cosmo - colour me happy at london salon

Recently my tresses have been lucky enough to be trimmed by the Minogues' hairdresser, Christian Vermaak (more on that to come), and coloured by the brilliant Jason Cocking who runs the Lisa Shepherd London salon.

Like his boss Lisa, the resident colour expert on 10 Years Younger, he's a hair hue genius and the likes of the Olsens and Cat Deeley who he's worked with know it.

I'd not been to the salon before but I want to go back already. Every day in fact.

I don't know if it's just me, but I get massive ‘I'm not being productive' angst in salons. Don't get me wrong - I love chilling with a mag and snooping on the competition - but it feels a bit indulgent when I know emails (and Facebook updates!) are piling up regardless.

So the computer and refreshment station in the front of salon (pictured) is a genius idea. While your colour is developing you hop on a MacBook Pro and help yourself to a cappuccino and chocolate - not a second wasted! Then you can read the magazines during your blow dry!

Anyway... back to the reason I was there; colour. Jason has that knack you want all hairdressers to possess where he just knows what suits you. My prior colour was lacking in personality and nowhere near as natural as I liked and he corrected both disorders.

My new blonde highlights are rich in varied tones but look ‘real' and they feel in better condition than before the bleach which must be thanks to the Clynol products Jason used.

Nearly two weeks on and it's still looking great. A weekend in Marbella has lighten the overall colour but I love it and have just discovered the new Sebastian Professional Colour Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo and mousse-like Conditioner - perfect for keeping the highs and lows of my lights alight.

I'd totally recommend going there and seeing Jason in particular for a new hue, or to correct an old one. And you can get your work (or social network stalking) done at the same time... bonus!

www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/beauty-hair/beauty-blog/colour-me-happy

Prom Hair at Lisa Shepherd

Making sure your hair is perfect for the big night:

Full consultation talking about what the dress is like. Colour scheme, What occasion so if can reflect what the hair will be like. From this we can then book in a prom trial and prom hair on the day at a package price.  

What hairstyles are popular and suitable on teenage girls?

Very soft, nothing too severe. More oomph at the crown  nothing to big on sides.  Soft curls and teased slightly.  

Ideas/ advice for suitable technical services:

Prom Gloss – Enhance colour, shine  etc ( 15 mins app )

Prom Conditioning treatment – For dryness and to help with a big bouncy blow dry.             

Matching tones to colour hair extensions and bonding or clipping wefts in as an additional package price.  

Celebrity Influences

Anything from Bafta Awards , Red Carpet events, Oscars raging from J LO, Rihanna , Lady Gaga, Cheryl Cole to your Hollyoaks stars and Charlie Clemmow.  

Working with beauty services to create a bundle offer

Including Hair Accessories.

Adding hair pieces eg Pony tails, scrunchy hair to maximize volume and texture.

Smart advice from Lisa - Salon Smart 2011

Inspiration, advice, ideas and red hot names… SALON SMART 2011 served up an XL dose of all the above PLUS a giant portion of business networking at its fifth annual flagship event on 3-4 April. Drawing its biggest ever audience, the coveted event, presented by Creative HEAD and sponsored by Goldwell and KMS California, had seasoned delegates and new faces flocking to London’s Park Plaza Riverbank hotel, all set to soak up new ways to enhance, improve or transform business. From motivational presentations to dynamic workshops, it was a memorable two days.

From uplifting welcomes by Creative HEAD publisher Catherine  Handcock and UK managing director of Goldwell and KMS California Nick Wood to thought-provoking sessions by business expert Cory Couts and a passion- and energy-filled half-hour with Lisa Shepherd, there was so much to learn and take away. Delegates picked up figure-happy pearls of wisdom from Ken West, clever ways to harness web technology from Emma Freeman and Laura Hinton – the brains behind Headmasters’ award-winning website, and listened to our very own Most Wanted Hair Icon of 2010, Angelo Seminara, in his most frank interview yet. All this plus a riveting THINK TANK session, solving real business issues from the floor.

Imagery from SALON SMART London 2011, presented by Creative HEAD magazine.

Photography by Karen Hatch.

AWARD NOMINATIONS ROLL IN FOR LISA SHEPHERD SALONS

Following in the footsteps of their salon boss, seven brightest hair stars are through to the final stages of a prestigious industry award.

• Young Creative Talent, Teri Lowe - Birmingham
  
• Young Creative Talent, Annie Hindson - Sutton
  
• Salon Trainee, Joshua Cave - Kidderminster
  
• Salon Trainee, Grace Truman - Sutton
  
• Colour Hotshot, Abbie Hadley - Kidderminster
  
• Image of the Year, Katie Mulcahy - Birmingham
  
• Photographic Collection of the Year, Katie Mulcahy - Birmingham
• Salon Interior of the Year, London
• Website of the Year

This is a huge feather in the cap for the salon team and for Lisa Shepherd, who is the winner of more than 20 industry awards herself and who is resident colour expert on 10 Years Younger.

Lisa said: “Hairdressing is an increasingly competitive industry so you have to work hard and push yourself everyday to be the best - this is something which I instil in my team - I am very proud of them all for getting through to the final stages."

“In total we have ten nominations across the salon group, including best website, at the Clynol Awards this year which is testament to how hard we work as a group and the high level of talent that we have.

“To gain outside recognition such as this is hugely beneficial to the business and I will have my fingers crossed for all of the team who will be attending the awards ceremony in Manchester.”

The winners of the Clynol Awards, which were judged by panel of industry experts, will be announced at the ceremony on Sunday, April 3 at the Radisson Hotel, Manchester.