WAHL LORD OF THE BARBERS AND EXCELLENT EDGES STATE HAIRDRESSING CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY WA IHS
WA IHS was back by popular demand on Sunday the 8th of October 2023 hosting The WAHL Lord Of the Barbers and Excellent Edges State Hairdressing Championships. Since 2020, and like so many industry events, the volunteer team had to take a “time out” while WA enforced boarder closures and strict social distancing rules however, they were working behind the scenes to plan for this next chapter for WA IHS. Sharing industry passion is so important to the committee members who volunteer their time to keep WA IHS at the forefront of live competitions in Australia. For decades, live competitions had previously been hosted at the Italian Club Inc in Perth, and in 2023 the team decided to bring the live competition event back to this original venue, reestablishing this long held tradition. The long-awaited event was opened by industry icon Paula Hibbard, while DJ Perfect Brown and the Perfect Promotions group kept the beats rolling all day, keeping spectators and sponsors entertained. Paula always brings a level of enthusiasm, encouragement, and interaction to a live competition and this was no exception. The motivation and support from sponsors was phenomenal on the lead up to the day, with Wahl, Excellent Edges, International Salon Supplies, Comfortel, TaylorWeir School
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of Hairdressing, Joico, Muk, De Lorenzo and Mocha Group committed to sponsoring the day. Each sponsor had an exhibit stand and were interviewed throughout the day promoting all their latest tools and products to offer the industry. They provided an impressive prize pool for the competitors and a combination of trophies were awarded to multiple winners over several categories. The categories consisted of urban and traditional barbering and hair cutting, hair art design and express session styling, fantasy, blonde and classic colouring, and a free apprentice photographic pre-done competition. All of these categories are judged by a panel of industry leaders in their field, with no affiliation to any competitors; one of the reasons why WA IHS is regarded as one of the fairest and prestigious competitions in hosted live within Australia. Competition excitement mounted all day, and by 7pm, four incredibly talented artists were crowned with the overall titles of The WAHL Junior + Senior Lord of The Barbers and The Excellent Edges Apprentice + Senior Hairdresser of The Year.
These titles were awarded to:
• Jordan De Salis from The Fade Doctor for The Wahl Junior Lord of The Barbers • Taahir Joomun from Mt T Barbershop for The Wahl Senior Lord of The Barbers • Amy Doak from LaRose Hair for The Excellent Edges Apprentice Hairdresser of The Year. • Jo Milieri from Eclectic Styles Hair Studio for The Excellent Edges Senior Hairdresser of The Year.
The purpose behind WA IHS is to create a community and lift the industry standards to a higher level. The committee believe that all growing artists deserve a platform for exposure and recognition. This event has provided artists from all over the state the perfect opportunity to showcase their skills and talent. The team at WA IHS will be back in 2024 hosting this industry event again at The Italian Club Inc on Sunday the 8th of September. Be sure to save the date as The Lord of The Barbers and The State Hairdressing Championships is set to be an event not to be missed!!
