Weird and wonderful sights of salon international 08

When it comes to innovation and inspiration, Salon International is second to none.

And with exhibitors all hoping to stand out from the crowd and catch the attention of the thousands of guests, it wasn't just the hair presentations and on stage demonstrations that needed to be different.

These are just some of the weird and wonderful - we'll leave you to judge which category they fall into - sights that caught our eye over the course of the weekend.  

Short Cuts may have been promoting their new 'Set and Forget marketing system'; but their models clearly forgot something...their clothes. The stunning pair were last seen wandering round ExCel dressed in spray paint. 

The Balmain stage was centre of much attention thanks in part to the talents of Salon Division Account Manager, David Jelly. David spent the weekend serenading guests and models with his dulcet tones. It was a perfect way to draw a crowd for the launch of their new Elegance collection - a selection of hairpieces, including buns, and flexible wires - all designed to assist in creating stunning hair up styles in minutes.

Bet you never thought you'd see someone vacuum cleaning their head? That's what happened at the Super Million Stand where they were demonstrating their 30 second hair transplant. As the crowds gathered round the stand, the mini-miracle was performed using anti-bacterial fibres that clung to the hair.

The brightly coloured cylinders at the Oxygen Zone brought to mind theme park rides. Visitors were treated to 90% pure oxygen pumped into their nose: the perfect cure for stress and hangovers. Marketing manager Maxine says: "Every bum on a chair should earn you money. This helps ensure that clients not only leave the salon looking good but they feel charged and energised too."

'Cruella Devil, cruella Devil, if she doesn't catch your attention then Minnie Mouse will'. That was the philosophy at Flip-In Hair, where staff dressed as their favourite Disney characters. "It's been brilliant, we've had so many cameras pointed in our direction," said Cruella.

WOW! That's the only way to describe Chole Bruce who literally kicked ass on the Wahl Stage. Chloe's known worldwide in the martial arts industry and her high kicks and eye-watering manoeuvres were a perfect foil to the intricate hairdressing skills on the stage.

Lee Stafford and acclaimed street artist Jef Aerosol went head to head in an on-stage paint off for Corioliss. While Lee demonstrated his skills with hair, Jef was busy creating a masterpiece in canvas for a total crowd pleaser. And it wasn't just on the stage that Jef's taken part in an urban art meets hair experiment: he's also teamed up with the company to create the Corioliss SXE Urban Art collection of hair straighteners.