Retaining top therapists, combining treatments, and the impact of Brexit were among the hot topics on the agenda for Professional Beauty London’s education sessions. With six varied seminar programmes and four action-packed live stages there was something for everyone, whether their specialism was skincare, nails, make-up, tanning, lashes, waxing or aesthetics. We round-up the best bits.

Agenda setting

Many pulled up a chair at our Aesthetic Treatments programme, which was renamed this year to reflect the merging of the aesthetic and beauty sectors. Salon owners and therapists alike benefited from discussions from Karen Betts, director of Nouveau Beauty Group, who covered the differences between microblading and permanent cosmetics, and Emma Bennett, owner of Advanced Facialist, who revealed how to combine treatments to get better, more bespoke results for clients.

The Business Skills programme was a hit, providing insightful sessions on all aspects of running a profitable salon or spa, covering social media plans, client retention tools and how Brexit will impact the industry in the coming years. The Salon Skills programme also attracted big numbers, with visitors hearing from the likes of Stefania Rossi, director of Utopia Beauty and PB’s Employer of the Year 2016, on retaining top talent and creating career paths.

Salon and mobile techs packed out the Nail Skills seminars in a bid to get a first look at this season’s top bridal nail art, advice on creating services that appeal to male clients and help with all aspects of acrylic application. Many salon owners and therapists headed to the “How to…” workshops to update their technical skills and understanding of trends, with dermaplaning, intimate waxing and 60-second make-up looks demoed. OPI, Louella Belle and Nail Harmony were among the big names in the line-up.

Those who want to add a health-focused offering to their salon booked themselves into the Nutrition programme, which covered gut health, especially probiotics and their importance for overall health, and the inside-out approach to tackling acne.

Trend setting

Visitors also took advantage of PB’s four Live Stages, which offered free education on everything from innovative techniques to debate on hot topics affecting the beauty market. New at the show was our Advanced Therapists stage, which covered the latest advanced and machine-based treatments, with demos from Finishing Touches, Lynton and Vida Aesthetics, as well as lively discussion on the new JCCP qualification framework, hosted by consultant Sally Durant.

On the PB Live stage, Georgie Smedley, director of Nail Harmony UK, introduced Gelish’s latest nail enhancement Polygel to the market, which combines qualities of both liquid and powder acrylics and LED hard gels in a new formula, and James Harknett, global creative consultant for Fake Bake, demonstrated how to contour using spray tan.

Visitors keen to learn about the trends shaping “green beauty” headed to the Organic & Natural stage to discuss IR and preservative skincare, as well as the natural products believed to help alleviate side effects caused by cancer treatments.

Models were transformed in front of the audience on the Warpaint stage, while leading make-up artists from Airbase, Artdeco, Kryolan and Vincent Longo Cosmetics talked about the biggest make-up looks for AW17 and the art of camouflage. There were also three inspiring and creative hairdressing live stages as part of HJ London. PB