Image Skillnet

October check-in for our hair, beauty and wellness community 🍂

Time and budgets may be tight but a little practice, useful advice or a better consultation can still make a difference.

Here are 5 small ways to build confidence before things get busier. We hope you get something useful from it, even if it's small 💚

There’s less than one week to go until the Irish Spa & Beauty Association 's sold out Winter Event at Dunboyne Castle 🎉

This year’s speaker line-up will explore some fascinating areas shaping the future of spa, beauty and wellness, from conscious leadership and longevity to financial growth, grounding and recovery.

With keynote speaker David Arraya joined by guest speakers Alison O’Neil, Shirley Dempsey and Con Murphy, those attending are in for an afternoon of thought-provoking talks, fresh perspectives and valuable industry connection 💚

October is when the rest of the year starts to get very real in a salon.

The Christmas rush is on the horizon, diaries are getting busier and your team will soon need you at your clearest. So before you're right in the middle of it, this is a chance to take one day out of the business to work on how you're leading it.

On Monday, Valerie Finnegan Cahill's Brave Salon Leader: The Clarity Shift will help you look at where your time and energy are going, where you may be carrying too much yourself, how to create more ownership within your team and where clearer expectations could make a difference.

With 45+ years in the industry, Valerie understands the realities of leading a busy salon. This isn't leadership theory for the sake of it. It's a day to look properly at what's happening in your business and identify one meaningful shift to take back to your team.

If there was ever a good time to create a little more clarity around how you lead, BEFORE the busiest months of the year is always ideal!

📅 Monday 5 October
⏰ 10am–4.30pm
📍 Accademia, Dublin
💶 Image Skillnet Member Price: €145

There are still a few places available. Book via the link in the comments 💚

Brave Salon Leader: The Clarity Shift • Image Skillnet By Valerie Finnegan ConsultancyWhen: Monday 5th October 2026Duration: 1 day 10am-4.30pm Location: Accademia, 26-29 Old Kilmainham, D08 TN5P

A fantastic achievement for Irish beauty on the world stage! 🇮🇪

Huge congratulations to Ella Graham Harvey from Co. Meath who was awarded a Medallion for Excellence in Beauty Therapy at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

Ella represented Ireland alongside some of the world's most talented young skilled professionals and achieved an impressive joint 5th place in Beauty Therapy, demonstrating a world-class standard of skill, precision and professionalism.

Behind an achievement like this are countless hours of training, practice and dedication. It's brilliant to see Irish beauty talent recognised at this level and to see where developing your skills can take you.

Congratulations to Ella and to all of Team Ireland on an incredible result! 💚☘️

Bohermeen’s Ella shines on world stage | Meath Chronicle A 21-year-old woman from Bohermeen has been recognised among the world’s top young skilled professionals after winning a Medal of Excellence at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’d love you to join us for a free lunchtime webinar on 12 October.

Around 1 in 7 women in Ireland will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Knowing what’s normal for you, recognising changes and getting them checked are all important.

We’ll be joined by Helen Campion, Outreach Coordinator with Breast Cancer Ireland. Helen is a breast cancer survivor who works to bring breast cancer awareness education to communities.

Set aside your lunch break to learn more. Register here: https://www.imageskillnet.ie/events/breast-cancer-ireland-awareness-webinar-2026/

Year 3 of 360 Salon Leadership & Management is officially underway! 🎉

This week we welcomed a new group of industry professionals as they began their eight-month leadership journey with Bronwyn Conroy Beauty & Advanced Skincare School

A key part of 360 is giving indusrty leaders the opportunity to learn from expertise both within and beyond hair, beauty and wellness, bringing fresh perspectives into areas that directly impact their teams and businesses.

First up this year was Austin O’Malley, Founder & Performance Coach at Hexagon Performance, who joined the group for a session exploring performance, high-performing teams, workplace culture and wellbeing.

We were also delighted to welcome back Sarah McGarry, a graduate of the very first 360 programme, who returns this year as a mentor to the new cohort 💚

Three years in it’s fantastic to see 360 continue to grow and to see previous participants now bringing their own experience back to support the salon leaders coming through after them.

We can’t wait to see what this year’s group brings to the table!

This programme is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union 🇮🇪🇪🇺

What training would make a difference to you in 2027?

If you work in Ireland’s hair, beauty or wellness industry, we want to hear from you. Tell us which skills you’d like to develop and what training your team needs. Your answers will help shape Image Skillnet’s 2027 training calendar.

Have your say in our Training Needs Analysis survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CSLNW9V

Salon owners spend a lot of time in the thick of things. Looking after clients, solving problems, supporting the team, keeping standards up and making sure the business keeps moving. Finding the time to step back and look at how you’re actually leading it is another story.

The Brave Salon Leader: The Clarity Shift gives salon owners and managers one dedicated day to do exactly that.

Led by Valerie Finnegan Cahill, founder of VF Consultancy and owner of Ikon Hair Cork, the workshop gets into the realities of salon leadership: where your time and energy are going, where you might be carrying responsibilities your team could own, how clear your expectations really are and the behaviours that are shaping your salon culture.

Valerie brings more than 45 years of industry experience to that conversation, and her own salon, Ikon Hair Cork, was named Hair Salon of the Year at the 2026 Professional Beauty & Hair Awards.

It’s practical, reflective and grounded in real salon life with the aim of leaving you with a clearer picture of where your leadership needs attention and one manageable shift to take forward.

📅 Monday 5 October 2026
⏰ 10am–4.30pm
📍 Accademia, Dublin 8
💶 Image Skillnet Member Price: €145

Find out more and book your place via the link below:
https://www.imageskillnet.ie/events/brave-salon-leader-2/

Grey blending has been around for a while but as more clients choose to embrace their natural grey rather than automatically covering it the opportunities for salons are evolving as well!

Hairdressers Journal reported earlier this year that 86% of hair professionals surveyed said they had seen an increase in clients embracing their greys. The latest issue of Professional Beauty & Hair Ireland explores how meeting that demand requires much more than learning one grey-blending technique.

Existing colour, natural grey pattern, hair condition, maintenance expectations and the client's end goal can all influence the approach. Techniques can range from micro-weaving and babylights to balayage, glossing and colour correction, making consultation and up-to-date colour skills particularly important.

There’s a business opportunity too. While clients may move away from frequent root coverage, the grey-blending journey can create opportunities around ongoing maintenance, homecare, retail and longer-term client relationships.

The trend is actually still evolving, with Hairdressers Journal recently highlighting “grey blonding”, combining natural grey with complementary blonde tones.

👏 A shoutout to Professional Beauty & Hair Ireland for the grey-blending feature in their latest issue, which inspired us to take a closer look at this one.

Are you seeing more clients asking about grey blending? And is it an area you’d like to see more training in?

Sources: Professional Beauty & Hair Ireland, Sept/Oct 2026; Hairdressers Journal, 2026.

Is there an area of your technical work you’d like to feel more confident in?

The Broadstone Education Clinic with Nicola Lawless takes a different approach to training. There’s no fixed curriculum. Instead Nicola will work with each participant to identify the areas they need support with and tailor the practical training accordingly.

That could mean cutting and shape building, short or long hair, blow-drying and finishing, sectioning, consultation or simply refining a technique you’d like to perform more consistently.

With a maximum of just 7 participants, the day allows for plenty of hands-on coaching and individual feedback.

📅 Monday 28th September | 10am–4pm approx.
📍 The Hair Company Broadstone, Dublin 7
🎟️ €151pp

Find out more and book your place: https://www.imageskillnet.ie/events/broadstone-education-clinic/