CELEBRATING NEW TALENT

THE NEXT GENERATION OF INDUSTRY TALENT TOOK TO THE STAGE TO SHOWCASE THEIR SKILLS

HJ’s Extensions Competition, sponsored by Great Lengths, challenged hair pros to show off their technical skills and creative abilities by demonstrating the most flawless and innovative application of extensions, ending in a live awards ceremony on the HJ Stage. The competition was split into two categories – Commercial and Creative.

Finalists were asked to present their completed and styled entry look in the Competition Area. Judges Darren Ambrose, Inanch Emir, Jennie Manzi and 2023 Commerical Winner Beverley Rosser quizzed the finalists on their looks and watched them take shape in the Competition Area. The winners were announced on the HJ Stage by CEO of HB Collective, home of Great Lengths UK Joscelin McCourt and Professional Beauty Group Managing Director Mark Moloney.

COMMERICAL EXTENSIONS SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Poppy Saunders

CREATIVE EXTENSIONS SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Natalya Knewstubb

THE WINNERS OF THE 2024 SNAP! AWARDS

HJ announced the winners of the 2024 SNAP! Awards live at Salon International on Monday 14 October. This year, there were six categories including Barbering, Bridal, Colour sponsored by Moroccanoil, Commercial sponsored by COLOR.ME KEVIN MURPHY, Creative sponsored by Olivia Garden and Texture. A huge well done to all the finalists and a big congratulations to the winners!

• BARBERING: Matty Kershaw, Danny & Co (represented by Danny Robinson)

• BRIDAL: Charlotte Heatley, The Hideaway

• COLOUR, SPONSORED BY MOROCCANOIL: Lucian Busuioc, Artist Salon & Academy

• COMMERCIAL, SPONSORED BY COLOR.ME KEVIN MURPHY: Stephanie Maher, The Sober Colourist

• CREATIVE, SPONSORED BY OLIVIA GARDEN: Gemma Miles, Hair by Phillip

• TEXTURE: Chris Grimley, Fusion Hair Co

BEST OF THE BEST: CONCEPT LEARNER OF THE YEAR 2024 FINALISTS

Best of the Best: Concept Learner of the Year 2024, in association with Salon International, made its debut on Monday 14 October at Salon International. This exciting live competition saw five winners from Concept Hair’s Learner of the Year Awards come together to compete in one final skills showdown.

Up for grabs, the title of ‘Best of the Best’. To win, each student was tasked with creating a look that best depicted the theme Runway Fashion in their chosen specialism – textured hair, colouring, hair up or barbering. Each student excelled in their chosen field, proving that the future of our industry is in safe hands.

Jayne Lewis-Orr, Executive Director of Hairdressers Journal International and Salon International, was joined by industry titan Bruno Giamattei on the HJ Stage to announce the winner of the competition. Jayne shared “Each of these students is a winner in their own right and is each deserving of a massive congratulations.”

The five finalists were: Kevin Kusmierek from Oldham College, Shelby Smith from Bedford College, Kelly Edwards from The Grimsby Institute, Annie Ashley from The Grimsby Institute and Hilal Assad Younis from Kirklees College.

However, there could only be one ‘Best of the Best’, with the title being awarded to Kelly Edwards, who represented the Textured Hair category, and impressed the judges with her technical skill and creativity.

A massive thank you to each of our judges for their time, Darren Ambrose, James Forte, Wez Jones and Emma Dixon, and also to Zoë Tanner and the team at Concept Hair.

The Raw Talent Barbering Competition, in association with Mike Taylor Education, returned to Salon International and this year the winners won the title of Raw Talent Barbering Winner 2024 and also received an amazing prize full of products from brands including Andis, Denman, Morgan's Pomade and STMNT Grooming Goods.

Judges Ian Harrold, Anderson Boyce, Tracy Mangan, Hayden Cassidy, Kevin Luchmun and Sheriff Mehmet were amazed at the skills on show.