So here I sit, en route to Newmarket, Suffolk, to deliver a presentation on Nectaya, the world’s first colour nectar.

For years, people have worried about the effects of hair colour; what its doing to the condition of the hair and the scalp that it covers. Hair colour is full of chemicals like ammonia, it smells, it can make your head itch and can dry out your hair to the point of no return. Even when done professionally there is a small amount of damage done…until now. The clever buggers at Goldwell research laboratories in Germany have created a colour nectar, Nectaya.

Nectaya is ammonia free, contains nourishing argan oil, is made from 92% naturally derived ingredients, is totally none irritating and thanks to Goldwell’s patented Intralipid technology, can actually repair and improve the hair’s condition. And there’s no catch. It still covers grey, can lighten and darken, has wonderful shine and comes in a wide range of colours. It has the potential to totally change everything we think about hair colour, and about time too.

As previously mentioned its new, not yet in salons. But believe me, we’ll be the first salon to have it in the area and you, our loyal customers will be the first to benefit.

While visiting for the week we were introduced to Goldwell’s new collection for 2012 – Fascinature. Taking inspiration direct from Mother Nature herself, the collection focuses on how the natural can sometimes look supernatural and surreal, combining clashing, vibrant colour placements with unusual, eye-catching shapes. At the heart of this new collection is a new colour technique called the “Butterfly Effect” and two beautiful new colours; 7KV copper violet and 5VA violet ash.

Fast forward three months and now it’s my turn to intepret the trend at the Goldwell National Sales Conference. Armed with a team of assistants, make-up artists, professional models and stylists we were given 4 hours to turn 4 plain Janes into beautiful images representing the Fascinature collection. The day was hectic and sometimes tense but always fun. I feel priveleged to get to partake in this side of the hairdressing industry and only hope that these experiences and learned knowledge, filter down to my staff and to you, our lovely clients.

Should you want to be inspired by this trend, just ask your stylist. And you can be fascinated by nature too.

We’ve used KMS in the salon for a couple of years now and although always happy with the products, we never really felt like part of an exciting brand. Until now. Yesterday’s presentation was launched with a small overview of the concept of branding, and how in today’s society we’re all victims of a brand’s capabilities to change the way we feel and look and most importantly what we buy. With that over, the speaker talked to us all about how as individuals we are all brands; the clothes we wear, the hairstyle we sport, the car we drive, all reflect what it is that we want the world to think of us as. And everyone wants to be unique. Now more than ever, individuality is key. KMS has tapped very cleverly into that concept with their new brand slogan – “And who are you?”.

Everything about KMS’s new brand has been intricately designed to promote individuality and ownership. Interactive websites, exciting new packaging, a huge social media presence, new education for us stylists, iPhone apps and even prescriptive sample packs have all been included so that you can feel part of the KMS brand while still maintaining what it is that makes you you.

For more details visit www.kmscalifornia.com or join the social media revolution and search for kmscaliforniauk.

Or even better, come and see us; ask us for advice, try the products out and make your own decisions.

Available in salon from September.

I’m a particularly avid viewer of Tyra Banks’, America’s Next Top Model. I have followed the series from day one and it has now, just completed it’s 15th cycle. The last series however has had added kudos. Usually, the winner of the series is crowned as America’s sweetheart with a contract for cosmetics line Covergirl, and a spread in Seventeen magazine; not to be sniffed at, but certainly not the biggest boost to a fledgling career. This season everything changed. The girls were to work with all the fashion greats, Diane von Furstenburg, Patrick Demarchelier, Zac Posen, Roberto Cavalli to name a few, before a final meeting with the legend that is, editor in chief of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozanni. For the lucky winner of cycle 15; a multi page editorial spread in Vogue Italia and the cover of it’s Vogue Beauty supplement. OMG!

Step forward, thousands of girls trying to be the new face in the world of international fashion. The competition was whittled down to 2 lovely ladies, one Chelsey; a gap-toothed, freckled, glamazon, alongside Ann; a gawkish, 6ft 2″, big eared, coltish misfit.

This is what I love about high fashion.

Only here, out of middle America, high school and our culture’s obsession with blending in, can such odd beauties flourish. Anyone can be beautiful. Styled and dressed by the best in the industry, girls that were bullied for their oddisms get their chance to give the two fingered salute to all those non believers.

Now before I get all preachy and start singing “You are beautiful, no matter what they say”, a la Miss Aguilera let me get to the point of this blog entry. We are about to do a photo shoot at the salon and we need models.

If you can relate to this at all and fancy the opportunity to be styled, groomed, dressed and photgraphed by a team of professionals, potentially giving you the first set of shots for your portfolio, get in touch. And remember, we’re not necessarily looking for long blonde hair, big boobs, tiny waist and a flawless complexion. What one looks for in a model is hard to define, but if it’s there the results can be magic. Why not send us a pic of yourself with a few details and we’ll get in touch further. Send them to salon@hobsonandholmes.co.uk or post them on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hobsonandholmes

And by the way, Ann won series 15. She’s now a huge star.

With that, this week I bought a book. The Bridal Hair Book is a glossy coffee-table book that I thought would be ideal to sit in the salon for future brides to browse through while helping my stylists to think outside the box. The book was written by Trevor Sorbie, an MBE and four times winner of British Hairdresser or the Year, so I was looking forward to seeing the styles that he thought we could pass onto our clients.

Most of the styles were pretty, wearable, and definitely useful…and then I turned to page 94. Check out “Spiral Curls”. Not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Let me assure you, if you love this style, I apologise for any offence and am more than happy to do it for you. But please believe me…you will regret it when you look back at it in 20 years.

If you would like to talk about other hairstyles for your big day, please do not hesitate to pop in and have a chat with one of us.

And we won’t recommend any “Spiral Curls”!

This will be an outlet for me to share my experiences on the road but also to give the rest of our award-winning team the chance to share what they do every day to you guys. Be it hair tips, amazing makeovers, new launches, or simply what we find inspirational, we hope you find what we do as exciting as we do.

So here goes…