Welcome to the HBSA: Hair and Beauty Suppliers Association

New Products and Events

British Hairdressing Business Awards 2012

With a record number of outstanding entries in all 16 categories, the British Hairdressing Business Awards, presented by Hairdressers Journal International, has announced the finalists for 2012. Recognising and rewarding excellence in all aspects of business practice, the awards are now in their 14th year, and have grown in stature, rewarding the entrepreneurial expertise of the UK’s leading hairdressers.

“The standard and quality of entries produced this year was exceptional,” comments Publishing Director of Hairdressers Journal International, Jayne Lewis-Orr. “The quality of entries in all categories increased tremendously and each year it is more difficult for our judges. The UK produces so many fantastic hairdressing businesses and the British Hairdressing Business Awards recognise their business skills and acumen.”

The judging process is held over two days, with two representatives from each of the sponsors – 365 Salon Education, Aston & Fincher, Bangstyle.com, Clynol Salon Exclusive, Flip-In-Hair, Great Lengths, Kérastase, Kerastraight, L’Oréal Professionnel, Schwarzkopf Professional, TIGI, Wella Professionals and Xpert HR taking part in the first day.

The highest scoring entries in each category are put forward to the next round of the judging process, where an independent panel of industry experts judge the dossiers. The judges go through the same process, marking each entry individually. In some categories, salons may receive mystery client visits or calls, and one-to-one interview sessions with the finalists of Junior of the Year, Manager of the Year and Business Director of the Year will take place. The winners of all 16 categories will be announced at a glittering black tie event hosted by a leading media personality difficult for our judges. The UK produces so many fantastic hairdressing businesses and the British Hairdressing Business Awards recognise their business skills and acumen.”

The highest scoring entries in each category are put forward to the next round of the judging process, where an independent panel of industry experts judge the dossiers. The judges go through the same process, marking each entry individually. In some categories, salons may receive mystery client visits or calls, and one-to-one interview sessions with the finalists of Junior of the Year, Manager of the Year and Business Director of the Year will take place. The winners of all 16 categories will be announced at a glittering black tie event hosted by a leading media personality on Monday 17th September at the Lancaster London Hotel in London.

Publishing Director of Hairdressers Journal International, Jayne Lewis-Orr, concludes, “The passion and professionalism of the businesses who entered the British Hairdressing Business Awards is a credit to the hairdressing industry and everyone who has achieved finalist status can be justifiably proud.”

For the list of finalists click the link. http://www.hji.co.uk/blogs/2012/07/hjs-2012-british-hairdressing.html

www.hji.co.uk

Shortcuts Software Launch new "My Local Salon"

Revolutionising Your Appointment Books

Introducing mylocalsalon UK www.mylocalsalon.co.uk the free booking directoryfrom Shortcuts Software, which will fundamentally change how new customers find and book hair and beauty appointments.

mylocalsalon UK allows people to search for their nearest hair or beauty salon wherever they are, at a time convenient to them and make real-time bookings 24/7 straight into the salons’ online appointment book - guaranteed and confirmed within minutes.

Oh, and did we mention, it’s free to join?!

In an increasingly virtual world, it is vital for hair and beauty salons to have an online presence. mylocalsalon UK provides a one-stop booking directory where specific services and treatments can be easily located. With hundreds of UK salons already signed up, mylocalsalon UK is growing rapidly with hair, beauty and spa businesses recognising the potential of this new and exciting online service.

Suitable for small and large businesses alike, mylocalsalon UK is the ideal choice for any hair or beauty salon. Not only for managing bookings at local salons and nationwide chains; mobile technicians are also able to run the software from a laptop (providing they have access to broadband) and experience the benefits of

mylocalsalon UK.

For those businesses that don’t run Shortcuts Software at the moment, there is a product called mybooker available. This software allows you to take advantage of the many benefits of mylocalsalon UK. It is free and enables bookings via mylocalsalon UK, Facebook and the salon’s own website; if you don’t receive any bookings you don’t pay a penny.

The Shortcuts mybooker package includes:

mybooker appointment management software
A listing and profile page on mylocalsalon
iPhone App for direct booking

This version of Shortcuts is available at no cost to salons to allow them to join this exciting initiative. Not only does mylocalsalon UK increase business visibility and attract new customers it will not conflict with existing appointments made by customers. The mybooker software simply shows which appointment slots are available, all chosen and configured by you, allowing you to fill them with new customers. At no point is your appointment book visible to the user.

Customers are even able to make appointments on their iPhone using the mylocalsalon UK free iPhone app.

Small local businesses are really starting to see the benefits that mylocalsalon UK

has had on increasing new business. As mylocalsalon UK clients are encouraged to rate and review the salons they have visited, it allows businesses to view personal reviews and address any negative feedback they may get to turn the client around. Some salons have received in excess of 130 ratings in just 3 months. mylocalsalon UK allows you to offer your client specials helping you to fill appointment slots at a reduced rate rather than leaving them empty. However unlike other listings sites mylocalsalon UK is a bookings site meaning that only specific slots are filled rather than offering a discount voucher that doesn’t give you as much control. Other discount sites may lead to increasing foot traffic during oneoff special deals, however the repeat booking rate has been shown to be extremely low and you may end up servicing all those discount clients at an overall loss, whilst not being able to fit in your regular loyal clients.

mylocalsalon UK is the new, free and easy way to drive new clients to your business.

Join mylocalsalon UK and watch your appointments book fill up!

Wet-working and Dermatitis

Many hairdressers, particularly trainees, spend considerable periods of time with their hands wet. This can cause damage to the outer protective layer of the skin which can then become dry, red and sore – a skin condition known as irritant contact dermatitis or eczema. The skin may then become sensitive to products which are not normally considered hazardous and the condition may worsen. If dermatitis is not identified and treated early, it can become a chronic condition and cause hairdressers to leave the profession. Additionally, a small number of hairdressers may be at risk of developing allergic contact dermatitis. This can develop if the body becomes allergic to a particular substance within a product. Products will carry warnings indicating that they can cause an allergic reaction, where this is a recognized risk. In such cases it is vital that protective gloves are worn.

Because of the risk of dermatitis, hairdressing employers will need to cover ‘wet-working’ within their COSHH assessment. Possible ways of controlling exposure to wet-working (and so reduce the risk of dermatitis) include training staff on risks and how to reduce them, rotation of washing duties, a policy on glove use, provision of suitable, single-use gloves (e.g. vinyl or nitrile), provision of proper facilities for washing and drying hands, and provision of moisturizing creams. An employer should also have a system in place for regular skin inspections. Figures from the UK HSE indicate that hairdressers have the highest risk of all occupations of developing dermatitis and, as a result, the HSE is working to reduce dermatitis in hairdressing. For further information go to

www.hse.gov.uk/skin/information.htm

An “any gloves will do approach” is a recipe for dermatitis. The law requires that the gloves must be matched to the substance, the environment and the wearer. Gloves for use with chemicals will carry a CE mark, a chemical protection sign and the relevant European Standard number.

Campaign to combat dermatitis in the salon

During the past three years, the HBSA along with other industry bodies has been working with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to reduce the incidence of dermatitis amongst hairdressers.

As part of the dermatitis ‘Bad hand Day?’ campaign, the HBSA together with the HSE is currently recommending two particular glove types, based on recent trial studies.

The recommendation is for a single use powder free, nitrile or vinyl (i.e. non-latex) glove with an all-round smooth finish. In addition, gloves should ideally be around 300mm in overall length and of a size that fits the individual properly.

Used as part of a salon’s overall hand-care policy, we believe that this type of glove will dramatically reduce the incidence of dermatitis and help in improving the health and wellbeing of hairdressers. Hairdressing has the highest level of dermatitis of any UK industry; it is estimated that around half of all hairdressers will develop dermatitis and up to 70% will suffer from some form of skin damage at some stage in their career.

Noted below for your information, are details relating to the individual aspects of the recommendations.

Glove Recommendations

Why are single-use gloves recommended?

Single-use gloves tend to give better dexterity because they are made of finer material than re-usable gloves. The hairdresser also has to change single-use gloves between clients, giving an opportunity to 'air' the hands.

Why are smooth gloves recommended?

The glove surface needs to be smooth because any kind of texture will have the potential to pull or ‘snag’ the clients’ hair.

Why Non-Latex Gloves?

Non-latex - natural rubber latex contains proteins to which some individuals can develop an allergy, for example asthma. The allergic reaction that some people can experience as a result of exposure to NRL is potentially life threatening. There are particular legal requirements associated with the use of substances at work like latex that cause ill-health. The first requirement is to eliminate it from the work environment where it is possible and practical to do so. Because alternative glove materials are available, i.e. nitrile and vinyl, hairdressers should use these. However, if latex are to be used in the salon, the use must be justified through a risk assessment, and they must be low-protein and powder-free. The employer must also undertake a further assessment to establish the risks to staff and clients who will be exposed. Where there are staff who are regularly exposed to latex, health surveillance is also likely to be required.

Why should gloves be powder-free?

Some powders used in glove manufacture can irritate the skin. Powder can also help to accelerate the extraction of residue of chemicals present in gloves and these extracted chemicals may increase the risk of further skin irritation or allergy. This is more critical with Latex gloves.

Why should a longer-length glove be worn?

A 300mm length glove helps to ensure that the water does not get in the glove when used for wet working. In addition, hairdressers should be encouraged to fold back the glove at the cuff, to further prevent this. A longer length glove also reduces the potential for contamination of the wrists and hands during removal of used gloves.

Why is fit of the glove important?

Firstly comfortable gloves are more likely to be worn! Tight gloves can make hands feel tired and lose their grip. Too large gloves can create folds; these folds may trap clients’ hair and cause snagging. Gloves that are too big can also increase the chance of water and hairdressing chemicals getting inside the gloves and becoming trapped against the skin.

Members of the HBSA are playing a major part in this campaign by ensuring that the correct gloves are readily available for purchase to the Hairdressing Industry. I have listed below the stockists of Nitrile and Vinyl gloves.

For gloves contact anyone of the following HBSA members who may have a branch near you..

Suppliers

A.K.S
Alan Howard
Arrow Hair & Beauty
Aston & Fincher
Beauty Express
Clynol
Capital Hair & Beauty
Ellisons
It&ly Hair & Beauty
Lion Hair Care
Rendezvous
Sally Hair & Beauty
Salons Direct
Salon Supplies
Schwarzkopf
Wella Professionals

Derby
Stockport
Redditch
Birmingham
Scotland
Aylesbury
Hove
Coventry
Watford
Nottingham
East Midlands
Wokingham
Birkenhead

Aylesbury
Basingstoke

01332 380028
0161 429 6980 (Nitrile)
01527 520630
0121 331 2050
0845 702 3883 (Vinyl)
01298 314000 (Vinyl)
01273 331122
0845 130 6126
01923 224040
0115 970 7989
0115 970 8292
0118 944 3600
0151 670 9200
02380 213464
01296 314000 (Vinyl)
01256 320202 (vinyl)

www.aksonline.co.uk
www.alanhoward.co.uk
www.arrowhair.com
www.astonandfincher.co.uk
www.beautyexpress.co.uk
www.clynol.co.uk
www.capitalhairandbeauty.co.uk
www.ellisons.co.uk
www.italyhairbeauty.com
www.lionhaircare.co.uk
www.rendezvousltd.co.uk
www.sallybeauty.com
www.salonsdirect.com
www.salonsupplies.co.uk
www.schwarzkopf.co.uk
www.wella.com

Manufacturers

Marigold
Polyco
Semperit

John Thorne
Phil Vanes
Nigel Kelly

08450 753355
0208 443 9010
01327 313144

www.marigold-industrial.com ( Long length)
www.polyco.co.uk (long length
wwww.sempermed.com