This years Afro Hair & Beauty LIVE was back in full force celebrating its 33rd year with the best show yet.
Thousands of excited hair and beauty enthusiasts gathered together from all over Europe to the Business Design Centre in Islington and didn’t walk away disappointed! The best of the best in Afro Hairdressing were there with live hair shows and demonstrations, fashion catwalks, specialised makeovers, fabulous jewellery, live entertainment and much more.
Afro was the place to be! Making its début at Afro Hair & Beauty LIVE was the Sensationnel Salon. The luxury hair sanctuary featured sought-after award winning stylists and was over-run by people wanting their hair styled. It was definitely a main feature of the show.
The event was hosted by our beautiful Toya A Washington, BEN TV Presenter, dressed in Emile London. She had our audience in an uproar of laughter and amazingly made the whole weekend gel together in an excellent way.
Two of the industry experts Felicia Leatherwood, Celebrity natural hair specialist, and Jane Carter, educator and
founder of Jane Carter Solutions, joined us in the natural zone. They delivered educational talks and live hair demonstrations to enable you walk away with secrets to achieve fabulous hair.
The live debate was back this year featuring hair experts such as Black Beauty Award winning stylist Anastasia Chikezie from Sensationnel, Jane Carter, Beautiful Textures, Celebrity Award-winning stylist 5ive from Wahl UK, House of Cheatham, Dr Miracle and ORS to name a few!
The audience put their burning questions to our panel which proved for a very interesting debate! The Pampering Zone was the perfect place to unwind after a full day of competitions, seminars and shopping. We had so many treatments on offer including eyebrow threading, manicures, Indian head massages and for the first time ever reflexology for the hands and feet.
The Afro Chic Boutique, directed by Crystal DeRoche, was bigger and better this year, with beautiful clothing and accessories collections. The fiercest live catwalk shows took place with models from Cliché Model Management showcasing unique styles and vibrant makeup by Nizz Cosmetics. Angela Plummer made the ladies look sensational with Sensationnel hair. The Boutique was beautifully furnished by Mille Couleurs London to give the boutique an extra touch of class.
Battle of the Barbers
Of course it wouldn’t have been an Afro Hair & Beauty without the infamous WAHL’s Battle of the Barbers. Five talented barbers took to the stage to compete for the title of King Barber along with £500 worth of WAHL products and entry into Simon’s Search For A Star.
Joining us on the judging panel was none other than Andrez Harriott from UK R&B band Damage. Andrez along with the other judges were very impressed with the talent of this year’s entries, however there could only be one winner and that lucky barber was Kade Kut Burgess from Kade Kut Barbers.
Sensationnel Icon
Sensationnel Icon is without a doubt one of the shows main attractions and was back for 2014 in full force. The competition was split into three catagories: Braid Impact, Weave Genius and Avant Garde Icon. As always there were some stunning entries and all competitors excelled themselves and put on a great show. Marvin Francis, winner of BBC Three’s show ‘Hair’, amongst the other judges, came to the decision to award these three winners: Braid Impact: Aycan Kemal from New York Hair Designs, Weave Genius: Marcia Johnson from Rougz Hair & Beauty and Avant Garde Icon: Michelle Garande from Afrotherapy Salon. Congratulations to these very talented winners.
Bloggers Lounge
For the first time ever, Afro Hair & Beauty LIVE had the Blogger’s Lounge co-hosted by UK Naturals. Bloggers from all over Europe had the comfort of tweeting and posting online as they nibbled on delicious desserts from Bespoke Bites and thirst quenching drinks from Grace’s Tropical Rhythms. Networking with bloggers alike, those in attendance had the opportunity of forming lasting relationships and received hair and beauty treats from our sponsors.
Seminars and Workshops
This year brought some informative seminars and workshops which included gorgeous makeovers and advice with Mary Kay and Flori Roberts Skincare; great hair growth tips with Jane Carter, Celebrity stylist Janel Sealy Smith informed on Healthy Weaving Techniques; tips on your diet to keep that skin looking youthful provided by Yinka Thomas and The Spencer Clinic of Trichology and EN start ups shared their knowledge on how to build your own business.
Acts
Joining the Afro Hair and Beauty stage line up were four up and coming acts that rocked the stage and had the audience excited for more. 12 year old Sinai Rose flew in from USA to close Sunday’s show with her acoustic performance. Dance group Firestorm from the Alluminae Company opened Monday’s show with a well rehearsed dance routine. All girl dance group, Team Afrika, gave us a mix of African and Street Dancing and CheLingo performed his contemporary poetic rap style to perfection.
Well it’s safe to say Afro Hair & Beauty LIVE is still going strong after 33 years. Every year it gets bigger and better and that’s the way it will stay! What a fabulous way to spend the bank holiday weekend – and we also had a bit of sun!