Style Icon pic

We are just about recovered from our big weekend at Expo. With winning an award, doing stage work and interviewing the best Australian talent around for prohairstylist, it was busy, busy BUSY! There is an interview I did with Kirsten Reynolds and right hand man of Kevin.MurphyDavid Glover. It was a great experience, and loads of fun to chat to the best hairdressers Australia has to offer.
Whilst I was out chatting to people the girls were onstage as a part of the O&M creative team,styling hair for a shoot that was running. I helped a little, but all credit goes to Verity Griffths and Kirsty Abbott who are some of the best in Australia, as well as some of the best for Stevie English Hair. Style Icon has just picked up some of the photos. Wohoooo go girls

Another WINNER

Miss Julie Davis has been pulled out of the hat as the winner of a our monthly blowdry prize. Congratulations Julie, we look forward to seeing you in the salon soon.

The Apprentice of the Year 2009

Wow! What a day, what a week, no what a year! Dramatic- that's me. I'm sitting here at my desk a very happy and proud man. My two super star apprentices have been working around the clock to get their models on stage at the Hair Expo apprentice competition. They were both amazing and pulled off two great hair cuts in 30 mins. Its hard to do a haircut under pressure let alone with an auditorium full of people watching. The next part of the competition was the 'hair up' section where they have 15 mins to put do an elaborate upstyle.

I was so nervous for them both that it was hard to watch. Naomi is in her second year, whilst Georgie is in her third, and they were both competing against people who are more senior.
To cut a long and proud story short Georgina Stokes WON the Australian Apprentice competition! She styled it herself, choosing clothes and having makeup done to her specifications. Georgie will be going up on stage to collect her award tomorrow night.

Naomi did so well, I pushed and prodded her to go in and her finished hair up and haircut were amazing. It's lovely to have a great talented team, the assistants are often the unsung hero's of the salon, and its fantastic to see them try so hard and get awarded. Well done to both my girls!

Realize Beauty

We just got a nice mention in Realize Beauty blog. Its always lovely when people write nice things about you, very flattering. The team is rocking at the moment. But this lovely blog post proves to me what an amazing little team we have. I love coming to work. And i love watching happy clients walk out the door, but thanks Amanda we enjoyed having you in the shop.
We have started our countdown to Hair Expo, we have a project with O&M which i will blog about closer to the time. The team is entering the cutting comps. The guys are really working hard at choosing styles, clothes, models etc.... and the salon is a hive of activity. Its loads of fun, and a cut off, to see who is the best cutter/styler. I love the passion that is put in.

Stevie English Hair podcast for pro hairstylist

Carl Keeley is a dude who owns and runs the prohairstylist website. Carl has interviewed me about life, environment and everything else in between. I mentioned a few blogs back how cool it was to be involved in their project and as Hair Expo gets closer it gets more and more exciting. Check out the podcast and the other posts on prohairstylist.

Tiaki Pilates & Yoga in Broadway

To all the loyal readers of my blog. The Crew at Tiaki are offering a free class ,BARGAIN. This is not only a place to read informative stuff about hair and life in Sydney/Australia but you get super deals too.
Check them out I loves them.

How To Make Hair Salons Greener

I have been asked to write and interview for a website called Prohairstylist. Prohairstylist is an online website that shows it's passion, for our great industry. The sites aim is to share as much info as possible with us, the hairdressers. From seeing nominated collections and to hearing the thoughts of these great stylists.
Its a great to be asked and its something i really look forward to doing, i will not only be blogging but i also will be given the opportunity to interview and chat to some of the great hairdressers, colourists, session stylists salon owners, etc...... which im really looking forward to doing. I will be spending alot of time in around hairexpo 09 working for the team, so if you see me come up and say hello.
My first blog post, follow the link Prohairstylist

Curly Hair Expert

I have been working in hair salons for 17 years. I trained in London and specialised in colour. In all that time, in my short career in cutting, I was never really shown how to cut curly hair. And in all the amazing salons I have worked at, there was never someone that really stood out for cutting curly hair. It was a bit hit and miss, a client with curly hair would love it one cut and then say it was butchered the next. Until now.
The QUALITY of my staff is amazing. But I digress.They are all good at cutting hair and good at cutting curly hair.
Verity is leading the way in cutting curly hair. Verity has a mane of thick curly hair herself, and is doing things with curly hair that I have not seen before. The really cool thing is, the current trends for hair are moving away from straight, ironed hair back to a more natural look. So if you have curls, don't straighten them, come in and tame them. Work with the curl. That's what we are promoting. And Verity is sharing her passion, skills and knowledge with the rest of the team. Winner: Stevie English Hair clients.
The two photos here was done by Georgie and it was her first collection.

Logies Hair Review-not much to see here

I didn't watch the illustrious Logies ceremony on Monday, but Mel did and she called me in a few times to have a look at hair and fashion winner.s and losers. On the whole, I was pretty pleased to see that the dead-straight blowdry look is on the way out. There was a lot of natural, loose-looking curls and soft upstyles which are flattering on just about anybody. There were no crazy, out-there styles which is a bit of a letdown but here are my three favourites:

Natalie Bassingthwaite:Simple, classy, not overdone. This is a style that probably took time and effort for the event, but would be pretty to do at home.

Dannii Minogue: Ther is no arguing about how good her hair looked. Short, sharp, modern bob. Strong colour. She is the perfect example of how a great haircut can make your look. My choice for best hair.

Ruby Rose: It was hard to find a good shot of her hair, but it's a short funky cut that has been styled just slightly to add texture. Short hair goes formal! We love Ruby.

O&M Hairdressing Training in Sydney

We are lucky enough to be in O&Ms Creative team, and last night we hosted a training evening here at Stevie English Hair in Sydney. We had some of the top salons, and it was a little bit of a squash in the shop, but loads of fun.
We were asked to do a presentation on Powder lighteners and upcoming colour and cut trends. the evening was a huge success and i would like to thank everybody who came, and to my girls that helped and worked tirelessly. Original thinking is the concept, and that's what we are all about.
Thanks O&M for the LOVE

Road Closures

Hey guys for all our clients that are coming to the salon on Saturday, its Anzac day, there are a few road closures over the city follow the the link to see if you will be affected. Hope this helps.

O&M Best New Product!

Well this is big news! On Monday night I went to the Australian Hairdressing Awards with Kirsty, from the shop. Al, Jose and Marylin from O&M, our wonderful product company. They had been nominated in the Best New product category, And best Packaging. We all went along with no expectations other than to have a good time.

But.......they won! I can honestly say we were all so surprised, most of all Alan and Jose. O&M is a relatively new company and they were up against the industry big guns. The product, Seven Day Miracle, is fantastic, but we did not expect to win AT ALL.

So after we all recovered, we partied! I really believe in O&M, their products and their philosophy, and Al and Jose are great mates of mine and of the salon. It was so cool to see them get some recognition for all their hard work. Congratulations O&M!!
OHHHHH and that's me with the award, yes like the cat that has the cream.

Tiaki Pilates

Hairdressing is an industry that is based on looks. You come to the salon, to your favorite hairdresser for them to make you look good. If your hair is off, the likelihood is you will also be feeling off. Come to Stevie English Hair and we will change your hair, maybe your life a little. I have been going to Pilates , not any Pilates, Tiaki Pilates &Yoga in Broadway They are around the corner from the salon and I have to say it has changed my life.
I have been so impressed with Tiaki. My abs are a lot flatter, I'm loads more flexible and my surfing is improving due to my new, stronger core. I recommend!

Sunday Trading

We have been open for just over 16 months, we are almost too busy. So due to clients not been able to get into the salon we will be opening up on Sundays. I'm working Sundays with Jade who is the newest member of the team. Jade was the Manager from one of Sydney's best salons, coming with a pedigree of hairdressing which leaves me very excited about the future!
We are also in the middle of a few little renovations. The new look courtyard which will offer us a little more, and much needed extra space. I cant wait. I'm not sure of completion time as of yet, but watch this space.

Male Pattern Balding

No one wants to lose their hair. Hair is such an important part of our wardrobe. If your hair is not right you don't feel right. So when it happens to men it can be a real problem for them. Not everybody looks great with a bald head, not everybody has the face or head shape to completely pull it off. Of course Bruce Willis and the likes kill it but not everybody feels comfortable with their baldness. Now I'm a believer in confidence, and I always knew I would lose my hair. My grandfather's hair was very thin, my father is bald(sorry dad but its true). So I have always figured I would lose mine. And a really good mate of mine told me that when I was surfing he could always see my bald spot as I was cruising along waves- you can always count on your mates!

According to Andrology Australia, "the majority of Australian men will experience some form of hair loss in their lifetime. For men between the ages of 20 and 45 who start to lose scalp hair, there is a 95 per cent chance they are experiencing male pattern hair loss." So it's official, I'm going bald.

Three months ago one my clients told me that he was taking a drug called "Poscar". Now this drug is used in the treatment of prostate cancer,and one of the side affects was hair growing back. Apparently hair grows back with constant use up to 7 years, that means I would have the full head of hair of 26 year old, well at least the head of hair I had when i was 26. I have been taking 1/4 of a tablet a day. I think for the treatment of prostate cancer you take 2, so the dose I'm taking is very weak. Of course I asked the doctor about side effects. His answer was, "Anytime you take drugs there are side effects, but with this drug its pretty minimal". I have not had any,except my hair is growing back and getting thicker. Kirsty who cuts my hair in the salon reckons it is, and my wife is in agreement. And I think it feels thicker. So I am three months into trialling "Pos car" and I'm going to get another lot tomorrow. It costs about $70 for three months. I have heard that centres for hair loss charge a small fortune.

I would not say I am a vain man, but I am a hairdresser and I work in an industry based on appearance. I was fine with my hair loss, but when I heard that it could be stopped, I jumped at the chance. What man wouldn't want the opportunity to get his hair back?

I just wanted to share my experience, and I will post another pic of my diminishing baldness in another 3 months.

Dockers San Francisco

A few photos that we have worked on are up on the Dockers clothing website. www.eu.dockers.com/ed_GB/ Simi, who is the main stylist we use in the salon, came up with the looks. Very talented guy. Adrian Alston shot them and some of the pics are on his site www.adrianalston.com again a real talent. Its always great to be involved in projects like these and its great to get your work overseas.