Spa and salon pros flocked to the Convention Center for the annual industry event.
The ORLY team at ISSE Long Beach 2016.The ORLY team at ISSE Long Beach 2016.
Over 35,000 attendees braved dark skies and torrential rain this past weekend for the Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA) three-day International Salon and Spa Expo (ISSE) in Long Beach, California. Cosmetologists, estheticians, hair stylists, nail technicians and spa and salon owners converged on the coastal city’s Convention Center to meet with some 400 global manufacturers and distributors, and learn about their latest products and technologies. Hundreds of companies, from ADAKO Massage Chairs to ZENAGEN, took part in the show, which is billed as the “Biggest and Best Beauty Expo on the West Coast.”
Education was high on the agenda, and encompassed 200 hands-on business, hair, nail and skin classes led by experts such as Trisha Rice of Malibu C, Lydia Sarfati of Repêchage and Sam Biddle of ORLY. In the esthetics classroom spotlight for 2016, Becky Kuehn of Oncology Spa Solutions presented on Ayurveda for Oncology.
The large expo floor featured demos that kept energy levels high, while hair and barber competitions upped the ante, with categories such as Ladies’ Progressive Cut, Color and Style by OMC, Avant Garde by NAHA and A Night at the Oscars®. Hot Hands Barber Brawl covered topics including Student Barber Traditional, Traditional, Fastest Barber on Earth and Original Tag Team. The Nail Spot returned for its second year and featured special educational offerings to nail technicians including the importance of nail salon safety and instant artist certification with ORLY.
On Sunday, members of the media were treated to the 2016 Beauty Pitch kickoff—and champagne! Held annually during Cosmoprof North America (CPNA) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Beauty Pitch focuses on helping beauty entrepreneurs connect with investors. The press conference revealed that Mark Cuban will be among the celebrity guests to judge entries at this year’s “Inspire”-themed event on July 23.
The convention also offered the PBA Beauty Bar, where attendees chose up to five premium samples from high-end beauty brands in exchange for a $5 donation toward the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). In total, around $6,000 was raised for the cause. In addition, the expo served as a Southern California Beauty Career Fair, enabling beauty professionals to meet one-on-one with beauty company, salon and spa representatives looking to network and hire professionals.
“Each year the International Salon and Spa Expo provides the beauty professional with hundreds of quality education classes, access to global manufacturers, and an opportunity to interact with professionals from all sectors of beauty. This year didn’t disappoint—the 2016 show continued ISSE’s trajectory as the west coast’s biggest, must-attend beauty show,” said The Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA) Executive Director, Steve Sleeper. “The Professional Beauty Association is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive trade association serving professional beauty. Our staff is always looking for new and exciting ways to support the industry. Even though we just wrapped up 2016, the PBA staff is already working on next year’s show, which will be held on January 28-30, 2017,” he added.
