ABA Toronto 2012

  Last week I attended the Toronto ABA Hair Show. I always try to go but I was so excited that I was able to go both days this year. There is always so much to see one day is not enough.

    The main convention area is a huge space with most product lines, distributors and suppliers, trade magazines and almost everything you can think of relating to the spa and salon industry. Most of the main big name companies, and some of the smaller brands have stages with their platform artists showcasing their latest work. There are also many seminars relating to theory, techniques, business that you can attend at the show. The ABA Trade show is also where some of the most prestigious competitions in the country for hair and makeup are held.

My favourite part of the hair show has always been the competitions. I competed back in hair school in 2006, and in 2007 nationally for a student competition with Wella but I have not competed since then. I have always aspired to compete once again, and will definitely be competing once again in 2013. This year I joined the Master Judges Program and I am on my way to becoming a judge for these competitions. I've always wanted to join and what an amazing experience this weekend was. Unfortunately, I was not able to get photos of every competition and some of them may not be so great, but I hope you still enjoy them all.

All of the models from the Elegant Evening Long Hair competition

Second place winner in the Elegant Evening Long Hair 

First place winner in the Elegant Evening Long Hair 

 I unfortunately did not get a good enough picture of third place to post.

My favourite competition is the Technical Creative Blowdry. It is one that requires a great amount of skill and a lot of practice. These styles are done in 20 minutes only by using the blowdrier (and products of course!), no curling irons flat irons etc. There were a lot of amazing blowdries out there this year so here are the top three winners.

Third place winner 

Second place winner

First place winner 

Unfortunately I did not get any great pictures of the Mens Avant-Garde competition. There were so many contestants and it was the very last competition of the evening so I didn't get a chance to get any great pictures before they were called on stage for the awards. I did manage to get a somewhat decent picture of the First Place winner on stage.

  The second day of the show had the competitions for the New Talent Women's Trend Cut & Colour,  Women's Trend Cut & Colour, and the National Women's Trend Cut & Colour. The National Women's Cut & Colour features the first place winners from each province in the previous year.

I unfortunately don't have any good pictures of the New Talent, but I did manage to snap a few shots of the First Place winner of the Women's Trend, and the National Trend competition.

First place for the Provincial Women's Trend Cut & Colour competition. This stylist will go on to represent Ontario at the Toronto 2013 ABA in the National competition. 

The Maritime provinces took first place this year in the National Women's Trend competition. Absolutely amazing work. 

Although most of my time at the hair show was revolving around competitions I did manage to head over to the P&G stage on Monday to see some awesome platform work. My co-worker Fay was doing some incredible work for Sebastian on stage this year so I had to check it out. Here are some shots of Fay and the entire P&G team.

Fierce!

I am a huge fan of red hair & curls so I had to share this one. Stunning look done by the Nioxin artist. 

Fay & her fabulous model

The entire P&G Team! Amazing work! 

P&H Salon and Spa

I am very proud to announce that I am now working at P&H Salon and Spa. We opened our doors January 2, and I am so excited an honoured to be a part of this amazing and talented team. This first month has just flown by, I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun.

Welcome to P&H Salon and Spa

Enjoy a coffee at our espresso bar

Heated & massaging pedicure chairs, and aren't these purple-ish chairs super cute? 

We have an amazing team of stylists and esthecians. If you're not sure what to do with your hair come by for a free consultation. Our spa offers a full range of services from manicures and pedicures, to facials, laser hair removal, eyelash extensions and much more. We offer Great Lengths extensions and we carry L'Oreal Professional, Pureology, Nioxin and Sebastian hair products. The spa mainly uses Yonka, as well as a few other smaller lines, we use Essie nail polish and Shellac.
 I am so excited to be working in this new space and I hope you will come by and visit us. I am looking forward to what the future will bring.

Come follow us on twitter @PHSalon_TO and 'Like' us on Facebook

Product of the Week: New Color Ignite

Spring is here and summer is right around the corner. If you hair is coloured it's especially important to use a good colour preserving shampoo to prevent fading from the sun. This week I am featuring the new Color Ignite from Sebastian.

There are 2 types one for Multi Tones if you hilight and/or colour your hair, or if you just stick to a solid colour there is one for solid colour as well. The shampoo actually pinpoints trouble spots in your hair and will help repair the places that need it the most. It's a great shampoo for any colour treated hair whether you're platinum blonde or fiery red, if you want to keep your colour from fading check this one out.

Product of the Week!

So if you've been following me on twitter (@llisahair) you've probably noticed my #ProductoftheWeek tweets. Well I've decided to do a product of the week blog post. Since twitter only allows you to use 150 words and I have SO much to day about these products I felt it was absolutely necessary! 

Now let me backtrack a little so I can talk about my previous chosen products and why I love them.

Sebastian Potion 9

This product is fantastic because it is a treatment-styler. It will moisturize the hair while protecting it from further damage. It's not heavy so it can be used on almost any hair type, if you have fine hair there is Potion 9 Light as well. It's very versatile can be used wet or dry.

 I have actually discovered it works very well with my curls when they are dry. Sometimes my hair gets frizzy midday, I'll work a small amount through the ends and it works amazing. Seals them right down and keeps them moisturized. There's also a mini size so you can keep one in your purse just in case. 

Marrakesh Oil

I really like this oil, this whole line is quite heavy though and I mainly recommend this to people with very dry, coarser hair types. It gives amazing shine in very dull dry hair when blowdried smooth. It's similar to Morrocan Oil, with Argan Oil as one of it's main ingredients as well as Hemp Seed Extract. They both help keep the hair smooth, shiny and moisturized. The great thing is that it will not turn blondes brassy because it is completely clear. This is one that a little goes a long way, it's very concentrated, that's why it's in a small bottle. Just use a little little bit it is very spreadable and I've rarely had to use more than a quarter size in the thickest hair. 

 Goldwell Kerasilk Instant Silk Fluid


This is another amazing treatment hair product. It is great for blowdrying smooth and keeping it smooth all day. It has silk extract in it which is a natural protein for the hair. It makes your hair super soft and actually feel like silk. It's not very heavy but again, concentrated so don't use too much. It won't weigh down fine hair, just apply a tiny bit to the ends of the hair.
Can also be used dry to tame flyaways or smooth the ends after a blowout, or however you choose.

 Sebastian Shapers


Sebastian Shapers line of hairspray are probably the best hairsprays I have ever used. Re-Shaper, Zero Gravity, Shaper Fierce as well as their classic Shapers and Shapers Plus are all workable, breathable sprays you can run your hands through it or brush through it without it flaking. You can also layer them for maximum hold.
An important thing to remember with aerosol hairspray is to spray from far away. Everybody always says hairspray is bad for the hair and that is only when you spray too close, if you spray from far any alcohol that is in the spray will actually dissolve before reaching the hair, whereas if it's too close the alcohol won't vaporize and the hairspray will be wet feeling.




And finally this week we have TIGI Catwalk Blow Out Balm

This is great for different things depending on your hair type. It can be used in any hair to make it straight with amazing shine, but if your hair is thick and curly it is amazing for blowdrying soft smooth waves in the hair with no frizz. Can be used wet or dry and protects from the humidity.














If anybody has any questions, recommendations on products to try out give me a shout! I'd love to hear what you think about these products every week, if you've tried them out any other ways you like to use them.