WELCOME

HAIR: COS SAKKAS PHOTOGRAPHY: JACK EAMES

I had a (mildly) heated discussion with a hairdresser and salon owner recently about trends. They shall remain nameless, but their argument was that trends are created by the media and brands – and that they are never inspired in their day-to-day colour work by them. My argument? Inspiration always starts somewhere, whether it's unconscious references collected from celebrity, fashion, interiors, music, art and even food, or whether it’s direct from trend reports. We can’t help being drawn to some colours or styles, and even actively dislike others.

Which is where this year’s Pantone Color of the Year Mocha Mousse comes in. As colours go, it lends itself very well to being recreated in the hair industry, but a lot of naysayers have reacted with comments of ‘boring brown’. However we’ve seen the rise of Expensive Brunettes – those glossy rich tones have become a strong driver of colour footfall and have really opened up the conversations you can have with brunette clients who might traditionally have been reluctant to switch up their colour. In fact, the whole point of Pantone’s Color of the Year is to ‘drive conversation around colour, highlighting the relationship between colour and culture.’ Nowhere can this be lived out better than in the salon chair. We explore both the catwalk trends on pages 20-21 (wearable ones only, thank you!) and dive into the world of Mocha Mousse exploring how you can adapt it to hair colour from pages 23-25.

Elsewhere in the issue we hear from salon owner Noel Halligan on the future of AI in hairdressing. Last year, Noel had a horrible incident happen to him and found the best comfort and advice coming from none other than ChatGPT. He shares in this month’s HJ Voicenotes how it made him see the potential relationship between AI and hairdressing in a whole new light, turn to page 17 to find out more. Speaking of looking at things from a fresh perspective, often the most difficult times force us to look anew at parts of our lives and businesses. Three business owners tell us whether they have apprentices run their own columns in our HJ Debate, Norman Boulton shares his colour inspiration and Wicked wig maker Sam James Cox charts his career.

And don’t miss three-times HJ’s British Hairdresser of the Year, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional, winner Cos Sakkas grace our February cover, proving that the cut is most definitely king in 2025.