Time to embrace competition hairdressing?

The UK industry should learn to love competition hairdressing, says salon owner and multiple competition winner Steven Smart. It has been some time since Britain fell out of love with the traditional hairdressing floor competition: all that backcombing, hairspray and frayed nerves as the clock ticks down. But a saunter through the World Championships in early May shows that the rest of the world in still in the feverish grip of a passion that is far from waning. Hundreds of hairdressers around the world flew into Frankfurt to compete against one another at the start of this month, all of them already national winners in their own right. Earlier in the year I judged the Russian finals in St Petersburg and was stunned to find out that 2,500 hairdressers had pitched up to take part. Two weeks later I witnessed the same enthusiasm in Finland. At all three events the atmosphere was electric; the audience on tenterhooks as they watched their favourite stylist create something magical; the competitors in a frenzy of creative ecstasy. I know how they felt, having competed at this level for more than 10 years, culminating in 2008 with me becoming one of only two Brits ever to be named World Champion, bagging a slew of other national and international titles along the way. So I don’t really understand the lack of enthusiasm floor competitions elicit from the pinnacle of British hairdressing. But I think I know why the rest of the world clings on. It’s the great leveller.Floor competitions are often the only opportunity many hairdressers have to assess their skills against their peers, and where a win can bring huge PR benefit locally and nationally. They are also an excellent means of developing superb hairdressing skills. You must push your boundaries and get out of your comfort zone to stand any chance of winning. You must have extreme self-discipline so you keep on practising when everyone else has gone home or to the pub. And you need to practise relentlessly because you need to be fast and flawless. Having done successful photoshoots that have brought me front covers, I know exactly how stressful that process can be, but it is nothing compared to the terror of being on the floor with 150 other hairdressers, judges cruising around, nowhere to hide,  and a compere shouting out as the time as it slips away. Developing the skills, discipline and ability to create beautiful hair in minutes makes you a better hairdresser all round. You have happy clients pleased with your work, a happy salon owner pleased with your loyal clientele and you have a happy you because you do more clients per day than anyone else and that means more money in your pocket. I also don’t agree that floor competitions are devoid of trends and that only avant garde is on show. What is Trend Vision or the L’Oreal Colour Trophy? They are floor competitions. To get anywhere you have to push boundaries just as fashion designers do for their catwalks. This helps you develop new techniques, which soon seep into the rest of the profession. Undercutting, so hot at the moment, was massive on the floor five or six years ago, as was hand-painting colouring techniques. Perhaps the results are not as beautifully finished as the photographic images we see in the magazines but that doesn’t mean they have no value. They are a great training programme for the young and talented; a superb way to flame the passion. So much so they become addictive; I know, I’ve been there. And on top of all that, they are fun, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.