JUly 2020
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EDITOR’S LETTER
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15 JUly 2020
ello everyone! First of all, I’d like to introduce myself to you all as Molly’s replacement as Chief Editor! I work on our sister publication, Salon Magazine, so luckily I already know a few tricks of the trade and I am excited to have Barber under my belt too! Please get in touch through social media if you have anything you think should be covered in the magazine over the coming months @thebarbermagazine Hopefully you’re all staying sane in lockdown, but I think we might have something to help if you’re not. Our July issue features a huge ‘Haircare from Home’ section and is off to a belter with a double page spread of some absolute home hair shockers which are bound to give you a laugh! You might want to take a look with your hands over your eyes. In hope of bringing these disastrous, feeble fades down to a minimum we turned to the experts who have revealed how to support your clients at home whilst they are unable to pay you a visit. With all this lack of routine and normality, we feel it is important to keep providing you with all the regular features you love. We’ve got an unmissable interview with this month’s Rising Star Oliver Hill, an epic Create This Style with a fantastic story behind it and of course my personal favourite – Barbershop of The Month… And that isn’t even half of it. I am looking forward to meeting you all in the (fingers crossed) not so distant future but in the meantime, hang on in there and we’ll see you really soon! Take care guys. Editor
Hair
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on the cover
Selvedge Barbers @selvedgebarbers www.selvedgebarbers.com Hair: Hamish Glianos (Selvedge Barbers). Styled using: Selvedge Grooming Classic Pomade Photography: Karim Tabar Make-up artist: Miga Huang Model: Jacob Johnson
CONTENTS
28 RegulaR FeatuRes: 08
Barbershop of The Month: Our July issue features the stunning, London based, Troise and Sons.
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Create This Style: Kenny Baker provides a step by step guide for all the lockdown inspo you need.
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Social Media Look Book: Even in lockdown we’re still providing you with the industry’s sweetest snaps!
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Rising Star: The award-winning Oliver Hill reveals how he got to where he is today and his top tips for those of you aiming to follow in his footsteps.
unique FoR JulY 11
Home hair horrors: Brace yourself… We have photographic evidence of the worst lockdown locks fails.
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Haircare from home: We’ve called upon the experts who have shared their advice for keeping your client’s ‘home hair horrors’ to a minimum.
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Waterman & Webb’s guest column: The boys reveal the 4 ways in which they are trying to prevent home hair disasters. Social media expert page: Digital Media Consultant Ross Hansen talk us through ‘From Hashtags to ‘Stories’: How to make the most of Instagram’.
34 EDITOR Jade Evans jade.evans@cimltd.co.uk CONTRIBuTOR Ross Hansen SALES DIRECTOR Tom Woollin tom@cimltd.co.uk PuBLICATION MANAGER Api Somboongedd api@cimltd.co.uk 01795 509 102 CREDIT FACILITIES MANAGER Natalie Murray E: creditcontrol@cimltd.co.uk 01795 509 103 DIGITAL & WEB DEVELOPER Matt Coppard MANAGING DIRECTOR John Denning © 2020 CIM Online Limited, The Goods Shed, Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GD. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form – electronic, mechanical or physical – without express prior permission and written consent of the publisher. Contributions are invited and when not accepted will be returned only if accompanied by a fully stamped and addressed envelope. Manuscripts should be type written. No responsibility can be taken for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during transmission or in the editor’s hands. In the absence of an agreement the copyright of all contributions, literary, photographic or artistic, belongs to CIM Online Limited. The publisher accepts no responsibility in respect of advertisements appearing in the magazine and the opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the Publisher. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss arising from the late appearance or non publication of any advertisement.
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Industry update Hair and Barber Council supports recovery of industry
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he Hair and Barber Council is today calling for the Government to introduce mandatory regulation of hairdressers, barbers and the beauty sector to help the sector emerge from the coronavirus pandemic more resilient. At present, hairdressers and barbers can operate without any guarantee of training and standards. With physical and social distancing likely to remain
in place for some time, it is vital that hairdressers and barbers continue to operate to the highest standards whilst delivering an essential service to consumers. keith Conniford, Registrar of the Hair and Barber Council, said: “Before CoVID-19 hit, the hairdressing, barbering and beauty sector employed over 337,000 people in more than 49,000 businesses across the uk. To help these businesses survive this
turbulent time, we are calling on the Government to recognise the high standards and professionalism of our hairdressers and barbers.” The Hair and Barber Council is developing a ‘Back To Work Plan’, working in close partnership with the British Association of Beauty Therapy & Cosmetology (BABTAC).
‘The £1.7 Million Haircut’ documentary
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he £1.7 Million Haircut tells a personal story about a global issue - men believing that they can’t or shouldn’t talk about their mental health and feeling that there is no way out other than to take their own lives. This is the story about one man’s mission to change this and to saves lives, one haircut at a time. After the death of his friend Alex, Torquay based barber Tom Chapman founded the charity ‘The Lions Barber Collective’. Its mission is to create non-clinical, non-judgemental safe
spaces where men feel comfortable to talk about their mental health and to signpost them to support. Recognising that barbers are often a trusted and friendly ear to their customers, the documentary shows Tom’s efforts to develop a clinically backed training programme (BarberTalk) for hair stylists to support their clients. Made by ‘Films by Wonder’, written by Lisa Gardiner and directed by Josh Pratt, the film demonstrates the charity’s obvious impact on people’s lives. It builds on the charity’s
momentum to become a global movement by training barbers over the world to recognise when someone is struggling and support them to find help.
#THEKNOWLEDGE now has more content than ever
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he Fellowship for British Hairdressing’s online library of education, #THEkNoWLEDGE, is continuing to grow and develop despite the coronavirus lockdown. The website is being updated weekly with an ongoing calendar of prerecorded content – including tutorials from Robert Masciave, interviews with the Haircuts for Homeless team and
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re-watchable coverage of shows from Pro Hair Live. The Fellowship for British Hairdressing is also hosting two livestreams of #THEkNoWLEDGE per week (Monday and Thursday at 3pm). The highlights of these interviews are then uploaded to the site. Although #THEkNoWLEDGE is usually a member benefit, the Fellowship has made the decision
to make the entire platform free for anyone to view during the coronavirus crisis. Fellowship President, ken Picton, says: “We hope #THEkNoWLEDGE is keeping people connected and inspired. We can’t wait to see everyone again at one of our events as soon as we can.”
Turn a haircut into a harmony
Turn it up! Discover how TheMusicLicence is helping businesses find their mojo.
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BARBERsHop of THE MoNTH
Images © ugnė Grevytė
There’s more than what meets the eye Upon its opening in July 2018, the family behind Troise and Sons Barbershop wanted to combine music, art and timeless design, a real passion of theirs. The idea was to merge these elements together to create a style that wasn’t mainstream… And here we have it, in all its glory.
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wner Davide Troise revealed that he found the perfect location at containerville, based in London fields, which was a great hub made with upcycled containerships. However, due to the limited space of the container, Davide revealed it was a challenge to design the interior. “We had to create everything bespoke and from scratch using local artisans. our classic and iconic Zerbini chairs were brought in from Italy and all decoration was made to measure. Troise and sons Barber is also a platform to promote artists and designers. We often host live music
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performances and comedy nights. our shop walls are dedicated to exhibitions. currently we’re hosting the talented English portrait photographer Ivan Weiss.” The design is minimalistic and modern and the team have incorporated lots of raw materials to bring a touch of industrialism and rock music. A few specific pieces of furniture really emphasise this theme, such as the church bench, a 1950s french barber chair and medical cabinets. Davide explained they had commissioned an art director to work on the branding of the shop. Troise and sons Barber’s brand concept is based
on Italian futurism and film posters, so the colour palette which identified with Davide is a bespoke green, black and white: “for the interior we chose to work mainly with the black and white as this will allow us to adapt and change the design quite easily if we feel like it.” We were keen to find out what makes Troise and sons different to other barbershops on the market, and Davide told us: “I believe what makes Troise and sons Barber special is that when clients visit us, they can find great personal and bespoke services as we are a truly independent barbershop. our idea is not to be a replica, our clients choose us for our authenticity and unique way
BARBERsHop of THE MoNTH
of working. We have an outdoor deck which is shared with our community with a chilled atmosphere. Troise and sons Barber’s clientele appreciate the fact that we are not a shop window on the main road. We don’t want to be just convenient. We like the idea that people search for us before they find us.” Davide’s first job as a barber was in Naples at the age of just 13 years old. After completing his studies, Davide has now worked in the hair industry for over 20 years in Italy, the uk, sweden and Australia for corporate and small companies: “We thought opening an
independent barbershop to develop our vision of being an authentic brand could inspire the industry and our clients. Also, at Troise and sons Barber we want to create the best working conditions for talented, experienced barbers. Recently we’ve started to train unexperienced barbers and to take them to the next level.” Not only do we love the interior at Troise and sons, Davide revealed their clientele also love the shop: “Most of our clients work for the music and creative industries so I guess that’s why they appreciate our décor.”
THEBARBERMAGAZINE.co.uk | 9
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HOME HAIR HORRORS
Epic fail
Image from @cale
b.smith24
Warning: you may find this content disturbing… Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
beard
Image from @patriot_
ldock - @waldocktom
Image from Tommy Wa
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Image from Joe Boyce-Jackson - @ruthlessbarberjoe
Image from @jen.balloehme
HOME HAIR HORRORS
Image from @tanksalot432 Joshua Collins @ruthlessbarberjosh
Image from Mike Smith
- @mikesmithbb
Image from @harr
ycowell_
Image from @lilyfairhall_ Image from @tompaulrandall
THEBARBERMAGAZINE.CO.UK | 13
HoME HAIRcARE
Lend a hand Have you recovered from those home hair horrors on the previous page yet? We don’t blame you if not… As the buzzcut sweeps the nation at a rapid pace, we’ve called upon the experts who revealed exactly how you can guide your clients through at-home haircare during lockdown.
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’m sure you’ve all been there in the past when you’ve felt ever so slightly dishevelled after going without a haircut for a week longer than you usually would… ok, so now imagine how your clients are feeling in lockdown. People’s overgrown hair is almost as much of a talking point as coronavirus itself, we’ve seen it all – dodgy skin fades, bad bleaching, wonky fringes and of course the dreaded, but seemingly popular, buzzcut. It’s understandable as barbers if some of you are scrolling through your Instagram feed with your hand partly covering your eyes to stop yourself leaving a rather angry comment on a client’s latest quarantine selfie. After the ministerial announcement stating barbershops will now not re-open until July 4th at the earliest, it’s inevitable there will be yet another influx of home hair disasters, just like we saw in week 3 of lockdown when people decided it was time for a makeshift trim. The thing is, with your clients cutting their own hair, it’s highly likely they will be making a botch job of it which will make your lives more difficult once your shop doors are re-opened. You’re bound to have waiting lists for days and queues halfway down the road… We are all desperate for a trim! But these queues won’t be going down as quick as you’d like if you’ve got Tom, Dick and Harry all in a chair who thought it would be a great idea to give themselves a skin fade without a mirror, using a pair of clippers they found in the loft from 12 years ago! What we would like to say is we have reached out to some of the industry experts who have highlighted a few ways in which you, as barbers, can try and reduce these god-awful home haircuts. ok, granted – you can’t physically stop anyone from shaving their head (social distancing and all that)
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Image from Rhys Whitehouse @ r.whitehouse_cuts
but we’ve got a few other tricks up our sleeve which might come in handy… Rhys Whitehouse, Barber and ambassador for Black Label Grooming, notices that patience is key here: “Most of your clients are going to ask you the obvious: ‘I’m going to give myself a fade, how do you do it?’ So you then have to muster all of your energy to reply with something polite and try your best to simplify years and years-worth of practice and training into one, maybe two paragraphs, and no doubt it would be the same scenario with any attempts at home dye or bleaching.” Rhys admitted that you can advise
but ultimately, if a client wants to do it, then they are going to do it: “The best thing to suggest is that they don’t shave their head.” Which seems to be the most popular lockdown trend. Rhys’ preference in trying to prevent home hair horrors is encouraging clients to buy a hairdryer and the necessary brushes to learn to style those longer locks. He suggests, you, as the professional, should spend some time online with them to go through varying looks that would suit them, engage with your clients and remind them they aren’t just a haircut, they are someone that puts their trust in you,
HoME HAIRcARE
Image from calum James @_cj_barber_
Image from Rhys Whitehouse @ r.whitehouse_cuts
to achieve the results which only you achieve. It is likely, as a barber during this lockdown you’ve been inundated with messages and phone calls as ‘hair’ is the word on everyone’s lips at the moment. undoubtedly, clients will be asking heaps of questions but Rhys’ suggestion in dealing with these is to write out detailed answers to FAQs within the notes on your phone, to tailor, and then copy and paste, so you aren’t going mad answering the same questions over and over: “Don’t let on enough so that you devalue yourself, but give them the respect in offering enough of your time and knowledge so that they can feel like themselves again. If you look after your clients, they will undeniably look after you.”
Image from Joshua collins @ruthlessbarberjosh
Everyone is coping with lockdown in their own way. Some need to be productive or creative, some feel the need to alter their image or experiment and arguably, what better time than now? What better time to be that colour that you’ve always wanted but work wouldn’t let you have? What better time to shave a mohawk into your hair because you’ve wanted it since seeing Beckham or Travis Barker in 2001-2002? Rhys admitted he’s come very close to a few Denis Rodman styles these past few weeks but thankfully didn’t! We asked Rhys whether he thinks it’s a good idea for a barber or barbershop owner to be retailing and offering ‘athome haircare sets’ on their websites to which he said:
“our product is reliant on social media, but it can’t be sold on a digital platform. our industry requires us to break the rules of social distancing in which to create the product. obviously, this has meant that during lockdown the majority of us are out of work and subsequently out of pocket. “We are all looking at ways to make money as best we can by using what we know, which is hair cutting and styling. Selling haircare and hair styling products is nothing new. If every one of our clients has styling products, a comb and a hairdryer at home, surely providing them with the same products we use to style their hair in shop would be a reasonable financial avenue to explore.”… We couldn’t agree more Rhys!
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HoME HAIRcARE According to Rhys, two factors a barber must consider whilst looking after their clients, and to prevent major at-home hair disasters, are: communication and patience. “Speculate to accumulate, if you can invest your time now into your clients then your clients will invest in you. Show them you care about their hair as well as their wellbeing. Remind them that lockdown is not permanent. The possibilities of having to fix something that may well not have grown out by the time lockdown is over will be worse for them than the present when it really isn’t important if their fade isn’t crisp.” Joshua collins works at the award winning Ruthless Barbers and believes that cutting your hair at home (whether you do it yourself or ask someone else in your household to do it) is never going to be the best idea: “But as most will know, the feeling of a fresh trim is second to none and we could all use a bit of positivity in these strange times.” Added Josh. “To my fellow barbers - the most important thing you can do right now is to simply stay in touch with your customers. Their loyalty is your livelihood. Reach out and reassure them that you’re only a message or phone call away to offer advice for their lockdown trims.” Josh recommends using your social media channels to provide tutorials and techniques for cutting during lockdown: “If, like me, you’re all wrapped up in the crazy world of home-schooling, have resources and links available that you can send to your customers. YouTube has thousands
Image from Joshua collins @ruthlessbarberjosh
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Image from Rhys Whitehouse @ r.whitehouse_cuts
of great tutorials, but without your recommendations, your customers won’t know where to start.” Retailing online is another alternative and a way of just going that extra mile for your clients who will of course be very grateful. Josh explained that you could always get in touch with your local wholesaler and buy a few beginner’s barbering kits: “Sell them on to the clients who you know will be struggling without their weekly trims! They’ll be the ones who will be most appreciative of having their own equipment, and they’ll also be the most willing to spend a little bit of money on their at-home cuts.” Sounds like a win win to us! calum James, Manager of Lordsman Male Grooming, sees that there are various things you can do to assist clients during lockdown, and he has seen plenty of examples of this on social media. calum noted that a simple FaceTime with a client to talk them through the process of a haircut, step-by-step, has been successful: “Realistically it’s never going to be spoton, however if someone is willing to give it a go and they have approached you, then I don’t see any harm.” calum has been taking a slightly different approach as he revealed he’s been individually private messaging customers purely because of his diverse client base. The advice he gives to one person might not be the same as he gives to the next, depending on their hair type, which is why he’s being thorough. We asked calum if he thinks home
haircutting is a good idea during lockdown to which he was sceptical and believed it depends on what is trying to be achieved. “If it’s just a tidy up round the sides and ears then yes, if it’s more complex then I would say no. Mistakes can be made that lead to months of trying to regrow a certain area. I have lost count of how many crowns I have seen shaved off in lockdown. I think, as barbers, we seem to draw the short straw and people think what we do is easy. Now that lockdown has come in to play, I think it’s made people appreciate us and our skills a lot more.” calum personally doesn’t think retailing kits for clients at home are necessary: “I have helped my clients where I can during the lockdown period without making a penny and hope, in return, when we are able to open, these clients will pay back the favour by keeping us busy. “Lockdown isn’t going to last forever, and we shouldn’t be recommending anything too pricey that our clients will have no need for at the end of all this.” So, things we have established – look after your clients now and they will look after you once this is over, retail kits only if you see it as a necessity, use your social media to your advantage and keep up the regular content, do all you can to keep shaved heads to a minimum, and most of all, keep in contact! Hopefully we’re on the home straight now so keep up the good work and fingers crossed we will have a hint of normality back in our lives sooner rather than later.
HAIRcARE FRoM HoME
A little help from our friends We’re almost certain that you’d like to reduce the amount of your clients who are terribly trimming their hair at home just to make your life a little easier when they return. We caught up with the boys at Waterman & Webb who revealed 4 measures they’ve put in place during lockdown to try and prevent home hair horrors. YouTube Guide once lockdown was set in motion, we realised that we hadn’t actually had our own hair cut! So, one of our directors decided he would cut his own hair at home a film it in stages to put on YouTube to help anyone out there who wanted a trim up. We then realised there were lots of our own customers who wanted to cut their hair at home just to get them by during the lockdown. The guide on YouTube has now been viewed by lots of our customers who have used it safely and successfully to cut their hair with minimal mishaps due to the detailed guide by our director.
Instagram Live Guide As we have got further into the lockdown, we began to realise that it wasn’t just a few customers who wanted to cut their own hair, it was most of them! We decided to talk people through the process on Instagram Live. It was received so well
by our followers that it eventually meant we were giving them what they wanted which meant doing a couple of Lives every few days. our customer feedback revealed that they really enjoyed the interaction of us almost teaching them the process. of course, the haircuts weren’t amazing, but definitely much better than they would have been without the tutorial!
Bad Haircut Competition For something a little light-hearted to brighten to mood of our customers during lockdown, we started up a bad haircut competition on our Instagram feed. We got clients to send in their worst home haircut experiences and then they were posted online for people to vote on. The winner (the worst) will get a free haircut from us when we reopen. It has been a great way to keep up interaction with current and future clientele - so far, we have had over 1,000 votes on the different haircuts. one thing it did make us realise is that a haircut which us, as barbers, thought was bad, people
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outside the trade can’t see the problem! I think it’s safe to say, our trade is never going to disappear to people home haircutting.
Keeping in Contact with Clients This is really important to us during this difficult time. We have prioritized client contact by private messages and with regular content being uploaded to our social channels. At first, admittedly, we found it hard as it was a bit of a shock to the system being forced to close down. But once we settled ourselves, we started to get back into the flow of communicating. We have re-based images that we had stored from earlier in the year, we’ve also contacted customers that had showed interest in contacting us. Mainly the conversations have been about hair, but also we’ve found it imperative to speak to some of these customers about how they are feeling during this time as we all know lots of people use their barber as someone to confide in, not just for a haircut.
Winners of the people’s choice award
Facebook: richmondbarber Instagram: @richmondbarbers Telephone: 07745197307 Booking: richmondbarbers.booksy.com
www.richmond-barbers.com
PRoMoTIoN
Game changers With a trip to the barbershop at the forefront of most people’s mind post-lockdown, it’s inevitable that they’re going to want to go all out… I’m talking, beard trim, haircut and even nasal wax. Opies Beard Co. are lending a hand in providing you with their top 5 hero beard products to get your clients feeling like themselves again. Top 5 Beard Products of 2020
pores while the nettle powder helps to exfoliate the skin.
Sherbet Lemon Beard Butter
Premium Range Beard Oil (The Barista Scent)
our beard butters are great for conditioning the beard and skin and leaving it feeling soft and silky. We use a blend of Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Avocado Butter, Jojoba oil, Argan oil and Grapeseed oil with the added fragrance of Sherbet Lemon to create a soft whipped cream consistency product with a delicious scent.
Charcoal and Nettle Beard Soap our beard soap is designed especially for your face and beard to clean but not strip away the oils from your skin. We use activated charcoal to help detox and pull out the dirt from your
A blend of Jojoba oil, Argan oil and Grapeseed oil makes our beard oil a go to product and a must have to keep the beard soft, smooth and keep the skin hydrated. We selected the best quality oils to treat both the skin and hair and have had nothing but positive feedback from customers and barbers who have used them. The Barista scent has a coffee and vanilla fragrance and is one of our most popular scents.
Premium Range Beard Balm (Filthy Grin Scent) This product is everything you need if you are looking to style your beard and has a base of Beeswax, Shea Butter, Mango Butter,
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Jojoba oil, Argan oil and Grapeseed oil. Much like our beard oils this product includes Shea and Mango Butter to condition and Beeswax to act as a styling agent. The barbers we supply love to use this product on their clients after a beard trim to help sculpt beard and leave it looking great all day.
Classic Range Beard Oil (Black Honey Scent) The classic Range products are a huge hit with customers and barbers alike because they are a bit more affordable but still do a fantastic job at conditioning the beard. on a base of Sweet Almond oil and Vitamin E oil with Patchouli, Lavender, Black Pepper and Bergamot Essential oils creates Black Honey, a manly woodland smoke scent.
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PRoMoTIoN
Preparation is key Salon Tracker discuss preparing for the re-opening of your Barbers.
F
ollowing the latest government announcement, it has been suggested that salons may be able to open again on the 4th July dependent on the ongoing situation. However, for Barber businesses, as much as this is still a few weeks away, this has now at least provided a date for us to work towards. Which means over the next few weeks there are preparations that business owners can be doing, to get their salon organised for this reopen date. For those of you that have a Barbers that take bookings, or have regular walk-in clients, now is the time to contact your entire customer database to get people on to a reserve waiting list, or even start to provisionally book clients in for some appointments after that date. Should we get closer to the time and the date gets pushed back from the 4th July, at least this way you have a clear list of clients that you have communicated with and you can always rearrange their appointments. It’s just good to have a starting point and some provisional bookings in place. If you offer online booking, this is a good time to think about social distancing and how many people may be allowed in your salon at any one time. We know that we don’t have any
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certain figures on this yet, however we feel that you can never be too prepared and also, if clients can see that you have adopted extra safety measures, this will then also help to ease their minds as they visit your salon. Perhaps block out certain booking slots, to make sure that the salon will have adequate space to practice social distancing measures and ensure that only a certain number of bookings take place at any one time. This can be done using our ‘breaks’ system within Salon Tracker, in which this will also mirror to our online booking, to make sure that those slots
remain unavailable. If you also are a user of our Enterprise software package, we are also advancing our Siteview app! currently, Siteview allows all users to be able to view their appointments as they are entered on the Salon Tracker system itself, or if they are booked online. And for Salon owners, you can pull reports and view sales takings remotely from wherever you are, at any time. However, with our latest advances, therapists will now be able to add, edit and remove appointments from within the app itself! Another great tool to practice social distancing further, as it stops all employees from having to operate from the main reception desk. This way, they can now organise and amend appointments through their own devices, from a safe distanced space. So now is the time to market and re-engage with your clients, to notify them of the provisional open date and, let them know of the changes that you are going to be making in your Barbers in preparation for this time. If you would like any further advice from Salon Tracker, or aren’t currently a user of their software, request a FREE trial or call for extra information on 0113 350 8230.
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Create this style
Skin Fade Kenny Baker’s barbering journey started following a brush with the law when he was younger. An offer from his best friend’s Dad to sort himself out and start training as a hairdresser completely changed his life. 10 years on, Kenny made the jump into barbering and has never looked back.
S
ince then, Kenny has worked for ruffians in Covent Garden where they won Wahl’s Best UK Barbershop award in 2018. Kenny has put together a step-by-step guide to the perfect skin fade. Kenny used Bumble and Bumble surf spray to give the overall look some added texture. the Captain Fawcett Barberism Beard Oil was also used in the final steps of the process and played a big part in finishing it off to lock in the moisture. skin fades have been popular for quite some time now and Kenny doesn’t see them going out of fashion any time soon. he chose this look to demonstrate how this particular style can work really well on clients with a natural curl to the hair and highlighted the fact that adding texture spray really allows a new dimension to the overall appearance. some barbers may find it slightly trickier to work with those clients who have naturally tight curls which is why Kenny has simply outlined all you need to know in achieving this fresh fade.
Kenny Baker
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Final look
Create this style
Step 1 - Firstly, i always take a clean section from the recession points which allows me to work freely and cleanly with a clearer surface. Now i take my detailers and carefully create my fade guideline. this will determine the shape and height of my fade. i always like to drop my fades as i feel it looks more natural and allows me to keep some of the weight on the crown.
Step 2 - i like to brush talc on next, not only to clean the neck ready for my foil, but it will also make it easier for the foils to glide on the head. When using foils, i like to leave about half an inch under my guideline, allowing me the room to blend my foil line.
Step 3 - i then use my clipper grade 3 and take out the bulk of the hair, always working in an outwards motion to avoid creating more lines. this also give me a guide to work up to.
Step 4 - Working parallel with my guideline, i take my 0.5 and create another line, half an inch above it. switching to 0.0, i then knockout my original guideline. Using the corner of my blade, i carefully take out any remaining lines, always switching between 0.0 and 0.5.
Step 5 - Using a 1.5 guard, i now blend out the rest - switching between open and closed to get the difference in lengths. i like to finish off the face with a wide comb, and just brush over with the scissors, paying attention towards my section.
Step 6 - after combing out my section, i use my 5 guard to run over the top of the hair, going in all directions to make sure i get every single hair. i like to finish with scissors on the top to make sure the hair is even. as the hair in this particular trim is coarse and curly, i leave at least 10% moisture in the hair and apply beard oil (yes, beard oil!). it’s great for locking in moisture on even the driest of hair.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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SOCIAL MEDIA LOOKBOOK
Take your pic! If you didn’t take a picture, did it even happen?
@jontyson
@tedjosee
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@aj_rapture
@bellabarba
@stepan_gramatik –
YouTube: Stepan Grama tik
SOCIAL MEDIA LOOKBOOK
@charlie_x_king
s
@divergentroadman
@raphael_hairstyle @fadealist
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SocIAL MEDIA
Sharpest tool in the box W From Hashtags to ‘Stories’: Ross Hansen explains exactly how to make the most of Instagram.
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ith the uncertainty and disruption caused by the coVID-19 pandemic, it’s a very difficult time for hair and beauty businesses up and down the country at the moment. It’s still unclear when businesses will be able to open back up again, so in this worrying time any positive steps that can be taken to shore up business health need to be fully embraced. Social media is one of the areas that can bring potentially huge long-term rewards for businesses. With people at home and using social media even more often, it’s a good time to create relationships and remind potential customers exactly what your business has to offer post-lockdown. And when it comes to social media platforms, Instagram is surely right up there with the best.
Following its creation in 2010, Instagram has skyrocketed in popularity to become one of the biggest players in the social media game. With 1 billion active monthly users, it’s an ideal platform for businesses to expand their audience and engage with their customers. It’s particularly ideal for hair and beauty businesses, as Instagram’s dedication to photos and videos allows professionals to really show off what they can do. Instagram has evolved since its creation, and there are now a range of different features that savvy businesses can take advantage of. Here we’ll explore the main ones.
Hashtags Hashtags have always been one of the key strengths of Instagram. With other platforms such as Facebook, for
SocIAL MEDIA example, it can be difficult to expand a page’s reach and build a community without highly targeted ads. But Instagram’s hashtags are perfect for finding an audience. It takes a bit of research, but once you’ve found the best hashtags to use you can quickly catapult your posts to the attention of the thousands (and sometimes millions) of people who are following that particular hashtag. So, whatever your specialty, whether it’s beard trimming, haircuts or effortless fades, there are hashtags out there that will put you in front of exactly the kind of interested people you’re looking for. Localised hashtags are also incredibly useful – allowing you to grow a community (and potential customer base) that’s near you. Don’t go overboard, though. Make your hashtags relevant and specific, and don’t use too many. Although Instagram allows you to use 30 hashtags for each post, there’s a school of thought that the optimum number of hashtags is actually 9.
Go viral on the Explore page The holy grail of Instagram, however, is the Explore page. occupying the same space as the in-app search function, this page automatically shows users content that’s specially curated for them based on their past activity within the app. If you manage to get your posts on this feed, you have the chance of going viral and seeing your impressions (and followers) skyrocket – as the people who will see your content there will likely be interested and engaged in your particular niche already. Reaching the Explore page is easier said than done, however – Instagram’s algorithm decides which posts to use depending on how successful they are in the crucial first hour or two after posting. Your post has to be very popular with your own followers, and experience high levels of engagement through comments, to stand a chance. Relatable videos are often very successful, and it could be that a video showcasing your barbering skills in a funny and engaging way is your ticket to Instagram stardom. But it’s also important to strike the right balance – don’t forget to shape meaningful content for your followers, and the right
content for your particular business goals.
Stories and IG Live This is where Instagram can really excel for your barber business. one of the best ways of forging meaningful, long-lasting relationships with your followers (and potential customers) is to connect with them on the human level. Instagram’s Stories feature allows you to do just that – you can show everyone the real you, behind the scenes, in a series of short videos that automatically disappear after 24 hours. You can treat it as a virtual diary, in which you show your followers that you’re not just another faceless brand. The even more recent IGTV feature is similar, but this time you’ll be recording live – and your followers will receive a notification as soon as it begins, increasing your reach and engagement. The particular advantages of this approach for a hair and beauty brand
are clear; the Stories feature can act as a supplementary feed of content that might not be quite right for your main Instagram grid. The disposable nature of Stories means there’s less pressure for them to be perfect. on the other hand, if you’re particularly pleased with a story you’ve put together, you can save it to the Highlights feature of your profile for your followers to find in future.
The long game It’s undoubtedly a challenging time for hair and beauty businesses right now, but by developing your Instagram game during lockdown you’ll be in a stronger position in the long-term – and have a new community of engaged followers (and potential customers!) to interact with in future. It may be daunting, but even small improvements to your Instagram presence can reap dividends, and who knows, you might make some new virtual friends along the way!
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PRoMoTIoN
Getting to know‌ Last month you learnt the story of Selvedge Grooming, now we are delving in a little further to find out how they developed their team and the focus of International Barbers catering for Expat Clientele, their creative development and introduction of FORM Collection as well as the brand ambitions of growth into international markets. How we developed our team and our focus of international barbers catering for expat clientele? Selvedge Barbers was designed to cater for a diverse expatriate and local clientele. From its inception, our client base was 95% expatriate and it was important we maintained high quality, well trained international barbers to cater to them. Looking to expand our audience, Selvedge Barbers sort to attract a local client base who also seek out the international standard. We were fortunate to hire 2 very talented local barbers who have lived and trained overseas. Since joining our team, and being fluent in both cantonese, Mandarin and English, our clientele has expanded to a 20% local audience. We maintain the importance of marketing our brand in both international and local media sources. We engaged a Hong kong based PR agency whose own clientele was the perfect mix of local and international brands. They have a great reach to local media sources which also assisted Selvedge increasing its brand recognition in both markets. We have also been fortunate to attract more like-minded international barbers to Selvedge through our social media. Putting a call out to those wanting a change of environment or city, we have been fortunate to have made some great international hires that have their own Instagram profiles and high standard of work. Today Selvedge Barbers has a strong reputation within the Hong kong barbering scene and clientele.
Our creative development and intro of FORM collection We believe in harnessing the talent we have by giving them the perfect
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environment to showcase their work. We are fortunate to have a team that motivate and inspire each other. I think it is the fact that they are all hungry for growth, encouragement and perfection. our barbers are always getting models in to practice new ideas, we focus heavily on our scissor training and skills to ensure our team are generally all-round great haircutters. This gives our brand and our clientele the confidence that our barbers have the skills to not just do a great fade, but a great haircut, understanding face shape and hair growth patterns. creatively we like to do a brand shoot at least once a year to release a new collection. We prefer to break from the status quo and showcase versatility and a commerciality to our work. We want our creative work to showcase attainable and wearable men’s hair fashion. See our latest collection FoRM here: www.selvedgebarbers.com/formcollection-2
Brand ambitions of growth into international markets It has always been our mission to build
a strong and stable brand. A brand that compliments the quality of our product range, Selvedge Grooming. our focus has always been on one simple philosophy of consistency and quality with a shop environment that is cool, raw, industrial and neutral. No themes, no gimmicks, just modern and comfortable. our strength is in our reputation within the market we reside, ensuring that our customer service, quality of work and environment is always up to scratch and an experience that ensures confidence to the customer. We are currently using our barbershop as a launchpad for new product development and testing. our strategy is to grow into similar markets that have a high density of residing expatriates with a good mix of western and local cultures. Selvedge Barbers has built its credibility because of this particular clientele in Hong kong and quality barbers and work. We would like to replicate this in International markets such as Singapore and Dubai. Selvedge Barbers hello@selvedgebarbers.com +852 2577 3080
Honour Your Look Zero waste beard products Conditioning wax • Beard oil
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RISING STAR
It runs in the family From watching his brother cut hair to opening two incredibly successful men’s hair salons, Oliver Hill, Education and Creative Director for MaxOliver men’s hair, talks us through the journey to his inspirational career. Tell us about you and your experience within the barbering industry I am the Education and creative Director for Maxoliver men’s hair. I work alongside two other Directors who just so happen to be my brothers! Myself, Joshua and Max. I realised I wanted to go into hair when I was 12 years old, as soon as my older brother Max started to cut his friend’s hair in our Mum’s small salon after school. 2 years later I started a vocational course with my school and started to work for ToNI&GuY every Wednesday for 2 years until I left school at the age of 15. By this point Max was 17 and had already been working full-time in a barber shop for over a year. I then joined ToNI&GuY full-time to further my understanding in the hair industry. I pursued and worked my way up the ladder at the amazing ToNI&GuY London Academy where I qualified and was awarded a top stylist level in my
branch. At this point, mine and Max’s paths were running parallel beside one another but both focusing on different areas within hair. Working as a barber five+ years ago was a difficult time to retain quality in your work, technical understanding, continued education, and then of course caring for your clientele as well. This is when Max and I decided we’d like to unite the gap between barbering and hairdressing, together, and in 2013, Maxoliver was born in crowborough. We introduced our younger
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brother Joshua into the industry and mentored him through his training where he soon became the first Maxoliver trained stylist. It didn’t stop there… We now have a strong team of 10 stylists across two fully booked salons, producing consistent quality and professional work, yet with a very natural buzz showing our true love for men’s hair and care. uniting our techniques together gave us a real unique approach into men’s hairdressing, having the knowledge of the clippers and the handling of long
RISING STAR
hair combined!
We noticed your Instagram bio says ‘award-winning’ can you tell us about this and how it’s implemented your career progression? competitions are something myself and my brothers love to get involved in as it’s a great way to network and get familiar with others within the industry. We’ve showcased our work in some amazing venues with L’oréal over the years, participating in the Men’s Image Award. After winning 1st place in our region we then continued to the grand final in the Grosvenor house hotel in Mayfair, and this would have to be one of my favourite moments so far, it felt like what I’d imagine the oscars to be like. The barber bash 15-minute speed fading competition in Amsterdam was an amazing experience too, taking the whole team away for a couple of nights is a great way to team build and
winning our place on the podium was the icing on the cake.
What has been a standout moment for you so far during your barbering career? It has got to be opening our second salon and seeing all the smaller successes fall into place. The shop design round 2, the Maxoliver educational programme in full swing, our stylists fleeing the nest to another new location, and most importantly, happy clientele! I’ve been told on several occasions, the second shop is always the hardest, and we made it
work.
Where do you see yourself in the future and what steps do you plan on taking to get there? My future will always be in the heart of Maxoliver with our team members, venturing to wherever we feel fits! Maxoliver will be across a wide scale for sure, whether that will be 8 shops across the south of England or 50 nationally, we don’t know yet. Growing to showcase multiple of your salons all comes down to the loyalty and strength of staff. We can’t do this alone. Hopefully we’re able to give back to our stylists all of what they have put in for us, and make the dream come true of growth, education and opportunity within this industry, men’s hairdressing.
What advice would you offer a start-up barber? Learn to love what you do and then become a master of what you love. know your love within the industry and then become obsessed, your obsession will carry you through to where you’d truly like to be. My advice to a start-up salon owner is be patient, know your goals and be kind and fair to the ones who stand beside you on your journey.
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PRoMoTIoN
Hair for The Future With no time like the present, we are pleased to introduce you to Hair Development’s renowned training programme - Life After the Beard, which will enable you to take your career to new heights post lockdown.
D
uring these unprecedented times on our planet, we cannot help but re-evaluate ourselves. As a nation, we have been working so hard to do the right thing for each other, and a new sense of caring has permeated our beloved uk, as never before. Love and devotion towards our country, each other and ourselves has been organically driven to the forefront of what is crucial, and while the world heals, our sense of self cannot help but be one of the things foremost in our minds. Hair Development has seen much change during the decades. We were established so many moons ago, have travelled along the ebb and flow of the tides and remained steadfast at the forefront of the industry. As this goes to print, HD is at the cusp of opening after the lockdown, and by the time you read this, open and flourishing again. This pandemic has definitely brought people closer together, and how we have longed for life’s simplicities, coffee with a friend, a walk in the park, perhaps a ride on the tube, a visit to the coast to breathe in the fresh sea breezes and of course, to add to the wellbeing of our mental health, we are thinking of our own personal grooming routines, to look good so that we feel better and can do justice to our clients. Hair Development were recently the recipients of an award for Best Hair Extension and Replacement company in the uk for 2020, along with the prestige of being the only Hair Replacement company who were finalists for the Best Product and Innovation FSB award, a gala event held in Westminster just prior to
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lockdown. This was for our incredible Hair Replacement System Legend SL, designed and created by HD’s Managing Director Mark Burns MTTS, in honour of Hair Development’s founder, the beloved, late Stanley Levy MTTS, whose lifelong devotion to the expertise of hair loss solutions and inventor of impeccable, undetectable Systems worldwide has made HD the longest running Hair Replacement and Extension company in the uk. our renowned Life After the Beard Training Programme is ready and waiting, enabling you to take your career to new heights. our Hair Replacement solutions, techniques and products, constantly improving and
advancing, are second to none. our customer Service is available 24/7. If you are thinking of enhancing your skills or breaking ground into new territory to become a certified Hair Replacement Specialist and keep your clients for life, Hair Development is here for you. Then. Now. Always. And now more than ever, Hair Development has everything in place. You will have no worries, because we will take care of you, your safety and your wellbeing Love, Hair Development www.hair-development.com www.hdhairreplacement.co.uk 020 7790 4567
Life After The Beard
Here's how you can stimulate your profits What will you do when 60% of your clients lose their hair? Enlist in the HD Training Academy London to become a certified Hair Replacement Specialist & keep your clients for LIFE. hdeducation.co.uk hdhairreplacement.com
0800 180 4567 020 7790 4567
Hair Development, 247 Mile End Road, London, E1 4BJ
CONNECTIONS ASSOCIATIONS
MALE GROOMING PRODUCTS Br British Barbers E: admin@britishbarbers.com W: www.britishbarbers.com
Opie’s Beard Co E: info@opiesbeardco.co.uk W: www.opiesbeardco.co.uk
British Master Barbers Alliance E: info@britishmaster barbers.com W: www.britishmaster barbers.com
Se Seven Potions T: 0203 6423 440 E: info@sevenpotions.com W: www.sevenpotions.com Instagram: @sevenpotions The Bearded Man Company Unit 19 Victoria Industrial Park, Victoria Road, Dartford, Kent, DA1 5AJ T: 01322 401583 W: www.thebearded mancompany.com
BARBER & SALON FURNITURE Albert Ewan Design 28 Hayton Close, Cramlington, NE23 2FN T: 016 70 73 89 79 E: studio@albertewandesign. com W: www.albertewandesign. com
The Bluebeards Revenge Bluebeards HQ, Unit One, Langage Business Park, Eagle Road, Plymouth, PL7 5JY T: 01752 898191 W: www.bluebeardsrevenge.co.uk
REM UK Ltd Glenfield Mill, Glenfield Rd, Nelson, Lancs, BB9 8AW T: 01282 619977 E: sales@rem.co.uk
BARBERING TOOLS Andis T: 01635 581 958 E: info@andisco.com W: www.andis.com Dark Stag Un Unit 11, Thesiger Close, Worthing, West Sussex, BN BN11 2RN T: +44 (0) 1903 209409 E: info@darkstag.com
EDUCATION Training Solutions in Hair Ltd National Training locations (England, Scotland Wales, NI and ROI) T: 0208 845 4115 E: info@uktrainingsolutionsinhair.co.uk W: www.uktrainingsolutionsinhair.co.uk
ENTERTAINMENT TheMusicLicence T: 0800 086 8804 (quoting ‘Barber Magazine’) W: www.pplprs.co.uk
BEARD STUFF
Viking Beard Stuff W: www.vikingbeardstuff. co.uk
P&S Products & Refreshening Ltd Unit 1, Furze Farm Estate, Manby Road, Legbourne, Louth, Lincolnshire,LN11 8HB T: 01507 328338 E: sales@refreshening.co.uk W: www.refreshening.co.uk
INSURANCE Bridge Insurance Brokers Ltd Cobac House, 14-16 Charlotte Street Manchester, M1 4FL T: +44 (0) 161 234 9405 W: www.bridgeinsurance. co.uk
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Spencer Scissors Sp M: 07817 082754 M: 07834 538671 E: info@spencerscissors.co.uk W: spencerscissors.co.uk Fa Facebook: Spencerscissors Twitter: @spencerscissors Instagram: @spencerscissors
SCISSOR & BLADE SHARPENING Clean Cut 7 Firth Row, Bradford, BD4 6DX T: 07956 093627 E: info@clean-cut.eu Facebook: @ScissorNinjas Newway T: 0208 690 9775 T: 0753 419 8871 E: newwaysupplies uk@gmail.com
SOFTWARE
MARKETING P&S Products & Refreshening Ltd Unit 1, Furze Farm Estate, Manby Road, Legbourne, Louth, Lincolnshire, LN11 8HB T: 01507 328338 E: sales@refreshening.co.uk W: www.refreshening.co.uk
Salon iQ 19 Mount Ephraim, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1EN T: 01892 280123 W: www.saloniq.com
SUNBED / TANNING EQUIPMENT
PROFESSIONAL BARBERSHOP SUPPLIES
Tansun Sunbeds Spectrum House, Ridgacre Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B71 1BW T: 0121 580 6200 E: sales@tansunsunbeds. co.uk W: www.tansunsunbeds. co.uk
Barber Blades T: 0800 6440234 W: www.barberblades.co.uk Morgan’s Pomade Company Limited Tyler Way, Swalecliffe, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 2RT T: +44 (0)1227 792761 E: sales@morganspomade. co.uk W: www.morganspomade. co.uk Ps! Hair & Beauty Wholesaler Unit 2, 553 Victoria Road (side of Kwik-Fit), South Ruislip, Middlesex, HA4 0QF T: 020 8839 9666 E: Sales@psib.co.uk W: www.psib.co.uk
PROFESSIONAL HAIR & BEAUTY SUPPLIES
HYGIENE
Akito Scissors T: 07341470257 W: akitoscissors.com Facebook: /akito.scissors Twitter: @Akitoscissors Instagram: /akitoscissors
Urban Jack 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU T: 020 363 341 20
BARBERSHOP ABS & Partner Ltd T/A Andy’s Barber Shop C4 Pioneer Square, Bicester, Oxon, OX26 6FA T: 01869 244488 E: info@andysbarbers.biz
SCISSORS
Salon Connect 1 Connect Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex, IG6 2AN T: 0208 418 2490 E: salon@salonconnect.co.uk Facebook: Salon Connect LTD
SCALP MICROPIGMENTATION TRAINING MR SCALP SMP Trainer & practitioner T: 07971671806 E: craig@scalpmicro.uk W: www.scalpmicro.uk
TRAINING Saks Apprenticeships 55-59 Duke Street, Darlington, Co Durham, DL3 7SD W: www. saksapprenticeships.co.uk
WAXING EQUIPMENT Hive of Beauty Ltd. London, NW8 6EP, UK T: +44(0) 141 814 3260 F: +44(0) 141 814 3261 E: info@hiveofbeauty.com W: www.hiveofbeauty.com Lycon UK Training Academy 343 Fulham Palace Road, SW6 6TD T: 0207 590 9300 E: sales@lyconuk.com W: www.lyconuk.com
To advertise on these pages please contact the team on
01795 509102 or email api@cimltd.co.uk