We are so pleased that our flagship salon, Inanch London’s very own Lee McCrudden has been crowned the winner of the Hair Awards Best Extensionist 2017! Lee follows in the footsteps of his mentor, namesake of the salon and our founder, Inanch Emir, who has won the prestigious title for three years running and therefore earned the Hall of Fame status.

After submitting examples of his work, images of his expert application and client testimonials, Lee was shortlisted for the award. See our question and answer blog with Lee after he had received the news that he had been shortlisted back in March.

(Left to Right) Laura and Anastasia

Lee created these looks using a combination of Gold Class Pre-Bonded and Clip-In Hair Extensions. Laura’s pre-bonded extensions consisted of a bespoke blend of Rich Truffle, London Gold and Champagne, with added London Gold clip-in hair extensions for added volume for the shoot. Lee opted for a natural look with Anastasia, using Hot Chocolate pre-bonded extensions, complimented by Rich Truffle clip-in hair extensions.

A mystery reader-tester was sent to the salon for Lee to work his magic before a panel of experts reviewed his work further and later announced him as the winner.

“It’s a dream come true to win this award and something that I have been working hard to achieve for a couple of years.  I’m very passionate about hair extensions and how they can work well for my clients so it will be great to share this news with them.” Lee McCrudden

Book an appointment with Lee here or ask your extensionist for a free colour match, fitting and styling at one of our elite salons.

Last month’s All That Hair show was the launch of our new luxury Gold Class Clip-In range and our founder, Inanch Emir, stunned us with her avant garde creations. Most of the looks worked with these clip-ins, so let’s take a closer look at just how she created these incredible creations…

Left to right:

Imogen: Working with a spider frame, Inanch plaited hair to cover the shape with basket weave. Three Clip-Ins were added for uber-volume for hair to tumble down with the spider-legs dangling over the top.
‘The Basket Cases’ – Charlotte: her hair was plaited from her parting into a wide triangle to secure the hair, donuts were applied to the sides of her head with Clip Ins covering this, before crimping her own hair and securing into a low ponytail at the nape of the neck.
Jess: Starting with the flat sheets of hair, Inanch ripped sections to form individual tulip shapes with gold glitter centres. A clip in added length and volume for blending when backcombed to the tulips.
‘The Pirate Hats’ Anastasia: the spectacular sculptures wrapped in hair and with Clip Ins draped to flow and move with the model’s movement.
‘Twelve Twists’ – Laura: Twirling long hair extensions into twelve twists onto a head piece sitting down the centre parting down the hair to create a Mohawk. Two Clip Ins added length and volume to the sides.
‘The Fan’ & ‘The Tulip’ Juste: Creating sheets of hair by slowly building this up before creating the pleated fan and sprayed with gold and wrapped around her head.
Ianthe: Sleek flower was sculpted to the front of the head with clips in added down the back into a double ponytail with plenty of texture.
Imogen: Working with a spider frame, Inanch plaited hair to cover the shape with basket weave. Three Clip-Ins were added for uber-volume for hair to tumble down with the spider-legs dangling over the top.
‘Flower Power’ – Daisy: A Clip In was added to a wire to sculpt into 12 large and 12 small flowers placed and sewn onto a chunky plait.
‘The Pirate Hats’ Nena: the spectacular sculptures wrapped in hair and with Clip Ins draped to flow and move with the model’s movement.

All of the preparation was made by Inanch Emir herself and was assisted on the night by her salon team members Lee McCrudden, Ivan Rachev and Alessandro Spitaleri alongside fellow Gold Class extenionists Anne Veck, Nicola Smyth and Elisa Didymus.

…and with a sprinkling of gold glitter, hair graffiti spray and gold make up; the models shone.

“This was my first real venture into the Avant Garde world and creating something experimental with our hair and I loved it. I spent a lot of time looking at various textiles and textures for inspiration before playing with the hair.” Inanch Emir