Northern soul

We look back at the highlights from Professional Beauty North 2023, and find out why the event is so key for both brands and visitors

Professional Beauty North returned to Manchester on September 24-25, as 10,674 professionals from the beauty and aesthetics industry gathered at Manchester Central for two days of learning, networking, competing and discovering the industry’s latest launches and innovations.

The event hosted key exhibitors from all areas of the beauty industry, including skincare, aesthetic devices, nails, make-up, lashes, spa and more as the brands showcased their latest product launches and demonstrated their newest innovations.

Celebrating success

Headline sponsor Treatwell’s community lead, Olivia Silver, said, “It’s been an absolutely fantastic weekend. It’s been super busy. We’ve had a lot of fun seeing everyone.”

Justine Stevens, Hydrafacial’s regional sales director for the North of England, said, “I’m from the North and it’s so nice to actually meet with our clients, interact and form new partnerships.

“I think that a lot of things for beauty are very much southern-based, and it’s so important that we have a huge following up here. The North is really leading the trends on a lot of aesthetic beauty treatments.”

Ella Cox, director of Heaven Skincare, added “It’s been really, really rewarding seeing so many customers.

“We used to do a lot of shows back in the day and they’ve remembered us from back then. It’s nice to see some new faces, and our existing spas and salons.”

Jenna Unwin, founder of Million Dollar Facial, shared, “PB North is a key show for us because we’re from the North. It’s always nice to come and see everybody up in Manchester, and great to connect with new customers that want to come along and see what we do, and existing customers who want to come and catch up with us.”

The show also saw the return of PB’s Nail Competitions, in association with the Federation of Nail Professionals, with nail techs and students competing in eight categories. Discover the winners on page 61.

Sharing expertise

PB North brought some of the industry’s leading experts to Manchester to deliver exclusive education sessions across three stages: Trends & Techniques, Skin & Advanced Treatments and Business & Digital Skills, allowing visitors to brush up on their knowledge and learn how to take their business to the next level, as well as the Live Demo Stage, where visitors could see the latest treatments in action.

From Alysha Bradley kicking off Sunday with a session on how to get more clients in your beauty business and avoid burnout to Glow Up’s James Mac delivering a creative make-up masterclass, the sessions provided those who attended with a wealth of knowledge, tips and tricks they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Clare Porter, owner of The Fountain Beauty Therapy in Guilford, said, “The main reason I came is because I only dedicated one day to Professional Beauty London and there was so much education that I missed out on. So, I immediately thought I want to be up here, especially when I saw the schedule.”

Special thanks to the stage hosts; Kirsty Meakin, Kerri-Ann Angus, Angie Sanderson and Cigdem Kemal Yilmaz, who were on hand to ensure visitors got the most out of their sessions, as well as stage sponsors Treatwell, Dermalogica and the NHBF.

For the first time this year, Professional Beauty North launched the Beauty Round Up networking event, hosted by Susan Routledge, where salon and clinic owners, and managers heard from six inspiring speakers and took part in roundtable discussions ahead of a networking lunch.

Stefania Rossi, owner of Utopia – Beauty & Advanced Skincare in Essex and founder of Stefania Rossi Recruitment, shared, “I always attend the live education because you’re upskilling yourself, you’re developing yourself, and, most importantly, one of the key challenges that we notice in the industry now is that it changes so fast... so the challenge is how we can match those client needs to what the industry is actually offering us and ultimately how we can empower our employees and how we can also bring new treatments to our teams, and to our clients as well.”

Speaking on why she visits the show, Sara Shoemark, founder of the Glow Beauty group of salons, said, “I like to look around and keep my options open and see what really grabs me.

“We are looking at a new skincare brand, so that’s been a massive investment for us, but we’re always looking at different things, see what’s out there. It’s very important not to invest without thought and not to be reactive in this industry.”

Advanced treatments

Aesthetic Medicine North took place alongside Professional Beauty North at Manchester Central, allowing visitors to access aesthetic and technologyfocused brands such as Hydrafacial, 3D Aesthetics, Opatra and more in the cross-over section, reflecting the industry shift towards result-driven treatments as therapists add more technology-based advanced treatments to their offering.

Managing director of the Professional Beauty Group, Mark Moloney, commented on the success of the event: “It was great to see the industry connect at Professional Beauty North. We saw a steady rise in visitors from previous years, with an impressive 10,674 attendees over the two days. It was particularly pleasing to see an increase in the numbers of both salons and colleges attending, as well as over 250 doctors who came to the show to discover the latest advanced treatment launches.

“The Beauty Round Up networking event proved a huge success for its first year, and we’re looking forward to welcoming back some of the bigger brand names for 2024 as we see growing support for the event.”