IN THE KNOW

Apprentice reform to boost SMEs

Changes to apprenticeship funding have been unveiled by government to deliver more places and cut red tape for small and medium-sized employers. This includes the end of SME co-investment payments for apprentices under the age of 22.

SME employers who don’t pay the apprenticeship levy will no longer contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training for 16 to 21-year-olds, with government fully funding the training costs. Employers will still cover the wage costs of those apprentices.

The government said this and other changes will reduce “costs and burdens for businesses and delivering more opportunities for young people to kick start their careers”.

While the NHBF looked forward to more detail about how the sector will benefit, chief executive Caroline Larissey added that more was needed to be done to “find ways of supporting businesses that prefer apprentices aged 21+ because of the experience and skills they bring”.

HOB WINS NATIONAL APPRENTICE AWARD

HOB SALONS scooped SME Apprenticeship Employer of the Year at the Annual Apprenticeship Conference (AAC) Awards, delivered in partnership with City & Guilds. The salon group impressed judges with its commitment to supporting apprentices both within its own company and externally via its Apprenticeship Academy programme.

Embracing Feminity. Lead hair Yasemin Hassan. Photography: Yeliz Zaifoglu. Model: Aasiya Kara, wearing Isis Dunya. Shot at Woolf Kings X

SEE IT! Talking Textures

FROM CURATOR AND HAIRSTYLIST Yasemin Hassan and photographer Yeliz Zaifoglu – and in collaboration with Dania Arafeh, founder of 3EIB – this free exhibition will feature 39 prints, accompanied by archive images of salons and interviews from contributors. The photo series explores the intersection between beauty and cultural identity within the South-West Asian and North African community. There’s also a panel discussion, hosted by Yasemin and Dalia Al-Dujaili, founder of Road to Nowhere magazine, which will include members of the SWANA community and hair professionals, fusing entertainment and music from the region, too. 12 to 14 April; Ugly Duck Arts Venue, London Bridge. The panel is at 6.30pm, Friday 12 April, tickets are £6.50 on Eventbrite.

Everybody’s talking about… trauma dumping

When it comes to offloading emotional distress, hairdressers and barbers are on the frontline. Customer conversations can be emotionally exhausting and sometimes so painful that they leave you stuck with sadness long after the customer has left your chair. How to Love and Be Loved by Mikyla Limpkin is a guide to reconnecting with life and rediscovering a love for life, designed with neurodiversity in mind. Key messages are illustrated to help visual learners alongside lots of opportunities for hands-on learning.

RRP £12.99, published by The Company of Smiles.

BOOK IT! THE BLEACH EXPERT

NERVOUS ABOUT bleaching? Lift your lightening confidence in this dedicated one-day seminar with Tim Scott-Wright and Schwarzkopf Professional, combining live demos and a practical workshop. This session is all about pre-lightening, toning and blonde maintenance, designed to banish the fear and empower you to deliver a beautiful blonde, every time. You’ll cover formulations, products, techniques, and hair integrity to achieve healthy, no-compromise colour.

WHEN 20 May

WHERE Manchester

CONTACT askacademy.skpevents.co.uk

Spring Budget: what you need to know

• The VAT registration threshold increases from £85,000 to £90,000, taking about 28,000 small businesses out of paying VAT.

• National Insurance was cut again, by another 2p from 6 April. Combined with previous cuts, self-employed stylists should save about £650.

• A £200m extension of the Growth Guarantee Fund should help 11,000 small businesses access finance.

• Fuel duty freeze is extended for 12 months until March 2025, with the temporary 5p cut also extended, saving car drivers about £50 this year.

Hair by Lynsey Cleland and Ben Newby; Photography by Aris Akritidis

Architects of Design graduate with shoot

The ALFAPARF Milano Professional Architects of Design have graduated after a 12-month programme, and shot a photographic collection in London. The one-year education programme gives 10 hairdressers mentorship by national and international stylists, taking place in the UK, Ireland and Italy. UK and Irish stylists on the team were Wayne Chartley, Pont Smith, Ben Newby, Michael Paraliki, Maria Haberlin, Triona Hollian, Grace Marie Bardon, Jolene McCarthy, Gillian Woods, and Lynsey Cleland.

Struggle to get that light just right in your salon ‘after’ shots? Social media connoisseur Ben Lifton might just have the answer. He’s behind a new handheld LED light that addresses the shortcomings of ring lights in hairdressing. It has three light modes (warm, cool, and neutral), mimics natural light to avoid blow-out or spotlights, and is iOS and Android compatible. £32.99, looth.co

Ooh, could you crush a grape? This Colour Crush collection from ghd is bright and vibrant for summer and beyond, with five iconic tools to choose from, including the first ever limited edition of the duet style 2-in-1 hot air styler!

From £189 ghdhair.com

This clever dual-sided hair & beard comb from STMNT is designed with both barbers and clients in mind. Made from sustainable birch wood, it is perfect for various hair textures, including curls and waves.

RRP £12.99, or free with the purchase of other STMNT products stmntgrooming.com

A straightening iron, a curling tong AND a wave wand in one savvy hair tool – no attachments needed! That’s the promise from new SupernovaPRO, with a patentpending DoublePivot system that relieves pressure on the median nerve, reducing risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

RRP £299 supernovahairtools.com

Grasp is a shaping balm from R+Co that slicks back hair with a unique combination of grip and slip but zero crunch.

RRP £25 xpertprofessional.co.uk

Fresh from Paul Mitchell Awapuhi comes the Hydrasoft line up, with its HydraTriplex blend of amino acids, vegetable protein and nourishing oils that deeply hydrates, binds and seals the hair.

RRP from £24.99 salon-success.co.uk

Looking for some extra retail wow? Raise (and thicken) some eyebrows with the new Browbond Building Serum from OLAPLEX, a 3-in-1 brow gel serum that shapes and sculpts with all-day hold, helping brows look denser in as little as four weeks.

RRP £64 pro.olaplex.com and authorised distributors