RETURN TO FORM

Professional Beauty London 2021 has been hailed as a triumph, bringing the beauty, spa, and aesthetic industries back together after two years apart due to the pandemic. Here are the key takeaways people took from the show at ExCeL on October 17–18

After more than two years, Professional Beauty London made a triumphant return to ExCeL London on October 17–18, 2021. Some 22,323 professional trade visitors flooded through the doors over the two days to reconnect with the industry face to face and discover the latest products, brands, and trends.

The show hosted hundreds of exhibitors from across all sectors of the market, such as spa, skincare, aesthetic equipment, nails, lashes, make-up and more, and for the first time ever, PB London took place alongside major hair event Salon International, meaning visitors could take advantage of all the launches and education that both shows had to offer, all under one roof.

Lorraine Perretta, IIAA’s head of nutrition for Advanced Nutrition Programme (ANP), commented on the buzz at the show, with the industry happy to be back to what it does best: “There was a lot of energy and excitement. It was so exciting to see the number of people taking on new brands, which indicates that there’s confidence in the industry and people are ready to boost their businesses with innovation.”

Elias Gharieni, junior sales manager for the Gharieni Group, felt the same, stating: “It was amazing. The past two years were hard, and I really missed our customers – so it was great to be back at the show.”

Marian Harvey, managing director of Thalgo UK, agreed, adding that it has given the sector a boost: “We felt the renewed vigour of people being able to get back to what they really love. We had some good leads – great international ones too – so for us it has been a complete success.”

Lynton Lasers used the show’s return to do something a bit different for new and existing customers. “We dedicated an area for our VIPs to come, have a glass of wine or a coffee, and have some good chat with us, and it was really busy,” said Hayley Jones, Lynton sales and marketing director. “We worked with Professional Beauty Group to drum up interest before the event and it really paid off as we managed to get a lot of interest from new customers.”

The support PB provided brands to ensure they had a good show did not go unnoticed by other companies either. “We had lots of new orders and people have seen a lot of publicity that Professional Beauty has done for us too, which attracted customers to the stand so it was a successful two days,” said Tracey Smith, director of Ashmira Botanica.

Sarah Bacon, head of spa and salon at Elemis, said it was “amazing” to be back together again and networking with professionals in the flesh. “We saw so many old and new faces… it was wonderful.

It’s been lovely to see people in person rather than on Zoom. We had so many conversations – about business, but also just catching up and showing our innovations.”

Christina Barham, director of Novalash UK, felt the same, adding that it was the perfect place to finally meet some of her newer accounts face to face: “It was so nice to have a space to catch up with people, especially the accounts we had join us during the past two years where we perhaps have only connected via email. It was great to finally put a face to those names.”

Helping to upskill the industry

Visitors also had access to training and education across the extensive conference, Live Stage, and seminar programme at the show. There were five incredible Live Stage programmes – Business Skills, Skin & Advanced Treatments, Digital Skills, “How to”, and Nail Skills – taking place across the two days, all helping business owners to upskill their teams.

The Skin & Advanced Treatments programme, sponsored by Fillmed, brought key learnings from some of the UK’s best speakers and educators, including leading aesthetic therapists Dija Ayodele and Chelsée Lewis, who spoke about how to successfully treat hyperpigmentation and scarring in salon, and how to combine HIFU with other technologies.

Meanwhile, social media experts Debbie Lewis, Kate Woods and Scott Dance gave attendees the lowdown on easy content ideas to fill your social media calendar; how to make your salon website work for you; and ways to make money from social media campaigns. The Digital Skills stage was hosted by Salonology founder Ryan Power who posted on Instagram: “What a day at Professional Beauty. So amazing to meet up with so many people again.”

The one-day Nails Skills Live Stage was a first for the show, created in partnership with The Federation of Nail Professionals, with leading session tech Marian Newman organising talks on speeding up your technique and what you need to know about full cover tips with some of the industry’s best techs.

The Business Skills Stage, sponsored by the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF), also shared valuable advice on how to adapt your business so that it survives and thrives in 2021 and beyond.

Sharing best practice

The World Spa & Wellness Convention saw nearly 200 top-level spa operators from across the globe come together to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the spa market. Popular topics included creating a smart business model to cope with change and recruiting a strong spa team in a challenging market.

“While the pandemic is still here to a certain extent, it was inspiring getting together with fellow operators, realising that the spa is back and it’s time to grow to the next stage,” said Dave Courteen, managing director of Mosaic Spa & Health Clubs.

Catarina Ferreira, spa manager at the Ritz Carlton Vienna, agreed that the convention provided something the sector has been missing for some time – the human connection, saying:

“Online events were very important for the past year-and-a-half, but in-person events are much more useful and better for connection – it is just a different kind of feeling.”

Meanwhile, many operators heard some helpful solutions that they plan to implement in their own business, such as Phil Murphy, director of leisure and spa at Hoar Cross Hall.

“Regardless of the size of your spa, there is something here for you. The key learnings are invaluable to take back to your business, including how to grow retain your staff,” he said. A big thank you to our World Spa &

Wellness Convention sponsors: BC Softwear, Biologique Recherche, Elemis, Gharieni, Lemi and Matrix.

Tackling the big issues

The International Manufacturers and Distributors Forum (IMF) and Cosmetics Ingredients & Packaging International (CIPI) covered how AI and AR tech is reshaping the future of the industry, sustainable beauty and more. Attendees loved the IMF forum’s approach and quality of speakers, stating what came out was very insightful.

“One of the key takeaways was the need to be truthful and honest about beauty products – about what we can achieve and the claims we can make, especially on the sustainability side,” said Eva Lagarde, chief executive and founder of Re/Sources.

“The key business lesson I learned was the need to be closer to all the network – the suppliers, distributors and aestheticians,” said Tommaso Corradini, managing director of Bioline Italy. “It’s a nice touch point where you can share ideas with brand owners and distributors because, at the end of the day, we all have to work together to make this industry better.”

Our CIPI exhibitors – Prime Pac Solutions, Sabel Cosmetics, Yanga Natural, Perfect Corp and Soil Association – also enjoyed some amazing networking opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Education Forum – run in association with Habia and sponsored by VTCT – returned, providing an opportunity for lecturers to hear from key employers and an Ofsted inspector.

The buzz

Here’s what visitors had to say about the show on social:

@Pridjlp: “Thanks Professional Beauty for getting the spa and beauty world back on track with an amazing face-to-face exhibition and awards night”

@spaprcompany: “We loved being back at Professional Beauty. It was so lovely to catch up with old friends and talk face-toface about all things beauty, skincare, and industry trends once again 😃”

@mywellnessguru_: “It was so super to see everyone again. We have such a passionate industry; the energy was amazing.”

@lauralipgloss: “It was great to get advice from professionals about additional services and training that I’m considering in the future 😍”

@laurenjemamua: “Loved it! The seminars were amazing. Will be back next year for sure 👌”

@the_abundant_therapist: “I loved seeing and speaking to actual people with no internet glitches!”

@BobbiBicker: “I feel honoured to have been part of the judges at the Make-Up Competition. It was amazing to be at a live event after such a long time.”