Inside the talent show that seeks the best hairdresser in the world: "We are starting to educate the planet in our world, because they have never listened to us"

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The senses receive contradictory information when they walk through the doors of the set where 'HairStyle, The Talent Show', the hairdressing programme produced by Shine Iberia (A Banijay Company) in collaboration with AlfaParf Milano Professional, is filmed. Upon entering, the eyes see 'darkness' and team members attentive to control panels full of lights as their feet negotiate wires. However, if we cancel the view, the rest of the senses place us in a very different place: we smell the hairspray and the heat of the professional supersonic dryers (yes, the heat of these tools can also be smelled), which are also heard, as well as the voices that give guidelines on how to do this or that hairstyle, and the careers of those who are working non-stop, the participants.

The set we visited on the outskirts of Madrid is no longer a mere set, it is one of those hairdressing salons where you would stay for hours and hours and where you would let yourself do everything in your hair. Everything there is the best of the best, not papier-mâché, as you might expect from a set.

Because the talent show focuses on quality (including that of the set) and on valuing the work of hairdressers, which seeks to find (and train) the next big name in hairdressing, among 10 professional hairdressers. This is explained by the hosts of the visit to this unique salon in the world, Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia, and Rossano Ferretti, considered one of the best hairdressers in the world, creator of the 'mysterious' invisible cut and now host of this program (in the Spanish version, together with Beatriz Matallana, director of the hairdressing team of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in more than 40 editions, the favorite of Shakira, Elsa Pataky or Amaia Salamanca). "'HairStyle' is a hairdressing talent show [which will be broadcast on DKISS free-to-air and for all of Spain through DTT and will also be part of Rakuten TV's exclusive content catalog] where we look for the best hairdresser in the world," says Macarena Rey. Her role, in addition to that of producer? That of trying to elevate the work of a profession that is undervalued, according to many professionals in the sector, as it did in its day with chefs through 'MasterChef' and dressmakers, see 'Masters of sewing'.

Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia, and hairdresser Rossano Ferretti, host of the talent show. Photos: MONTSE VELANDO

The Hair Salon You'd Want to Go To

Before we continue talking to Rey and Ferretti, enjoying the 'HairStyle' hairdressing salon is a must. It is more than 1,000 square meters full of quality and aesthetics wherever you look. A beauty editor with a passion for hair can't help but check it all out. "Can I come closer?" I ask the team that is moving around during a break in the filming of one of the programs of the American edition (this space on the outskirts of Madrid hosts the recordings of all the editions, as well as the one in the US, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and, of course, Spain).

Permission granted, I start messing around. I take a closer look at the washbasins, which are independent, very comfortable, very spacious. I don't miss a detail of all the products that are on the shelves behind them, the desire of any lover to take care of their hair: shampoos, masks, oils, dyes and even color extensions (courtesy of AlfaParf Milano Professional, Rossano Ferretti Parma, Gama Professional and Great Lengths, collaborators of the program, all of them top firms in this matter of treating hair).

The hairdresser-set of HairStylePhotos: MONTSE VELANDO

And we continue for bingo, I move on to the part of the living room. I am amazed by the mirrors, full-length, oval, framed in a light that illuminates just enough without disturbing. This allows you not to see the 'client' in front of you, even if he is there, the mirror itself acts as a wall (a detail that is fashionable in luxury hairdressers, the intimacy of no one seeing you, even though you are there...). The seats are not far behind. Second request: "Can I play?", because I need to corroborate that they are 'good', soft skinned, comfortable, enough to withstand hours of cutting and dyeing. And they are, oh yes, my touch and my whole body when I sit down (the furniture, someone from the team tells me, is from Maletti, the 'Rolls Royce' of luxury hairdressing design).

Why the World Needs a Hairdressing Talent Show

From the continent, that TV hairdressing salon that many would want for themselves, to the content. What is the raison d'être of 'HairStyle'? Macarena Rey and Rossano Ferretti had been thinking about the idea for a long time. "We have spent many years thinking and developing a format that would highlight the value of hairdressing, something that Rossano was looking for, and we are experts in talents, so a natural partnership has emerged," says Rey. The thing, however, goes beyond the professional, because as the CEO of Shine Iberia continues, "Ferretti and I have been friends for many years, he cuts my hair, and he has always told me that his is a very reviled profession, undervalued".

"It has been a long road and not an easy one, in our own industry and on television for years the profession of hairdresser has been ridiculed. We want to tell everyone, even the parents of these professionals, that this is a serious career, that you can make a lot of money. I come from a town of 500 inhabitants and look at what I am today. I 'give' with my experience in the program, I train the participants, I educate them, so that they can be the next great hairdressers in the industry. We need examples, let's look at 'MasterChef': 20 years ago, a chef was in the kitchen and chopping carrots and onions; today becoming one is very aspirational, and that is what we want to transfer to our industry," explains Ferretti.

General view of the HairStyle set.Photos: MONTSE VELANDO

"It's a very curious thing, when you go to a restaurant, you want to know, if it's pork, beef... When you go to the hairdresser, you don't know what they put in your hair, if it's natural, chemical; If you have a color problem you don't want, what can you do to change it... We explain everything here, in a didactic and close way," adds Macarena Rey.

Covid has perhaps been the starting point for what is claimed in 'HairStyle'. Or, at least, a little nudge. Because in the first hours of confinement, on March 14, 2020, it was communicated that among the open shops would be hairdressers, considered essential ones. The guild community moved enormously quickly, they did not see that their safety was guaranteed against the virus, and after the mass protests on the networks (the hashtag #QuieroQueMiPeluqueroSeQuedeEnCasa was used), the hairdressers were closed. And we miss them very, very much. In fact, some salons, when they reopened in the de-escalation, had to extend hours because the waiting list was huge. It is not surprising, since, as Ainhoa Aramburu, general manager of L'Oréal Professional Products in Spain, told Yo Dona at the time, "going to the hairdresser is part of our habits, 83% of women in Spain go to take care of their hair, we are the country with the highest habit of visiting the hairdresser". Nor is it surprising that we missed hairdressers, because as Aramburu also commented at the time, "the havoc is circulating on the networks".

"This is the first time in history, and the last time, that the news has talked about hairdressers," says Ferretti.

Rey points out: "Who doesn't go to the hairdresser? It is a basic necessity. In addition, you realize that your mood has a lot of impact: you change your marital status, you change your hair... As Rossano Ferretti says, hairdressers have the ability to change people's lives."

The hosts of the Spanish edition of HairStyle, Rossano Ferretti and Beatriz Matallana.Photos: MONTSE VELANDO

Rossano Ferretti, the teacher who teaches (future) teachers

The one chosen to tutor and evaluate the participants of the hairdressing talent show, professional hairdressers from Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and the United States who will have to demonstrate their talent, skill and creativity, to be host and judge is, as we say, Rossano Ferretti (accompanied by a co-presenter from each of the countries). One of the most renowned stylists in the world. Adapting to clients' requests, studying their physical features and advising them on the colors and haircuts that best suit them, making hairstyles for special occasions and rescuing damaged hair are some of the challenges that the contestants of 'HairStyle' will face under the gaze of the master, in order to win a prize valued at 150,000 euros that will allow them to open an exclusive salon with the advice of a team of experts led by the host himself.

"The aim of the programme is to give everyone the most important guidelines, starting with consultation and diagnosis, not all hairdressers do this and it is essential. We try to do health, beauty, personalization, home care, ingredient information... Everyone knows skincare and makeup, no one knows the hair product," Ferretti protests. But also that customers are 'educated' in the hairdresser.

Few hairdressers could be better teachers than Rossano Ferretti. "I'm 63 years old and I've been cutting my hair since I was 14," she says. From his village in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) he has conquered the world. He has salons in Milan, Paris, New York, Miami, Dubai and Madrid, where he will open the Four Seasons hotel's hairdressing salon in the coming weeks. He is recognized worldwide for being the creator of the revolutionary 'invisible cut', which teaches contestants layers that are not visible and give movement and volume, a personalized technique that takes into account natural hair loss.

On the cut, she emphasizes the contestants, who are sometimes not allowed to dry, comb or blow dry because it is a way of hiding a bad scissor job – or covering the traps, as Macarena Rey emphasizes. "The architecture of the cut is what, the pillar of the industry, then you put whatever you want, color, hairstyle...", concedes Ferretti. "My customers thank me three months later that the cut is still 'handsome,'" he adds.

Rossano Ferretti, the Italian hairdresser, one of the best in the world, who runs HairStyle.Photos: MONTSE VELANDO

From his pulpit of 'HairStyle', the Italian hairdresser wants to help those future masters overcome the barriers and prejudices that exist against hairdressing, from his own experience. Because even someone who is a recognized teacher, a hairdresser of 'celebrities' although he is not going to give us the name of any of them, discretion is part of success, has experienced moments of discredit: "Hairdressing is not considered a serious profession by people, so I tell you. The most offensive thing I've ever experienced is sitting down with the biggest CEOs on the planet (of brands in the fashion or beauty industry) who have said to me: 'Are you a hairdresser? But you don't look like a hairdresser!' It's what makes me the most angry, and they say it on top of it as if they were giving me a compliment. That's where the rebellious streak comes out, when I want to show that it's a wonderful profession, that we're important, that we give happiness and build happiness and security."

Luckily, step by step, scissors by scissors, with moments like Covid or thanks to 'HairStyle The Talent show', Ferretti sees the light at the end of the tunnel: "We are starting to educate the planet in our world, we have never had a voice, we have never been listened to".

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