Bright Lights, Big City

The Event: America’s Beauty Show 2015 at McCormick Place in Chicago, March 21-23. For more America’s Beauty Show coverage and trends, visit modernsalon.com/abs.

The Details: More than 65,000 salon pros and owners, students, educators, product manufacturers and more attended the show. This year featured two active education and entertainment stages—The CosmoProf Center Stage (featuring Beth Minardi, Robert Cromeans and more) and The SalonCentric Theatre in the Round (with Chrystofer Benson, Ruth Roche, Sam Villa and more). 

The show made a big splash with the MODERN-sponsored Healthy Hairdresser Day on Sunday, which encouraged pros to log 5,000 steps on the showfloor, and the Trilogy of Beauty event in the modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Major Trends

Men: There were a number of men’s-only brands popping up on the showfloor (Johnny B.,Gibs, and more) as well as the tried-and-true tool companies, such as Andis and Wahl. Unisex brands were pushing either an exclusively male line or new ways to use existing products on men. 

Remarkably, every booth with a men’s demo happening was crowded with eager stylists, and classrooms with a men’s focus were much of the same.

Texture: Many brands touted fresh additions for textured hair, and braids were everywhere you looked. Updos were prominent throughout the show as well, and texture irons are being used to create extra volume and interest.

The Last Word: Ivan “Clipper Guy” Zoot perhaps says it best in his blog for modernsalon.com: “I have been preaching the guy hair game for a long time. Now the entire industry is listening.”

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