mocha Hair

What Are We Doing To Help Our Apprentices Stay?

By Cheryelle King. There’s a statistic about our industry that I find really hard to ignore. The latest national apprenticeship data from NCVER shows the completion rate for hairdressing apprenticeships sitting at just 47.6%. Less than half. That really made me stop and think. Because we talk a lot about apprentices leaving our industry. I hear it in conversations with salon owners all the time. “They just don’t seem to stick it out anymore.” “They don’t have the same work ethic.” “They’re not as resilient as they used to be.” And I understand where those conversations come from. I’ve been a salon owner. I know how much time, energy and emotion we invest into our apprentices, and when someone leaves, it can be incredibly disappointing. But perhaps we need to change the conversation. Instead of continually asking why our apprentices are leaving, what if we started asking: What are

October 5, 2026

Built From Experience.

The professional tool market certainly isn’t short of choice. Straighteners, hairdryers, clippers and trimmers continue to evolve, with new technology and new launches arriving all the time. So, when a brand expands its offering, there needs to be more behind it than simply adding another product to the market. For Matsui, there is. Matsui has spent years supplying professional hairdressers with the tools they use every day, from scissors and clippers to foils, colour bowls, tint brushes, sectioning clips and other salon essentials. It is a brand built around the realities of working behind the chair. Its move further into professional electrical tools, however, came with another valuable layer of experience. Several years ago, Matsui acquired Glampalm Australia, giving the team first hand insight into one of the industry’s respected straightening brands and a deeper understanding of what professionals expect from a hot tool, from plate technology and heat consistency

October 5, 2026

THE FEED COLLECTION.

Created by the 2026 winners of the CURATE Awards, Mia Cribb, Sandhya Silwal, Nikita Wells, Jasmin Warren and Greta Baxendale, ‘The Feed’ explores the tension between what is real and what is broadcast. The concept is drawn from a world where nothing simply happens anymore; it is filmed, filtered, posted and re-watched. It calls to mind the constant loop of the social media feed, a space where a moment barely exists before it’s already being replayed and shared. It’s a fitting lens for this collection, where the camera itself becomes part of the story, capturing each look as it’s created and instantly echoing it back. LOOK 1 LOOK 2 LOOK 3 LOOK 4 LOOK 5 LOOK 6 This exciting next-gen team worked on the shoot together under the expert guidance of CURATE Founder and Mentor Justin Pace as part of the overall CURATE prize package valued at over $65k. Behind

October 5, 2026

The People Behind NAK Hair.

Fiona Del Vecchio | Professional Sales & Education Director at NAK Hair With almost 40 years across hairdressing, sales, education and the RTO sector, Fiona Del Vecchio has experienced the industry from almost every angle. From educating the next generation of hairdressers and supporting salon growth to leading high-performing teams, her career has always been shaped by a genuine passion for people and the opportunities the industry creates. Today, as Professional Sales & Education Director at NAK Hair, Fiona leads a team focused on helping salon owners and hairdressers thrive through education, business support and meaningful professional partnerships. “What I love most about this industry is that it’s built on people,” says Fiona. “The way we show up for our salon partners every day is incredibly important. Education, support and genuine relationships are at the heart of everything we do.” For Fiona, that sense of connection is also one of

October 5, 2026

JUSTIN PACE JOINS ELEVEN AUSTRALIA AS BRAND ARTIST.

ELEVEN Australia has welcomed Justin Pace, one of the nation’s most awarded and respected hairdressers, to its team as Brand Artist. Bringing three decades of global colour expertise and a career-long commitment to education and mentoring, Justin joins the brand at an exciting time as it continues to strengthen its professional colour offering and education program in Australia and globally. Renowned for pushing technical and artistic boundaries across colour, cutting and styling, Co & Pace Owner and Creative Director Justin has an impressive array of accolades to his name, including AHIA Creative Australian Hairdresser of the Year 2023 and two-time Hair Expo Australian Colour Technician of the Year 2019 and 2014, a combination unmatched among Australian hairdressers. Justin’s expertise extends well beyond behind the chair with over a decade’s experience as an international and national artist, educator and Hair Director. He has also led Co & Pace to be recognised

October 5, 2026

The Surcharge Ban and What You Need to Know.

From 1 October, card surcharges end in Australia. For hair and beauty businesses, the cost of accepting cards doesn’t disappear, it just moves into how you price. It doesn’t have to mean a blanket price rise, and it’s more manageable than the current noise suggests. Know what you can still charge The ban covers fees added because a client pays by card. Genuine weekend and public holiday surcharges, booking fees and service fees are separate and aren’t automatically affected. Check whether your booking or payment software adds card surcharges automatically. If it does, find out how to switch it off, or whether your provider will do it for you, so everything’s set before the change. Start with your numbers Before touching your price list, get a clear picture of what card payments actually cost you: your payment rate, how much of your revenue comes through cards, and what that adds

September 30, 2026

OZDARE RETREAT 2026.

Connection, Colour and the Future of Professional Hair. By Jarred Stedman, General Manager, Mocha Group. Byron Bay has always had a certain ability to slow people down just enough to make them look up and for three days in August, that quality became a perfect reality for the Ozdare Retreat 2026. More than 100 salon owners, leading stylists and industry professionals gathered at Crystalbrook Byron for this very special event. It had been nine years since Ozdare had staged a retreat of this kind, and there was a clear sense from the outset that this was about more than showcasing brands. It was about bringing the professional hair community back into the same room. The industry is moving quickly. Salon owners are navigating tighter margins, changing consumer behaviour, new technology and evolving service models, while conversations around colour, hair longevity, scalp health, artificial intelligence and business strategy are reshaping professional

September 27, 2026

Lloyd Court Shares His Tips For Using the Silk Bath Technique.

For thousands of years textile artisans dyed raw silk with the original silk bath technique. Now, the method has gone viral on TikTok with more salons using the technique to create beautiful, multi-dimensional results, while taking more control over how they develop. “A silk bath is a technique where diluted versions of direct dyes are layered onto pre-lightened hair at the backwash basin, allowing colour to build up gradually like fabric taking on pigment,” says Lloyd court, creative director at seanhanna salons in Wimbledon and a fan of the technique. “It’s not a new technique but it gives colourists an opportunity to experiment with contrasting and imaginative tones.” Lloyd shares his five insights into mastering the technique and why it is such an effective way to create beautiful, multi-tonal colour. 1. Take complete control of how colour develops One of the biggest concerns colourists have when working with direct dyes

September 27, 2026

AHC + Mitch Wallis Leadership Program launched.

The Australian Hairdressing Council (AHC) has partnered with leading psychology thought leader and Real Conversations author Mitch Wallis to deliver an exclusive six-week online leadership program for Australian salon and barber business owners. Following Mitch’s keynote at the AHC Leadership Summit in Sydney earlier this year, the Real Conversations Online Leadership Series 2026 will give business owners practical tools to manage people, improve communication, navigate difficult conversations and build stronger workplace cultures. The live online program begins Monday 12 October and runs across six sessions through October and November – 12, 19, 26 October and 9, 16, 23 November – with sessions delivered via Zoom and replays available the following morning. The program has been developed specifically around the realities of leading people in today’s workplace, including team retention, performance, culture, communication, psychosocial risk and the increasingly complex role of the business owner as a leader. “With staffing, retention and

September 26, 2026

What You Need to Know About Creating Men’s Hair Imagery.

“When you create a collection of men’s hair imagery, whatever stage you are at in your career, start with the ethos that you want to contribute to an overall raising of standards and perceptions of men’s hairdressing and barbering,” says Chris Foster, Co-founder of Mentored by Menspire. “As you gain experience and your budgets grow, this contribution will become more visible and your influence greater, but it’s never too early to start documenting your work and making it count.” Here Chris offers his advice on creating meaningful men’s hair imagery and why it’s worth it. It Can Create New Opportunities Our industry is image led, and extremely influenced by creativity. When you show your creativity, it sends signals to the hairdressing world that you are part of the club. This creates visibility, and being visible will open up new opportunities. If you want to create opportunities in this industry, the

September 25, 2026

What Are We Doing To Help Our Apprentices Stay?

Built From Experience.

THE FEED COLLECTION.

The People Behind NAK Hair.

JUSTIN PACE JOINS ELEVEN AUSTRALIA AS BRAND ARTIST.

The Surcharge Ban and What You Need to Know.

OZDARE RETREAT 2026.

Lloyd Court Shares His Tips For Using the Silk Bath Technique.

AHC + Mitch Wallis Leadership Program launched.

What You Need to Know About Creating Men’s Hair Imagery.

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