Salon Top Tips

At the end of May, we held our annual Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards at the Hilton Hotel, Glasgow. Now in its third year, the awards is run by myself and business partner, Ruthanne of I Need An Appointment, a hair and beauty portal providing appointments in hair and beauty salons in Scotland.

We decided to create the Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards as there are salons out there doing amazing work that don’t get deserved recognition for their efforts. We wanted to give them a voice and a showcasing opportunity. It provides a super platform for salons to be recognised for their excellence, flair, style and dedication to their art. By taking part, salons can help grow their business and achieve well-deserved acclaim.

The awards are open to anyone working in the sector and are representative of all those working in – hair, beauty or specialist services within Scotland. From hairdressers to therapists to managers to owners, who have made an impact in their own unique way, whether it is by customer service excellence, training, innovation or style.

Deborah Clark of Deborah’s Beauty In the City won at our first ever awards ceremony and won again this year she comments on the benefits on achieving an INAA Scottish Hair & Beauty Award ‘I really believe that winning an INAA award has helped my business gain recognition and appreciation of the level of care that I and my team provide to clients. These awards help raise standards and provide ambition especially to the younger therapists to complete at the highest level in our industry. It is something we look forward to each year.’

This year we have been overwhelmed by the increase in entry numbers. Each year we push forward to grow and develop the awards so that the salons and individuals can be recognised for all the hard work they put in. We have also seen an increase in public voting, which proves there is a real demand for the awards. It allows customers to have a say and vote for their hair or beauty confidant and it is also a great way for hairdressers to engage on the evening not just from Glasgow but also right up to the Highlands and Islands

We have had many iconic hairdressers attend the event; Rita Rusk, was our first Icon. Many young hairdressers were unaware of the huge contribution she made at the global level including having a set of scissors she designed entered into the V&A; in London. Trevor Sorbie MBE has also picked up the Icon award last year commented “ I attended the INAA Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards last year where I was honoured to be recognised for my work and privileged to accept the acclaimed Icon award. It is a fantastic evening, where salons all across Scotland are recognised for their excellence. I was truly inspired by the latent coming out of Scotland in this industry.

This year, we had fellow Scot, Charlie Miller OBE receiving the Icon award for his commitment to hairdressing and stated in his speech that he had never taken anything for granted and asked all the finalists from the evening to give themselves a round of applause for their continued dedication to the industry, He concluded by passing on some wise words, “ Have a small head, but a big heart.”

Joanne Reid – Managing Director of inaa.com

6/14/2013