The second edition of the Hair Expo was held this past Saturday at Prestige Plaza, Exhibition Hall, along Ngong Road. The event saw the number of hairdressers competing in the various categories increase from last year’s 60 to 80. A new addition to the categories this year was the fantasy (creative) segment, raising the categories from 4 to 5 – Cut & Style, Battle of the Barbers, Bridal, Weaving and Fantasy. 5 hairdressers emerged winners and were issued with the Golden Comb awards.
An overall winner was crowned and awarded a fully paid expenses trip to the 20th Edition of the Beauty World Expo in Dubai.
The Hair Expo was formed with the aim of creating a platform to inspire, educate and motivate all those in the hair fraternity through engaging forums, events and competitions.
Elizabeth Ngote, a weave specialist and winner of the weaving category, emerged the overall winner in this year’s season 2 competition.“I’m blown away and truly honoured to be bestowed with this award. I have been in the hair business for the last 10 years. Last year I came in third place in the weaving category. This year I came in first place in the same category and was crowned overall winner. Winning these awards has definitely been the highlight of my career. Just as my boss Jayne of Rapunzel took a chance on me and mentored me, I plan to do the same and lift other women hairdressers who feel stagnant where they are.”
Others winners were in the different categories were: Fantasy (creative) Category: Zachary Mwaniki,Bridal Category-John Mwangi ,Weaving Category- Elizabeth Ngote, Cut & Style Category- James Ngare and Battle of the Barbers Category: – Vincent Maguti.
While speaking at the event Emily Kinuthia, one of the Hair Expo’s co-founders, said ““We realized there was a huge gap in the hair industry based on our own personal experiences where we had a challenge finding good hair dressers, as well as knowledge and information about the right kind of products and hair management tips in general, hence, we saw the need to launch Hair Expo.
The event saw the return of the same three judges who were present last year; some of the top hair professionals in the country: Farouk Jannedy, top hair designer and owner of Farouk’s Salon, Mercy Ollows, weave specialist and owner of Merco Salon and Ronnie Maingi, a highly experienced hair dresser at one of the top hair salons in Nairobi.
Farouk Jannedy said that “The display of talent this year has definitely gone a notch higher compared to last year. I believe our hair industry is coming of age. This event is tailored to create healthy competition amongst hairdressers while raising the bar in hairdressing in the country. I cannot wait to see more hairdressers taking part in the event next year.”
Article by Wacuka Kangethe.
