Inspired by Sassoon's courtesy of Wella

I enjoyed some fab demos from Edward (UK Colour Director) and Danielle (Creative Director) from the Sassoon's team today.

I'd never seen Danielle's work before, but she's a great cutter and gives a really inciteful demo too.

I've been lucky enough to watch Edward' work a few times now - he really is one of the best colourists in the biz.

I was attending the Wella Master Colour Congress which is a regular refresh/inspire session attended by all Wella Master Colour Experts. The Master Colour Expert is Wella's highest colour qualification, and I've been a proud holder for over five years now. It's great that Wella try so hard to keep updating you: it keeps you motivated to try new ideas and gives real insight into how the brand and products are developing. After all, how are we to be the best salon in Berkshire if I just churn out the same-old all day every day? It's also great to catch up with other colour technicians from around the country - it's lovely to spend time with people who share a passion.

Phil x

Happy Holidays

Scott and I have arrived home safe and sound after our little break in Turkey. We're raring to go and fully recharged. Holidays are a great opportunity to reflect on the "bigger picture" away from the hussle and bussle and distractions of everyday work, and we always come home with lots of plans and ideas for the future direction of Bravo.

Scott also managed a cross-cultural exchange of sorts when he got roped into cutting hair for a couple of ex-pats. It may not have been the best salon in the world, but the owner was very hospitable and looked after us with real warmth of spirit (and gallons of tea and coffee!). We'd obviously left our business sense at home though - surely it's the customer who is meant to pay?!

It is always a joy to see hairdressing across the world, and I take a keen interest in the industry and methods wherever we travel. Some of the brand names we come across are truly worldwide (I've bought Wella colours in Bangkok before now) and I love the way that salons reflect the values of the local population. In Thailand we saw salons which were hopelessly overstaffed by Western standards - when we interviewed the owners it became clear that the salon was a nice place to work and a social institution first, with profit taking a back seat. In Turkey we saw an incredibly high level of skill in male grooming with some pretty horrendous examples of hair styling and colouring for women, which I assume reflects traditional religious values of many women not showing their hair in public.

Anyway, it's good to be back - there will be more photos of our Turkish expeditions on the Dolly the Dog page on Facebook as soon as I've Photoshopped the double chins and shiny noses!

Phil x

In my opinion - Professional Products

Hairdressing relies on supplier relationships. Our suppliers (Wella, L'Oreal, Schwartzkopf, etc.) provide us with not only our colours, bleaches and peroxides, but also their own professional ranges of shampoos, conditioners and treatments. Add to this that they are also our primary source of post-qualification training and education and you see how important this relationship is.

Competition comes in many forms, and perhaps I've become flippant over the years but competition from other salons does not bother me in the least. Competition brings market-led pricing and a general improvement in industry standards (at least at a local level). I also expect and accept competition from suppliers for profit margin - that's what business is about. What does annoy me, however, is that the suppliers we work so closely with are also our high-street competitors - walk into any chemist and those same brands are on the colouring, shampoo and conditioner shelves PLUS they get better placement in magazines and higher promotion budgets. Now that just seems a little rude.

It's true that if you trace the ownership of almost every salon brand you'll find it's owned by a huge multinational which also has chemist products in its portfolio, but let's at least choose brands with no high street equivalents. So I'm calling to salon owners everywhere - let's vote with our feet! It's not our job to build brand awareness and give professional credibility to these dreadful products (leave that to Myleene, Davina and the rest of their breed!). Let our shelves be filled with exclusive, salon-only brands and ditch those with copy-cat nasties lurking in 3-for-2 land. Our customers deserve better!

Phil x