Six weeks of family secrecy, forty one years of career highlights, and a surprise induction into the Dennis Langford Hall of Fame — my full Hair Festival weekend recap.
It's the hairdressers' weekend of the year, and I mean that literally — it takes me a week to recover from it every single time. This year's Hair Festival weekend was one for the books, and I want to share it properly, because every part of it reminded me why I love this industry so much.
Day One: Australian Hairdressing Council Day
Day One kicked off with Australian Hairdressing Council Day, hosted by CEO Fiona Beamish — who, I have to say, is doing an amazing job for our industry — with the beautiful and very funny Jools Purchase on MC duties.
We were proud sponsors of AHC Day, with our Exclusive School Program — mapped directly to the creative hair up and braiding units. The room was full of salon owners and RTOs from right across the board, and it was such a treat to catch up with the schools already using our program and tools, plus meet plenty of new faces too.
This day exists to tackle something our industry can't ignore, the ongoing shortage of apprentices and seniors. Every conversation in that room, whether at the podium or over coffee, was pointed at the same goal — how do we make our industry better, together?
Also loved catching up with Jonina from LOHY - if you love curly and coily hair be sure to check them out.
Day Two: Breakfast with SACSA
Day two took us to a workshop breakfast with SACSA (Service and Creative Skills Australia) — the government body currently developing our industry's new training package. In teams, we brainstormed ways to improve the package and strengthen our industry as a whole.
It's genuinely energising to sit in a room where an entire industry is rolling up its sleeves to shape its own future — and to know that conversation is now feeding directly into what gets taught to the next generation of apprentices.
Hair Festival Expo & Competitions
We don't exhibit at Hair Festival anymore, but I still love walking the floor — seeing the stands, and catching up with stylists who've been using our tools for years. That connection never gets old.
The competitions were an absolute highlight this year. One of my students, Pearlin, took out two first places and a third — her work was fantastic, and I couldn't be prouder. Congratulations to every entrant and every winner across every category. That floor is packed with talent every single year.
Hands-On Education
Our daughter Holly also spent two days at a Hair The Movement workshop, run by Sharon Blain, with UK educator Sylvestre Finold flying in especially. His expertise is in creating incredible avant-garde wigs and hairpieces, and Holly was completely in her element. I can't wait to see what she creates for her next shoot.
AHIA Awards Night: My Biggest Surprise
And then came the night I truly wasn't expecting.
My daughter Holly was a finalist in two AHIA hair categories — New Creative Talent and Hot Shots. She didn't take home the win on the night, but she should be so proud of that achievement. Being a finalist in two categories speaks for itself.
Then came a moment I was not expecting — I was inducted into the Dennis Langford Hall of Fame sponsored by Mocha , and I had genuinely no idea. My family had been in on it for six weeks, and they kept it so tight that even my mum didn't know. Not one of them cracked.
Six weeks earlier, Linda Woodhead had reached out to Holly and quietly gathered photos spanning my entire forty one years in this industry — from my salons, to my workshops, to my school programs, to my products. They pulled it all together into a video that walked through my whole career, and it absolutely blew me away.
Thank you to Dario Cotroneo for presenting me with this incredible honour.
I need to say a proper thank you. To our industry partners — Amazing Hair Australia and Unite Hair Care Australia — for standing behind me for so long. And to my mentor, Ruth Brown, who has been with me through thick and thin since I was fifteen years old. It was Ruth's idea, all those years ago, that I put together a program for schools mapped to the creative up-style and braiding units — the very Exclusive School Program we now sponsor AHC Day with.
Receiving this award was completely overwhelming. Thank you to Linda and the Mocha Group for making it happen. This will go down as the best thing I have ever received in my career.
It was made even more special to be from the Dennis Langford legacy - When I was 20 I spent a week at Toni & Guy in London and Dennis was the key educator for the week, this of course was before he moved to Australia and made Toni & Guy as it is today.
Check out this video, I was in so much shock 😀
What a Weekend
Two days of industry work, a floor full of incredible talent, and a night I'll never forget. This truly is the hairdressers' weekend of the year — and I already can't wait for the next one.
I LOVE our industry so much.
Happy Styling
Lorna xxxx
