L’Oréal Professionnel, the no. 1 professional hair brand in the world has created an exclusive platform in India to recognize hairdressers for their art and creative talent at a national level – the Indian Hairdressing Awards. This competition has been designed to handpick the best of hairdressing talent across 4 categories. The competition includes 4 regional rounds and a national finale. The South Region Final, held in Chennai, gathered under one roof, the best of hairdressing talent from across the South. These contestants competed for a coveted position in the Grand Finale!
In 2018, with the 3rd edition of the Indian Hairdressing Awards (IHA), L’Oreal Professionnel invited hairdressers from across the country to showcase their hair artistry in a creative category of their choice: Colour Trophy, Cut & Style, Young Colourist and Men’s Image. For the first time ever, the entry submission to the competition was completely digitized. Aspiring hairdressers submitted their creative hair looks on a specially created digital platform – www.iha2018.in.
35 teams competed during the IHA 2018-19 South Region Final recreating their hair looks live before a panel of judges, represented by experts from the fashion and beauty industry. The panel included prominent hairstylist Simon Koh – Founder and Artistic Director, Elle Hair Studio, Malayasia, Senior Beauty & Health Editor, Elle Magazine Mamta Mody, celebrated stylist Vivek Karunakaran, National Education Director – Maybelline, L’Oreal Paris and NYX Professional Makeup – Stafford Braganza and award winning fashion photographer Ashish Chawla.
The competition was followed by the Awards evening which was a true celebration of hair artistry. The L’Oréal Professionnel Dream Team, represented by some of the best hair artists in the industry today, celebrated art that truly withstands the test of time with their show ‘ART Infinite’. While the L’Oréal Professionnel ID Artists, a group of dynamic young hair artists who would be the stars of tomorrow, showcased their creativity with their show ‘#FUTURISTIC#HAIR’.
Speaking on this occasion, Binaifer Pardiwalla – General Manager, L’Oreal Professionnel India shared that the brand, in its continued efforts to partner the industry into the future, will bring in digital innovations to the market. “This edition of the Indian Hairdressing Awards is significant, as it coincides with the 20 year anniversary of L’Oréal Professionnel in India. In this new era, where being ‘digital savvy’ has become a way of life, it has become necessary for salons & hairdressers to evolve at a rapid pace. With this in mind, we will bring to our partners the revolutionary StyleMyHair App – with augmented reality, developed especially for use in-salon only. This will put more power into the hands of the hairdressers, aiding increased consumer engagement.”
The show ended with the announcement of the winners of the IHA 2018-19 South Region Finals:
COLOUR TROPHY
Winner: Prasanna Manohar Samuel, Kapil’s Salon & Academy, Bangalore
First Runner-Up: Libemo Nguille. BBlunt Salon, Bangalore
Second Runner-Up: (Tie) Khusbu Bungchhen Rai. Green Trends, Chennai | Biak Lun, Play Salon, Bangalore
CUT & STYLE
Winner: Esther Huailianmawi, Jean Claude Biguine, Bangalore
Runner-Up: Singirala Pavan Kumar, Kapil’s Salon & Academy, Hyderabad
MEN’S IMAGE:
Winner: Mohammad Ali, Naturals Lounge, Trivandrum
Runner-Up: (Tie) Rakesh N, Enrich Salon & Academy, Bangalore | Smaran Thapa, Vurve Salon, Chennai
YOUNG COLOURIST
Winner: Pema Tsethar, Rock Paper Scissor Salon, Bangalore
Runner-Up: Ganesh Konduri, Kapil’s Salon & Academy, Hyderabad
IHA 2018-19 travels next to Delhi for the NORTH Region Final on 12th November, 2018 followed by the EAST Region Final on 21st November, 2018 in Kolkata and finally to Mumbai for the WEST Region Final on 3rd December, 2018! Catch all the action on IHA on Facebook @L’Oréal Professionnel India and Instagram @lorealproiha.
For more information on the Indian Hairdressing Awards please visit www.iha2018.in
About L’Oréal Professionnel
L’Oréal Professionnel is the No 1 Professional salon brand in the World & in India. It truly elevates professional hair beauty every day by setting up new trends and innovative products and empowering the hairdressers to unleash the star in every woman!
Born in Paris in 1909, L’Oréal Professionnel has always kept its pace and rhythm in tune with the artistic community. Each season, the iconic brand celebrates hair artistry with the latest trends in hair fashion. L’Oréal Professionnel has partnered with some of the World’s most glamorous and connected women such as actresses and IT girls. They are women with strong personalities who share the same passion for trends and fashion, such as Eva Green, Alessandra Ambrosio, Alexa Chung and Twinkle Khanna.
For more than a century, education is still a crucial part of success for L’Oréal Professionnel. From the company’s academies to in-salon and on-location training, the company offers the professional salon community: technical expertise, artistic inspiration, and business building skills. This brings self-improvement to individuals and empowerment to salon staff.
