Recognised as one of the best hairdresser’s in the Midlands, Nicola Smyth is the owner of her very own prestigious, award-winning salons in Leamington Spa, Warwick, Kenilworth and most recently opened her 4th salon in Knowle.

At just 32-years-of-age, the ambitious salon-owner, award-winning colourist and educator already has a hairdressing career spanning 18 years under her belt. Nicola began working in a local salon when she was just 14 and quickly realised it was the career for her. By the time she was 17, she was already recognised in the community and had gained a flock of loyal clients. She went on to scoop Apprentice of the Year at the Mid Warwickshire Business Awards shortly after.

Marrying her passion for business and her creative flair for inspiring colours and hair design, Nicola went on to develop her career working in an array of leading salons before launching her own salon in 2012.

With almost two decades in the industry and last year wining her biggest title to date “Midlands Hairdresser of the Year” at the British Hairdressing 2018 Awards. Nicola has a reputation as one of the most talented hairdressers in the country. Extremely passionate and hard-working, Nicola always seeks to find and offer her loyal clientele the latest and very best trends, cuts, colours and extensions. And we are honoured that Nicola has chosen to only use Gold Class extensions across all her salons.

Having worked with the KMS California UK team, styled a variety of fashion and editorial shoots, Nicola has an exceptional eye for detail and quality and explains that this is why she has chosen to partner with us and use Gold Class extensions for the last 5 years.

As a colour specialist, Nicola understands that adding extensions to hair with colour damage and ensuring that the coloured extensions match the hair is a very difficult job. In addition to finding extensions that are good enough to perfect the colour, any good hairdresser has to be cautious to not add more damage or breakage when applying extensions to treated hair. Following years of using our extensions and seeing premium hair quality and minimum breakage, Nicola explained to us that this was another reason she has chosen to only use Gold Class extensions in her salon.

“Nicola has worked backstage with us on some of our LFW and MFW shows in the past and most recently joined myself and the Inanch London team Front Row Pro in May. Using our renowned Gold Class extensions for the Girl Power Gold Class Hair Master Class. It was a great success and received high praise from the audience made up of our fellow professionals.

We had an incredible time and it was great to join forces with Nicola once again” commented Inanch Emir.

We are very proud of the success of our Gold Class extensions and of the relationships we have built with talented hairdressers like Nicola, who choose to use our extensions to give their respected clients the most natural, luxurious extensions they can.

Find out more about Nicola Smyth.

Find out more about Gold Class extensions or book an appointment at our London salon.

For more press enquiries about Inanch London, Gold Class Hair Extensions or to organise and interview with our founder contact McCluskey PR: [email protected].

Stages Hair Design has two salons in Bristol and a strong reputation for hair extensions in the area. Keen to offer tailored professional services they have a diverse client base drawn to the talents of each stylist. The Stages team organise the annual Miss Bristol pageant with a catwalk show in the heart of the city. Their client’s include the stunning Miss UK 2013/14 Kirsty Heslewood shown here with her Gold Class extensions.

Taking charge of Gold Class are James Jenkins based at the Patchway salon and Jade England, who was a recent finalist at HJ’s Extension Specialist of the Year, for the Stoke Bishop salon. We caught up with them both to ask more

What is the most asked question about extensions?
Jade: Will extensions damage my hair? and How long will they last
James: Will they damage my hair?

Which celeb is the most requested hairstyle for extensions?
Jade: Kim Kardashian & Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.
James: Michele Coombs from the X-tra Factor

Tell us your best hair transformation story
Jade: Here is my client Diana, she has extremely baby fine hair and struggled to keep her hair in any style. When I suggested hair extensions as an option she was really shocked thinking “I’m way too old!” and “I don’t think I’d like long hair“. Everyone presumes hair extensions are for that ‘glamour’ look. Here we have achieved a natural, thickening effect with no tell tale signs of hair extensions. Extensions aren’t just glamorous… they are life changing. With the Healthy Hair Days philosophy we replace her hair extensions every 3 months and each time we see her confidence shine when she leaves the salon.

James: It has to be my mum’s hair she was the hardest to convince, but now cannot live without them!

What tips do you get your extension clients to follow?
Jade: My main tip is not to go to sleep with wet hair, as this is the main cause for matting and damage at the root. My second tip would be about using conditioner. Use your ears as a guideline to condition the mid lengths and very ends that need TLC and avoid the roots.
James: Regular maintenance every 2 weeks and that’s in salon with me!

What was the highlight of launching Gold Class in your salon?
Jade: Being the first salon in Bristol to work with Inanch and her exclusive brand. I have followed Inanch’s work for some time, then one day I showed a photo of her work to my manager who replied ‘That’s my friend Inanch’- #starstruck
James: Being part of the best hair extensions in the world and meeting Inanch.

Proudest moment
Jade: Making the final 6 stylists competing for HJ’s Hair Extension Specialist of the Year Award at this year’s Salon International.

Preferred music to work to
Jade: Again as our clientele is so varied, our music is too! Some days we have music from the 80’s … Disney themed, then current chart music.
James: Easy listening in the background.

Which industry show do you never miss and why?
James: Pro Hair and now its in London its even better.

What’s the next big thing for your salon?
Jade: We are hosting Miss Bristol 2016 at The Grand, Thistle hotel in April.
James: Doing the avant garde models for the Miss Bristol show

What do you like to do on your day off
Jade: Pamper myself… Nails, Spray Tans, and I’m usually getting back to clients via Facebook regarding enquiries and bookings.
James: Chill Out.

Have you got a hidden talent?
Jade: I can play the violin, and took exams when I was younger, unfortunately not any more!
James: Art pencil drawing.

What’s your favourite colour to work with at the moment
Jade: I love pre blending colours to give a bespoke finish to every client. No hair colour is the same, and I think that it gives a much more natural finish.
James: Blondes.

Where do you get hair inspiration from right now?
Jade: Instagram
James: My mentors.

Your mantra/quote to live by
Jade: “Where’s Bank of Simon’s Credit Card?”
James: Aim for perfection.

Get booked in with the Stages Hair Team for a consultation at either their Patchway or Stoke Bishop salons and give them a follow on social media to see their work: Facebook & Twitter.

CREDITS: Kirsty Heslewood image thanks to David Freeman Photography

Set in the swanky Buckhurst Hill area of London, you will discover the beautiful Blo Bar. Described as a hub of hair, make up and glamour – it’s the perfect place for Gold Class Hair Extensions. They had to wait for us as we launched our Elite 10 and training was in late September, but the wait has been worth it making our hair the focal point in the salon. Owner, Clare Jones and her team share their love of hair here:

Tell us about your clients
Our clients are fun and social people who always wanting to look their best.

What is the most asked question about extensions?
Are they easy to manage?

Which celeb is the most requested hairstyle for extensions?
Rochelle Humes.

Tell us your best hair transformation story
It’s definitely a set of Gold Class extensions that have transformed a regular client of mine, even her husband calls us to say thank you for making his wife so gorgeous!

What tip do you get your extension clients to follow?
Brush the hair from bond to tip regularly throughout the day with your Gold Class brush.

What was the highlight of launching Gold Class in your salon?
Being a able to offer our clients such high quality hair that they love just as much as I did when I first had it put in mine. Its great to have the colour swatch that client’s can see for themselves just how amazing the hair and colours are.

Proudest moment for your salon
Opening the doors to Blo Bar when I bought it last October, there have been some changes made to the décor, putting my own stamp on it. The salon is ultra feminine and unique with a boutique style. Since October all our stylists are now trained and experts in colour, extensions and cutting. We have recently taken on Philip Kingsley products, which works brilliantly with Gold Class, It is such a fabulous product, and really benefits the quality of our clients hair.

Alison has also continued her Fashion Week work heading up a team for Anna Popovic at LFW, and then heading to PFW to work alongside Darren Fowler for designer Bernard Chandran creating some beautiful hairstyles (images left). Most recently she has been working on the new Christmas M&S ad.

Preferred music to work to
Anything current, but not too ‘pop-py,’ Whatever comes on Spotify, especially Justin Bieber at the mo.

Which industry show do you never miss and why?
L’Oreal Colour Trophy Grand Final – it’s a wonderful creative showcase.

What’s the next big thing for your salon?
We have just taken on the highly respected product range Philip Kingsley to sit alongside our Gold Class hair extensions. Launching that will be big news for us and not to mention Christmas and lot’s more glamorous hair!

Putting owner, Clare under the spotlight …
What do you like to do on your day off? Spending time with my family, working out and of course, shopping!
Have you got a hidden talent? I can sing!!
What’s your favorite colour to work with at the moment? Blondes are my fave right now, I’ve been doing lots of really warm tones and apricots blondes.
Where do you get hair inspiration from right now? I always really like Olivia Palermo’s style.
Your mantra/quote to live by Don’t dilute your dreams. Keep your passion concentrated and strong.

Get booked in with Blo Bar for a consultation now and keep following them on social media: Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to see more of their fabulous work.

Owner Nicky has a wealth of extension experience and has also specialised in the rewarding world of hair replacement. Salon Ten is situated in a grade II listed Malthouse in the beautiful setting of Much Wenlock. With three floors dedicated to luxury hair and beauty at affordable prices, they have clients who travel far and wide for a little indulgence. The team have created a dedicated Gold Class area and already have their own devoted #GoldClassGirls.

Following their gold themed launch party back in September they have been doing plenty of Gold Class transformations and we pinned down Nicky to give us some insights into Salon Ten.

What is the most asked question about extensions?
How do I look after them?? How long will they last?

Which celeb is the most requested hairstyle for extensions?
Cheryl Fernandez-Visini without a doubt; although Caroline Flack is also hugely talked about it. It just shows that the current conversation is what’s topical on our TV screens.

Tell us your best hair transformation story
When you see the transformation in confidence from a client with thinning hair to a head of beautiful volumous extensions. They come in bent low and then leave us practically bounding out the salon. We love that!!

What tip do you get your extension clients to follow?
Brush your locks at least 3 times a day

Proudest moment for your salon
Being recognized for our extension work – we’ve won several extension awards and been finalists three times!

Preferred music to work to
My absolutel fav is Bryan Adams but I love any pop music especially slightly older stuff. The rest of the team would definitely groan at this!

Which industry show do you never miss and why?
I love Tribu-te – I always feel so inspired when I leave.

What’s the next big thing for your salon?
Next year we are going to enter more awards as we are constantly being told that we should by people that see our salon and our work. Wish us luck.

Gold Class extensionist Jack has been wowing with his transformations so we grabbed 60 seconds with him to get to know him a little more.
• What do you like to do on your day off? Lots of shopping.
• What’s your favourite colour to work with at the moment? Deep rich browns with lots of glossy shiny gorgeous locks
• Where do you get hair inspiration from right now? It’s got to be Instagram
• Your mantra/quote to live by? ‘Its kinda fun to do the impossible’

See more from Salon Ten by following them on social media:
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Book your consultation with Nicky & her team here.

Anne & Inanch have admired each other’s creativity for many years now and relish the opportunity to work together as often as their diaries can collide. You can see their last session here mastering Gold Class. With two salons in Oxford, one in the city centre and the other in trendy Bicester, they boast eco friendly yet stunning design with client comfort. With a VIP area in the main salon and Suzie having her own extension zone in Bicester, they were ready to launch Gold Class hair extensions to their fashionistas.

She has racked up countless awards for her creativity as well as salon design, salon of the year and customer service from across the industry and is seen on stage regularly, most recently at Alternative Hair Show. Hair Magazine have heralded Anne as “one of the world’s most iconic hairdressers.” We think it’s fair to say we are excited to be working together and can’t wait to see what Anne’s going to create with our hair.

We took time out to ask Anne some quick questions to get to know her a little better and here are her answers.

What is the most asked question about extensions?
How long do they last? Will they damage my hair?

Which celeb is the most requested hairstyle for extensions?
Alexa Chung for the long bob cut is always being asked for and extensions are a great way to achieve the volume and shape here. Jennifer Aniston is, and has been for many years, a hair icon for the colour and cut.

What tip do you get your extension clients to follow?
Take the time to wash and condition your hair properly, as this is vital for the longevity of your extension.

Proudest moment for your salon
Becoming part of the Gold Class Elite 10 of course! Also the first time we were invited to present at The Alternative Hair Show back in 2009. Our Style Director Emmanuel Esteban recently won the International Visionary Award here for the Avant Garde category. We’re still celebrating this.

Preferred music to work to
Chilled out Reggae.

Which industry show do you never miss and why?
I try to attend all the hairdressing trade shows through out the year, as I find watching my peers very inspirational. Haute Coiffure Francaise show at the Carousel du Louvre in Paris is one of my favorites. The problem is that as I’m usually presenting at most of the shows, the opportunities to see others’ work can be limited!

Preferred social media channel where consumers can find more examples of your work
Instagram and Facebook – make sure you give them a Like & Follow!

What do you like to do on your day off
Running then back to my atelier at home to create weird and wonderful avant garde hairstyles.

Have you got a hidden talent?
I’m good at knitting.

What’s your favourite colour to work with at the moment?
All the pastel shades on blondes

Where do you get hair inspiration from right now?
Social media has some amazing images for me.

What’s your mantra to live by?
“Get myself out of my comfort zone in order to progress.”
In term of imagery, I buy into fellow hairdresser Sam McKnight’s philosophy that “Simple is Powerful.”

We want to wish Anne & the team the very best of luck as finalists for the prestigious Hairdressers Journal British Hairdressing Awards later this month. We’ve got our fingers crossed for you xx

We love this image from Anne’s Red Carpet collection which used extensions. See more of Anne’s amazing work on her website and social media.
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Book your consultation with Anne & her team here.

Red Carpet image by Anne Veck; Photographer: Barry Jeffery

Following our search earlier in the year, we are announcing their Elite-10 salons exclusively on our Facebook page over the next ten weeks. Focusing on one salon a week, we wanted to only have ten salons to be able to maintain our brand’s exclusivity whilst organically growing and supporting the salons individually. The Elite-10 salons have been selected for their experience and passion for hair extensions as well as their ability to maintain the high Gold Class standards.

First up last Friday was Shropshire based Salon Ten where Nicky and her team have a wealth of hair extension experience and are looking forward to training over summer with our founder Inanch Emir.

Spread across the UK to give greater access for our fans, the prestigious Gold Class salons will be transforming clients from September. We will look to expand the salon base further next year and if your salon is interested you can register here.

It’s a really exciting time for ourselves and our Elite 10 salons – so please keep your eyes peeled as we announce more and watch each salon embrace the Gold Class Revolution!

We are busy with our preparations for ProHairLive Olympia later this month and we are starting our search for the #Elite10 salons to join the #GoldClassRevolution now.

We only plan to work with 10 select salons this year to maintain our exclusivity and keep focusing on quality over quantity. Check out our select salon criteria and if you want to join this exclusive family then please come to see us at Pro Hair Live at stand D6 to find out more about the hand-selected private label hair, expert application, accredited aftercare & healthy looking hair regime.

If you are unable to make Pro Hair this time, but are still interested in becoming one of the #Elite10 then please get in touch & register here.