Indian Hairdressers Put Their Best Foot Forward At The L’Oréal Professionnel Paris Indian Hairdressing Awards 2021

Written by StyleCraze  • 

The Indian Hairdressing Awards (IHA) is undoubtedly one of the most awaited events in the salon industry where every year, hairdressing talent is celebrated. Each season, some of the best hairdressers from salons across India compete by creating inspirational hairstyles or iconic color looks in the hope of winning the prestigious awards.

The International salon brand, L’Oréal Professionnel Paris this year hosted the Award Ceremony of the 4th edition of IHA on 23rd March 2022 at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai in a hybrid model (virtual and on-ground) unfurling an evening of color, glamour, and celebration. This edition of the Indian Hairdressing Awards was extra special as it marked L’Oréal Professionnel Paris completing 25 years in India. L’Oréal Professionnel Paris is the No. 1 salon brand in India and for 25 years the brand has been a frontrunner in not only shaping the salon industry in India, but also catering to every need of hairdressers and consumers. Education is a crucial part of success for the brand. Over 3 lakh hairdressers are trained every year across their 11 academies which offer the professional salon community technical expertise, artistic inspiration and business building skills, bringing self-improvement to individuals and empowerment to salon staff.

As it is every year, this year too the competition was nail-bitingly fierce and was judged by a panel of 5 esteemed jury members:

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Jatin Kampani: A photographer par excellence, Jatin’s work spans from the outrageously luxurious to the covers that make stars on every magazine! A decade on from his professional debut, he became the first Indian photographer whose work was selected to be on the cover of Lurzer’s Archive, a magazine that publishes works of excellence in advertising from around the world.

Venus Ferriera: Equipped with over a decade of Creative Make-up and Hair Design, Venus has worked extensively with some of the biggest names in the beauty and fashion industry, both Indian and International. Her experience spans the fields of advertising (both television and print), photography, cinema & fashion. She has been the beauty editor of Elle India and publications like Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Grazia and Verve all feature on her list of clients.

Aalim Hakim: Popularly known as the hair guru, Aalim Hakim is the Mumbai based celebrity hairdresser and man behind Hakim’s Aalim Hair n’ Beauty Lounge. He has been the stylist of choice for India’s top actors, models, and cricketer. Easily the most well-known name in Indian hairdressing, he has been a huge inspiration for hundreds of budding artistes.

Simon Koh: Simon is the founder and artistic director of Elle Hair Studio Group, Malaysia. He leads a chain of luxurious salons and has had an illustrious career spanning over 4 decades. An influential face in the professional hair industry, his skill in both color and cut has won the hearts of people across the globe.

Natalie Kasses: Natalie is the creative director and training programme director of the award-winning Pastels Salon in Dubai. She is renowned as a L’Oréal Professionnel international ambassador and trainer. As a global hairstylist and a -color specialist accredited in London, Natalie has had the honour of heading various fashion shows around the world including Fashion Forward Dubai as head stylist.

This year the Indian Hairdressing Awards was divided into two main categories of awards:
Creative & Business.

  • THE CREATIVE AWARDS had three sub-categories:
    • The Style & Color Trophy,
    • The Young Colorist Award and
    • The People’s Choice Award

and

  • THE BUSINESS AWARDS had the following three sub-categories:
    • Best Digital Marketing Salon,
    • The Best Social Commerce Salon and
    • The Young Entrepreneur Award

The theme for this year’s competition was around the biggest color movement in the world – French Balayage.

French Balayage is L’Oréal Professional Paris’ signature hair color technique that can be soft & luminous or glam & sophisticated or extreme & bold and is tailor-made for every consumer. This 2-step technique gives clients made-to-measure, enviable sun-kissed hair color that suit all hair bases, even the darkest ones, making it perfectly adaptable to Indian skin tones and hair. Over 17000 hairdressers from across the country had submitted their entries showcasing their talent for the contest.

Indian Hairdressers Put Their Best Foot Forward At The L'Oréal Professionnel Paris Indian Hairdressing Awards 2021
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This year there were 26 finalists who got an opportunity to participate at the National Technical Finale held in Mumbai on 22nd February – 15 in the Style and Color Trophy and 11 in the Youngest Colorist Award. For the finale, the 26 finalists were expected to do a real time consultation with a model provided to them and create a French Balayage look that would best suit her skin tone and face shape – a true test of French Balayage expertise! Winners of this Indian Hairdressing Awards 2021 were declared in a grand ceremony in Mumbai.

And the Winners are: –

Winner: The Style and Color Trophy – Raju Rajak from Geetanjali Salon, Gurgaon

The Style and Color Trophy 1st Runner Up: Sunnykumar Limbachiya from Sunny Anand Spalon, Mehsana

The Style and Color Trophy 2nd Runner Up: Sandipbhai Limbachiya from Mihir Salon, Vadodara

Winner: The Young Colorist Award – Santosh Kumar from Rexan Salon, Ahmedabad

The Young Colorist Award 1st Runner Up: Shibhangi Bhagat, AN John Salon & Academy, Kolkata

People’s Choice Award: Rehan Ahmed Shaikh from Envi Salon & Spa, Thane

The Best Digital Marketing Salon – Green Trends

The Best Social Commerce Salon – Enrich

The Young Entrepreneur Award– Priyansh Khatri from CV Salon, Jabalpur

To know more about the event, click here

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