Professional BEAUTY &HAIR SHOW

The Professional Beauty & Hair Exhibition made a triumphant return after a three year break due to Covid-19 pandemic, to the RDS in Dublin on 6-7 November.

Professional trade visitors streamed through the doors over the two days to reconnect and network with industry peers face to face, and to discover the latest products, brands and trends. The event attracted exhibitors from across all sectors of the market, including skincare, hair, spa, aesthetics, nails, lashes, make-up and more.

Three live stages – Hair and Barbering, Trends and Techniques, and Skin and Advanced Treatments –hosted a range of industry experts, who gave talks, live demos and advice on a variety of topics.

Image Skillnet were on hand giving industry advice to all Hair & Beauty professionals.

The event finished with a sparkling Ball and Awards on the Night in the prestigious Shelbourne Hotel. Congratulations to all the winners.

Professional Beauty & Hair will return on 28-29 May 2023 for another great exhibition.

Beautifully crafted and ergonomically designed, KNOT KULTURE74 professional styling brushes can be found in the hands of iconic stylist around the world! Contact your Xpert Professional

A Flagship Standard

Recognised Prior Learning (RPL)

‘HAIRDRESSING IS THE HAPPIEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD’ SO SAY MANY SURVEYS ON INDUSTRIES. YES, HAIRDRESSERS LOVE WHAT THEY DO, THEY MAKE PEOPLE LOOK FABULOUS THUS MAKING THEM HAPPY TOO.

In parallel with the introduction of the Hairdressing Apprenticeship programme, the system of Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) was being developed in Hairdressing. In November 2021 the first eight hairdressers started the pilot process of RPL. This process finished in May 2022 and the eight were awarded their QQI Advanced Certificate in Hairdressing in November 2022. These graduates were from different parts of the country, aged between 25 and 60, and were already very experienced hairdressers. They were highly competent in all aspects of hairdressing, hiring personnel, managing staff, managing daily finances, stock ordering, product selling, reception skills, customer service, health & safety, marketing, IT, training their team, plus a whole range of other skills, but none that gave them an overall certified recognition on the QQI National Educational Framework like other industries.

These eight graduates are now akin to ambassadors for our industry, showing what can be achieved, and a great encouragement to others to follow in their footsteps. Let’s also acknowledge with gratitude the people behind the scenes who devised the training, writing programmes, mentoring, examining etc. The awards ceremony last November was a proud day for Hairdressing and Irish Hairdresser Magazine was very happy to be there for the occasion. Following the outstanding success of this pilot programme, we are certain that there are lots of other very talented hairdressers across Ireland who would like to pursue this RPL route to advanced certification and get on the QQI National Educational Framework.

If interested, contact the Hairdressing Council of Ireland by email to info@hairdressingcouncil.ie and you will be given a direct email contact for the RPL process to start the ball rolling. (Those interested should begin to collect every piece of evidence about your career to date, no matter how small, to put towards the recognition of prior learning process). Go for it!