8th January 2026
Yesterday, whilst flipping through the January edition of one of the hairdressing world’s trade mags, I was genuinely irked by what I saw, hence this post: Soapbox, the controversial one.
Let me explain! I understand fully that the majority of our trade press rely very heavily on advertising and advertorials to help with the costs of publishing, that’s just the way it is.
But I can’t help feeling disappointed when reading a multi page advertorial which features an (innovative) product launch that is (and I have checked this) already available you know where on the high street and its website. There is no doubt in my mind that this range, which shall remain nameless will be very good for the price bracket it sits in, and hairdressers could have had great successes with it, but lots of potential sales will be achieved from the mass market channels, giving salons across the UK very little chance of making this a boost to their retail sales.
If the trade press is here to support professional hairdressers and barbers who, let’s face it, are dealing with growing challenges every day, the decision to feature a product in an advert or advertorial that is being heavily promoted through non professional channels (to me) doesn’t feel right.
Perhaps there needs to be some stipulation from magazines that states no products available in mass market outlets can be advertised in their pages. Of course that’s never going to happen as the revenue comes first naturally.
Fortunately, the continuing rise of SALON PROFESSIONAL products continues unabashed as salons move to brands that are truly committed to salon growth and salon business. These brands that deliver exceptional quality and outstanding support to salons are definitely ‘capturing the zeitgeist’ and slowly but surely usurping the brands that no longer consider the hairdresser (and their clients) their No.1 priority. These companies advertise and create advertorials that resonate much more than the hyperbole shared by behemoths that believe a celebrity hairdresser, an influencer or a c list celeb excites salon owners enough to ignore the reality, that being, mass market is their No.1 priority.
By the way, that’s fine, if that’s what a company wants to focus in on, I say ‘go for it’, but please leave the professional world of hairdressing and barbering, and all the products they want to recommend to their clients to companies that are 100% behind the world of professional haircare.
*I did say it was controversial!
#ProForPro #SalonProfessional #Pro2026
