The X Factor

As the men’s hairdressing industry continues to grow and flourish, the Fellowship for British Hairdressing is celebrating all things men’s hair with the launch of its Barber Project for 2019.

The Fellowship is renowned for its projects, which provide education, exposure and opportunities for its members. Existing projects include The F.A.M.E. Team (the ultimate finishing school for hairdressers under 35), Colour Project (specialist colour education), ClubStar Art Team (for members under 25) and Project X (for ongoing education at any age). This year, the Barber Project was introduced to help hairdressers develop their skills with male clients, and combine the worlds of men’s hairdressing and barbering skills.

The first day of the project was headed up by team mentor, Edward Hemmings, and Matt Gavin from Ruffians barbershop. Edward gave the team an overview of the year ahead, as well as explaining the importance of men’s hairdressing and why the Barber Project was launched - to raise standards, and build awareness.

Then, it was over to Matt to talk about his career to date and how he personally had transformed his role from a hairdresser to barber. He then provided a demonstration on a model, showcasing some barbering techniques for the team to try in their own hands-on session. They were tasked with creating a long haircut inspired by Matt’s model, before taking it shorter with the skills they learnt in the morning.

It’s really exciting to be part of the first Barber Project team. “I enjoyed everything about the day. Listening to Matt's career story to date, in particular his transition from hairdresser to barber, was so inspiring - as was watching him work, and taking skills like cutting a graduated bob and making it work for men’s hair. - Sarah Morrissey from Sarai Hair & Beauty

Learning new techniques to take back to the salon is key for any of the Fellowship projects, including the new barber team.

It was eye-opening to see how I could use the skills I already have and implement just a slight changes to create a man's hairstyle. I’m also leaving equipped with new techniques like mastering the clipper fade, and knowledge of new tools to use.” - Sarah Morrissey from Sarai Hair & Beauty

Barber Project 2019

• Ainsley Brown, F&M Hairdressing
• Luke Hawkins, The Marvellous Hair Co
• Portia McVinnie, KJM Salons
• Sarah Morrissey, Sarai Hair & Beauty
• Blayre Turnbull, Urban Hair & Beauty Highhouse
• Rob White, Nashwhite