if not you).

When it comes to payments, I have been buying and requesting money using the PayPal system for years. If you don’t have a PayPal account it’s easy to set up and, for the level of transactions I require, free. VirtueMart takes customer

payments via PayPal (as do many other similar sites) so I only provide this payment option. Customers know they can pay securely online with their usual cards or via their own PayPal account if they already have one.

EFFICIENT DELIVERIESYou also need to think about stock, storage and delivery. I have a little workshop in my garden stocked with Amara Haircare. My online shop sends each order via email automatically to my father-in-law’s personal email. He then packs the products up and, for a basic three-five day service, we use the myHermes (www.myhermes.co.uk) delivery service where each package only costs £3.23 to deliver for any item up to 1kg, and £4.10 for 1-2kg items. This way, products are delivered to the customer

Online is not the future of salon retail, it’s already the present. So if you’re not up to speed with selling online

you need to get on board, advises Daniel Field.

Daniel Field runs Daniel Field Organic and Mineral Hairdressing in Barnet, north London and has been making and retailing hair and skin products for 38 years. A former Prince’s Trust ambassador, he is also a lifelong pioneer of safer, ethically sound haircare products.

ADVICE

AMARA HAIRCARE: NEED TO THINK ABOUT STOCK, STORAGE AND DELIVERY

INSIGHTS


WEB

without anyone having to traipse down the Post Office all the time. It’s all very efficient and (just as importantly) doesn’t tie up the salon phones.

Recently, and to encourage those clients who only visit us rarely to stay loyal and only re-stock off our site, we introduced free delivery. We also get a next-day delivery from Amara Haircare, which means we don’t have to bother with keeping a running inventory. However, VirtueMart can do this for you should you wish.

So, what effect has all this activity had – in other words, does it make a difference? For us, definitely. Online sales have now reached 20 per cent of our retail turnover – a not insignificant percentage – and are still growing. Part of the key to this, of course, is ensuring people are finding and using the site in the first place.

PAY-PER-CLICKThe internet is a vast marketplace and it is very easy for websites to get lost so you need to be thinking how you will encourage traffic to your site (see panel). For me, I paid a local internet company £1,000 all-in to show me how to run, maintain and optimise the site.

Already the online retail side of the business is important to our bottom line profit and that is only going to accelerate in the future. What’s more, the online retail offer is developing a life of its own, becoming more than just an “add on”. We are now getting new online-only customers because the internet search engines are picking up the keyword Amara Haircare from our website. We have even had some clients who have visited the salon simply because they came across us while searching for Amara Haircare online!

DANIELFIELD:ONLINERETAILAKEYPARTOFCLIENT‘PROJECT’

If you read nothing else, read this….There are bespoke sites that can help you set up an •online outlet, but expert technical help may be a good investmentConsider how clients are going to pay securely, how •you will store stock and how you will deliver orders most efficientlyMonitor traffic on and to the site, regularly update it •and look at how you can optimise your presence on the internetA good website can develop its own momentum and •become an important, independent revenue stream

With millions of websites all vying for attention (and most people never going beyond the first page of any search), search engine optimisation (SEO) is an issue not to be overlooked when it comes to selling online. Get it wrong and it’s like setting up down a dingy back alley rather than on a prime high-street location.

SEO specialists can command big pay packets so, for smaller businesses, the rule of thumb is: keep updating your site. Search engines such as Google look for dormant content that has not changed for a while, and these sites tend to slip down the rankings fastest.

When it comes to SEO-friendly phrases (in other words ones that will match what users are putting into a search engine) one useful resource is WordTracker’s keyword suggestion tool (https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/). Googlerankings (http://www.googlerankings.com/) is another useful SEO tool (and free).

Especially for smaller businesses, an alternative is to invest in pay-per-click (PPC), where you pay a search engine when someone clicks on your advert.

The main player here, inevitably, is Google Adwords (adwords.google.com). Your ad will appear if someone types in one of its specific keywords and then you pay Google if they then click through the advert to your site. The more you are prepared to pay, the higher your advert will go in the “sponsored links”.

The final thing to recognise is that website recognition may not happen overnight. Old-fashioned promotional activity (in-salon, local media and so on) will undoubtedly help drive traffic, as will promotional links on social media sites you are running.

HOW TO GET NOTICED

GOOGLE: SMALL BUSINESS SERVICES


Chair renting arrangements have been with us for a long time but as salons look to offer a wider range of services, so the sorts of contracts being agreed have been moving into new areas, with nail technicians and beauty consultants often now seeing chair renting as an attractive business opportunity.

The first thing to recognise is a chair renting arrangement is not a lease of part of a salon. It is a licence for the chair renter to provide services but does not and should not give the chair renter a right to occupy any particular part of the salon, or even necessarily the same chair on each occasion.

The salon owner will often wish to avoid granting a lease to avoid giving the chair renter security of tenure and the right to renew. If the salon owner is a leaseholder he could be in breach of his lease if he does grant a lease, albeit inadvertently. Even sharing occupation (under a licence) may sometimes breach a lease and therefore, if in doubt, legal advice should be sought.

USE OF SPACEOnce a chair renting licence is in place it is important to stick to the principles. When the chair renter is not using the chair or space the salon owner may do so. The chair renter is not entitled to exclusive

occupation of the chair space and a salon owner should consider moving a chair renter’s location and changing their allocated chair from time to time.

If a salon owner is a leaseholder it is important a chair renter abides by any restrictions in the lease, otherwise the salon owner may

risk forfeiture. For similar reasons, it is important either to prohibit the transfer of the arrangements to another chair renter or at least require your written consent to do so. Make sure you do not grant an arrangement which outlasts the term of your lease!

Due diligence is required before entering into a chair renting arrangement. It is important to know who you are dealing with. Consider asking for references and/or a deposit for the licence fee and facilities charge up front. Make sure the person signing on behalf of a business has the authority to do so.

Be clear about the licence fee (which will attract VAT if the salon owner is VAT registered) and the facilities which will be provided. If your facilities charge is based on the chair renter’s turnover you will need to consider how best to obtain that information while respecting confidentiality, but also ensuring you are given accurate information.

Salon owner and chair renter are conducting businesses alongside each other, therefore it is important each does nothing to harm the reputation of the other. While each has legal responsibility for their own employees, if there is any crossover of use then the user must take responsibility for the acts of the employee, whether or not it is actually their employee.

It is important chair renting arrangements provide counter-indemnities to protect each party’s interest and encourage compliance. If the arrangements come to an end it is also important there is no poaching of clients, and a restriction preventing this for a period of time (perhaps six months) may be helpful.

REGULAR REVIEWSFinally, chair renting is not intended to be a marriage for life! Chair renting agreements are generally of reasonably short duration and should be reviewed regularly (perhaps

every two years) and can generally be terminated on relatively short notice (perhaps three months). Each party should be free to relocate or sell their business as they see fit, subject to the existing terms of the chair renting arrangement.

The National Hairdressers’ Federation, in conjunction with Woodfines’ Solicitors, has produced model agreements for a range of chair renting arrangements, including for freehold and leasehold salon owners. Inevitably, these will not cover every situation but are definitely a useful starting point. NHF Licences and Agreements can be ordered through the enclosed Salonplus leaflet. Where circumstances diverge from the assumptions set out in the model agreement, legal advice, of course, should be sought.

Chair renting agreements can be helpful for salons looking to extend the range of services they offer, but it is imperative to get the legal and contractual details right, advises Valerie Findlay.

NHF CONTRACTS: DIFFERENT OPTIONS

SHARE THE CHAIR WITH CARE

Valerie Findlay is senior associate with Woodfines’ Solicitors in Bedford

CHAIR RENTING

If you read nothing else, read this….

Chair rental agreements are •covering a wider range of salon servicesIf you are worried about •breaking a lease agreement, get legal adviceCarry out due diligence •beforehandAgreements should normally be •of short duration and regularly reviewed


BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT!

The past 12 months have been so busy for me! I have so many projects on the go, but then I love being busy.

My Somerset salon has just celebrated its one-year anniversary and I am still working as art director at Errol Douglas in London.

The salon’s been doing really well, so I want to expand it, but an initial builder’s consultation has revealed I might not be able to do it (in other words it could be prohibitively expensive!) because of the construction of the back of the building. Watch this space…

I’ve been back as resident stylist for another series of Gok’s Clothes Roadshow and am resident hairdresser on ITV’s This Morning. Gok’s Clothes Roadshow is so much fun to film, it takes me all over the country giving deserving women makeovers and styling models for the catwalk shows. It’s very inspirational. I’ve also been really enjoying This Morning, and usually do one show a week.

APPRENTICE TALENT Another highlight has to be my Jamie’s Apprentice competition on This Morning. We had loads of applicants who were whittled down to six finalists. Each week we gave them a challenge and one person was sent home – that was the hardest part!

We had some amazing challenges that really allowed them to show off their skills and they even got to work with celebrities such as Melinda Messenger and Janice Dickenson. They all coped really well with the pressure of live television, which can be daunting for anyone.

In the end our winner was Bradley Robinson from Hair on Harpers in Abersychan who won a fantastic hairdressing kit, and will be assisting me on This Morning and How To Look Good Naked along with lots of other great opportunities.

CLUBSTAR MENTORINGI am continually impressed with the level of talent and creativity that comes from the younger members of our industry. This is why I love working with ClubStar, the youth membership programme of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing.

They appointed their first ever artistic team this year, for which I am a mentor. There were only supposed to be four members but the standard of entries was so high we had to choose six. I find it inspiring to work with a group of young people with so much enthusiasm and such fantastic creative ideas.

The support the Fellowship provides through ClubStar is fantastic and offers some great opportunities to learn from some of the best. For me, for example, I still regard one of my major achievements as being selected for the Fellowship’s F.A.M.E team in 2006; I was given so much experience with photographic shoots, media publicity, fashion shows,

hairdressing seminars and events. It gave me the biggest platform I could have asked for, so to be able to help offer this opportunity is really important to me. I was also awarded the Fellowship’s Hair Ambassador of the Year award last year, which is a massive honour.

CATWALK TRENDSOne of my favourite parts of being a hairdresser is seeing the trends on the catwalks being translated into wearable looks we can create in salon. The 70s is having a massive comeback; it’s all about multi-textural looks. The pixie crop trend from last year has created a new trend – a lot of people are growing them out!

Lots of texture and movement is essential for short styles. The bob is making a strong comeback but again, as a dishevelled grown out look with a heavy fringe. It’s the same story for long hair – 70s inspired looks, dishevelled curls, big bouncy hair, Debbie Harry rock-chick styles.

My top tip to get the looks is to use the right product: my key product is Loosely Defined from Matrix Design Pulse. It can be used on short, long, wet, dry, curly or straight hair, and it smells lush! You can create texture, use it to smooth when blow drying, it’s all you need for 2011’s key looks.

Finally, I’ve joined Matrix’s global art team – a huge honour – and recently toured the UK with Errol Douglas with a show. It’s been great fun – I’m looking forward to many more!

A busy salon and expanding TV commitments have been keeping Jamie Stevens rushed

off his feet. But mentoring young talent remains a top priority.

WINNER: APPRENTICE BRADLEY ROBINSON (SECOND LEFT) WITH JAMIE AND THIS MORNING’S PHILLIP SCHOFIELD AND HOLLY WILLOUGHBY

Celebrity hairdresser Jamie Stevens opened his first salon at the age of 18 and has worked with Beverly C, Daniel Hersheson and Errol Douglas. He is hairdresser-in-residence for TV shows Gok’s Fashion Fix and How To Look Good Naked as well ITV’s This Morning. Last year he was The Clothes Show Style Awards’ Celebrity Hairdresser of the Year and he was the 2009 British Hairdressing Awards Men’s Hairdresser of the Year.

COLUMN

19SEPTLondon Region Business Event De Vere Venue, Canary Wharf, London Contact Alan Rapkin on 01268 755296

2/3OCTAnnual General Meeting and Conference Marriott Hotel, Metro Centre, Gateshead Newcastle Contact NHF head office on 01234 831965 or 0845 345 6500

24OCTNHF Inspire showcase their Rush Collection Festival Hall, Kirkby-in-AshfieldNottinghamshire Contact Ivan Blount on 01773 745580

30OCTScottish Hairdressing Championships Glynhill Hotel, Paisley Contact Mary McAdam on 01389 752806

14NOVCheshire Championships Romiley Forum Theatre, Stockport Contact Ian Barrell on 0161 4276953

14NOVCompetition Awareness Evening Darlington College Contact Ian Barrell on 0161 4276953

20NOVSouth of England Championships Novotel, Southampton Contact John Light on 01794 521849

20NOVYorkshire Championships Chicago’s Night ClubHalifax Contact Phil Cooling on 07816 306305

2012

21JANWhite Rose Dinner York Race Course Contact Glen Jackson on 01904 635877

11/12MARBlackpool International Hairdressing Championships Wintergardens, Blackpool Contact Dorothea English on 01253 294760

22APRBournemouth & Reading Competitions Carrington House HotelBournemouth Contact Lee Elliot on 02380 227578


EVENTSNOT TO BE MISSED...

NHF EVENTS

OTHERS

Pleasesendyoureventsto the NHF at [email protected]/October,September9forNovember/DecemberandNovember11forJanuary/February2012.Updatedeventslistedonwww.nhf.info

As many an entrepreneurial salon owner is finding out, social networking site Twitter can be a great way to promote your business, your brand and, very simply, what you’re up to.

But, while its speed and potential audience offer massive opportunities, it pays a) to concentrate and b) be careful when tapping out Tweets, as Andrew Barton, ambassador for the Hairdressing Council and Covent Garden salon owner has discovered.

On a recent “tip of the day” he advised Tweeters: “When you blow-dry put each section in a Velcro roller as it fries, this will retain the heat and the bounce in your blow.”

Inevitably this was followed moments later by a Tweet in which you can almost hear the trying-to-laugh-it-off panic: “Oppps! Sorry tweets, yes I meant dries, not fries!”

BACKWASH

CUT AND FRY


Former Livingston MP Jim Devine has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, having in March been sentenced to 16 months in prison after being convicted of expenses fraud and false accounting.

Federation members may well remember Jim in “luckier” days as being a member of the Scottish Affairs Committee to which NHF secretary general Eileen Lawson and Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, gave evidence in 2009 about the national minimum wage (NMW).

Jim was notable in gruffly making clear his strong support for the “naming and shaming” of those who failed to comply with NMW legislation, innocently or otherwise, something of course the NHF has long been against, but which came into effect at the start of this year.

Now look who’s been named and shamed? A case, perhaps, of “Devine” justice?

(NOT SO) LUCKY JIM

This edition’s “stiff upper lip” award (which, yes, Backwash has just invented and, no, probably isn’t going to be a regular feature) goes to north Devon hairdresser Joy Potter, proprietor of Kiss Curls salon in Barnstaple.

There she was minding her business in April when an unmanned bus rolled out of the local depot, across the road and crashed into the front of her salon.

Luckily no one was hurt but the collision left the salon with smashed windows, damaged walls and a dislodged door frame.

Yet Joy insisted to her local paper

that she was still trading and open for business.

“We’ve been inundated with phone calls of support and bunches of flowers; our customers have been so kind. We just want to let people know that, for the meanwhile at least, we are still open,” she said.

That’s the spirit!

THAT’S NOT MY STOP!

Staying with technology, The Independent newspaper recently included a feature on its “Top 10 weirdest iPhone apps”.

Backwash’s favourite was Hair Clinic, from developer Sociag Project, which is designed to stimulate hair growth by sending out vibrations to promote blood circulation.

Apparently, various types of inaudible wave frequencies from the iPhone speaker can protect your hair and hair roots, and used for just 10 minutes a day the App can help reduce hair loss, according to the company’s blurb.

All well and good, of course, until you discover that “all” you have to do is walk around holding the phone to your head. And that’s before you even get to the warning that it can cause headaches if the built-in speaker is held too close to the ears for too long.

Considering that, for many suffering hair loss, their biggest problem is worrying about people staring at them, you’d imagine they might have thought that through a bit more.

GOOD VIBRATIONS

Research among users of Regaine for Men foam has found that Wrexham, in Wales, has the greatest prevalence of bald men – around half – followed by York, Manchester, Liverpool and Cambridge.

Of more interest to salon owners, however, is that Chelmsford, where just one man in five is going bald, has won the company’s accolade of “hairiest town in Britain”.

Backwash thinks this startling discovery could potentially open up a range of lucrative promotional opportunities for salons offering waxing services or focused on male grooming, not to mention wider benefits for the city’s tourist chiefs.

How about a tie-up with those celebrity chefs the “hairy bikers” (pictured)? Or maybe a twinning ceremony with the town of Hairy Hill in Alberta, Canada? On second thoughts, maybe not.

HAIRY AND PROUD OF IT

If you have stories for Backwash, send them to the editor at head office or e-mail to [email protected] putting Editor Backwash in the subject line.

Documents

SalonFocus July-Aug 2011