Tigi's inspirational youth rock with rockaholic
For most, the opportunity to appear on stage at a hair show is the culmination of years of training, building a name for yourself and working as a platform artist, but for the 14 members of TIGI's Inspirational Youth members that opportunity came early in their careers at Salon International.
"This is the sixth time we have done this and it is dear to our heart," said TIGI international creative director Anthony Mascolo.
"As a company we give 12 to 14 youngsters who are starting to become stylists the opportunity to learn how to get on stage, present and work as a team. This show is the result of that and you are going to be blown away."
TIGI's new Rockaholic haircare and styling range emerged from hairdressing's link with music and the strong underground vibe that has been adopted by today's youth culture and was a perfect fit for the Inspirational Youth students.
The two elements combined perfectly in the show's opening that saw the Inspirational Youth's presentation models, that were inspired by Rockaholic, take to the stage and rock to the sounds of up-and-coming band FANGS.
Once the presentation models had demonstrated what capable hairdressers the youngsters were, it was time for the tough task of creating hairstyles and cutting, styling and presenting models live on stage - no mean feat for a seasoned pro, let alone a young, recently qualified hairdresser.
First up it was the girls - Suzanne Hegarty, Olivia King, Sophie Deason, Anne-Marie Bailey, Carla Fairburn, Nickola Taylor, Pippa Crellin - who created a cross-section of styles from long loose layers to short edgy crops and on-trend men's looks with short back and sides and height through the crown.
Spurred on by the devoted audience of friends, colleagues and young hairdressers, they explained their inspiration and the techniques and products they used to create the looks.
Then it was the turn of the boys - Gordon Cruickshanck, David Goodrich, Daniel Forsey, Ryan Russell, Jonnie Mitchell, Adam Taylor and Louis Wesolowski - to showcase their skills. 
Once again there was an abundance of crimping, volume, texture and hair that had an underground, second-day unwashed feeling on display.
Having put on the show of their lives the Inspirational Youths, along with their models and the band, returned to the stage to accept their well-deserved applause.
As Nick Irwin, TIGI european creative director, congratulated them on the show, he gave a special accolade to Jonnie Mitchell of Zappas, who he described as the stylist who had most impressed on the course.
