Individual, natural, beautiful, your way Showpony

Stephanie Ann Mason, developed an interest in the fashion and beauty industry at an early age through her professional modelling career and exposure to her family’s business of over 35 years in the creative world of wig manufacturing and importing.

Known for her unique ability to thrive under pressure, Stephanie spent the next few years travelling across Australia to build the business one salon relationship at a time, with hard work paying off, exhibiting at Sydney’s Hair Expo in 2010, and within just a few years, she was leading a thriving, million-dollar business.

All Showpony Hair Extensions are made from 100% ethically sourced human hair. “We have chosen a blend of Indian and European hair,” says Stephanie, “as Indian hair supplies strength and European hair adds to the softness of our blends.”

The brand has seen immense growth since launching in 2009 and is found in salons across the UK, Europe, the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

Key personnel

Joining Stephanie in recent years are two power house women, known and respected in the industry and adding extensive knowledge across educ ation and business development.

Ann-Maree Mason, General Manager:

With over 20+ years of multi-faceted experience within the hair and beauty industry working for a multitude of globally recognised market-leading brands, Ann-Maree works closely with Stephanie and the entire Showpony team to support the connection between our innovative products, creating service opportunities for our network of amazing salons and end users, and ensuring that the brand’s strategic priorities remain steadfast.

Nadine Johns-Alcock, Global Head of Education:

Recognised for developing impactful, exciting, and effective training programs across a diverse range of businesses and backed by her own experience as a successful salon owner, Nadine brings a wealth of knowledge to the team with a unique ability to apply an allencompassing view of the industry and its needs to her education programs.

Showpony continues to partner with carefully selected distribution and salon channels around the globe, with continued expansion plans in motion and while currently based overseas, Hair Biz caught up with Stephanie to chat about Showpony’s ongoing mission to supply high-quality hair extensions, superior product quality, education and excellent customer service to trade and consumers.

Stephanie, how has the world of hair extensions changed in the last ten years?

Hair extensions are no longer just about length and volume. It is clear to see that hair extensions are going through a massive growth phase, which is why we want to work closely with our salon partners to make hair extensions a success for their businesses too.

There is a growing demand for quality human hair extensions and wigs across the globe. Showpony’s innovative products combined with talented stylists turn the Showpony products into services; filling gaps, creating fullness in finer hair and shorter styles, indulging in non-committal colour, and fixing a bad haircut, the possibilities are beautiful and endless! With a range of methods to suit all hair types, hair extensions are now popular among clients of all ages and lengths. The market continues to grow with the importance of online and offline presence.

Women of all ages are searching for a solution for fine or thinning hair, solutions are needed for people suffering hair loss due to illness, consumers are looking for chemical-free hair solutions and are time-poor, having little or no time to sit in a salon chair for a colour for 3 hours.

What is the Showpony point of difference?

Showpony offers a range of premium hair extensions using the highest quality hair. We are the world’s first eco-friendly and sustainably packaged hair extension company globally, eliminating individual use of plastics, being conscious of our impact on the environment and always looking for new ways to improve as a collective effort.

Showpony only use safe hair extensions and application methods, encouraging hair growth through high-quality salon education. Our online and in-person education is available globally for salons, hairdressers, and consumers and we have a unique 6 step ‘world leader quality assurance program’ to maintain consistency in quality and results.

The dynamic team behind Showpony, including industry leaders, qualified hairstylists, and professionals in their field, share their passion for the industry. We all love to connect with our customers on a more personal level, listening to their in-salon challenges, and innovating products to specifically meet their needs and drive the industry forward.

How does the company support salons?

At Showpony, we believe in the transformative power of education, which is why we have developed a range of education programs designed to enhance the expertise of stylists and salon owners around the world. Our current education offerings are forward-thinking, with digital sessions, on-demand webinars, online courses, and in-salon training to suit all schedules and capabilities. From basic applications and cutting techniques to session styling and creating runway-worthy trends, you will have access to our educators’ endless, transformative ideas.

What opportunities are there for salons in terms of partnering with the brand?

Having a premium product in their salon, leading to satisfied and returning customers goes without saying, but more importantly we are committed to help salons grow their own business, offering new services, repeat customers, instant length and colour in as little as 15 minutes. Discounts and exclusive offers, first access to new products, knowledgeable customer service support, marketing and events support and collateral are all part of the package.

Price point, how do you compare?

Our products are priced to align with the premium quality our customers receive, along with product consistency, world-class education, marketing support, a global community of salon partners and opportunities, premium customer service support, and reusable hair extensions with a focus on reducing our global footprint along with an ethical focus in everything we do.

Can you expand on the importance of collaborations?

Absolutely! We collaborate with creative salon partners so that we can showcase their beautiful work and the latest trends and how it was achieved using our professional hair extension methods. Also with loyal influencers who align with our core values and vision to demonstrate how temporary methods can be applied with ease at home.

The new collection graces the cover of HAIRBIZ, can you tell us a little about this came about.

In our most recent campaign called YOU, being released this month, we worked with internationally recognised fashion photographer Ezra Patchett. We decided to work with Ezra for his ability to capture authentic and truthful emotions delivered through his images. The direction of this campaign is different to anything we’ve ever done before. Shot in the beautiful seaside streets of Barcelona, the campaign aims to showcase hair extensions in a new way, creating beautiful, effortless, natural looks. You wouldn’t guess that the models are wearing hair extensions, that was the goal.

And whats on the horizon for Showpony?

In the coming months, we have our New 26” lengths in weft and mini micro bead hair extensions – our longest length yet! New colours in 14” tape and skin weft tape hair extensions, including ombres, to create timelessly beautiful, natural-looking hair. New tools and accessories – Tape Extension Removal Tool and Hair Extension Holder to make reapplications a breeze in the salon.

We are also launching in new countries across Europe and the US with new global partnership opportunities. We will also continue to expand on our current ranges with new innovative technologies, lengths, colours, professional tools, and accessories, with new education offerings and events.

“My mission as the founder and Global CEO of Showpony is to create a community of master extensionist salons that provide dream results to clients to make them look and feel the best they can feel. We are focused on providing solutions to give people the hair that they never dreamed they had.

This is our global mission, and we are looking for salons to partner with us so we can provide this solution to people globally. We are going to have a strong focus on community and how we develop global relationships and education between our network to have united success. There is a lot in the pipeline.” Stephanie Ann Mason

“At Showpony, we believe in the transformative power of education, which is why we have developed a range of education programs designed to enhance the expertise of stylists and salon owners around the world.

Our current education offerings are forward-thinking, with digital sessions, on-demand webinars, online courses, and in-salon training to suit all schedules and capabilities. From basic applications and cutting techniques to session styling and creating runway-worthy trends, you will have access to our educators’ endless, transformative ideas.”

Nadine Johns-Alcock, Global Head of Education

“Some of the results I see in the salon can be life-changing. And that, as a hairdresser, is the most amazing feeling. When your clients in the chair can walk out of the salon with the hair that they never, ever dreamed that they could achieve, that’s why we do what we do at Showpony.”

Jake Williams, Master Extensionist

“For me, Showpony is more than just hair extensions. It’s the quality of the hair, it’s the education, and it’s all about building your business within the salon.”

Peter Thomsen, Chelsea Hairdressing

The new Campaign launch, Be an individual, be natural, be beautiful your way. Launches on November 21 Stay tuned to Showpony socials @showponyhairextensions www.showponyaus.com.au