America’s Beauty Show 2015: The Premiere Experience For Salon Professionals and Students

No doubt the “Who’s Who” were definitely in attendance at this year’s America’s Beauty Show 2015. The spectacular event took place March 21-23 at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago. Cosmetologists Chicago, the 103-year independent association, who owns and produces the yearly show, have over 10,000 registered beauty industry professional and student members who are dedicated to escalating the opportunities within the salon and spa industry.

With members actively supporting industry legislation, raising funds for various beauty scholarships, and providing business and educational opportunities through networking engagements; Cosmetologists Chicago’s mission is to inspire and build professionalism through education.

The three-day event attracted more than 65,000 salon professionals, salon owners, students and educators, leading product manufacturers and distributors. Why was this year’s show so extraordinary…perhaps because of the new enticing showcases and educational exhibits premiered this year.

For the first time in ABS history, The RUNWAY @ ABS hosted two active education and entertainment stages; the CosmoProf Center Stage and the SalonCentric Theatre. Attendees where able to not only gain to access educational resources, but see the latest trends, and witness some of the most stunning shows by industry recognized icons; all without leaving the ABS Exhibit Hall! The CosmoProf Center Stage featured the talents of Beth Minardi for Beth Minardi Signature, Robert Cromeans for Paul Mitchell, and Aubrey Loots for Wella Professionals; while the SalonCentric Theatre delivered Ruth Roche and Wendy Belanger for Pureology, Sherri Jessee for Pravana, and Sam Villa, Hugo Urias, Brayden Pelletier, Roger Molina, Justin Isaac, Lori Zabel and Julie Lahar for Redken.

But salons and spas were not the only industry being serviced at America’s Beauty Show this year; barbers were welcomed with open arms as ABS featured a dedicated stage for barber education and competitions. Brands like American Crew, Andis, Gibbs, Locked & Loaded, Major League Barbers, and Wahl featured educators including Jason Potchen for Andis, Sal Miseri and Eli Mancha for Locked & Loaded, Patti Davenport for American Crew Menswork Shave Method, Michael “mikesharrpp” Walker for Gibbs, and Garland “G-Whiz” Fox for Wahl. Barber competitions, open to students and professionals, included Fade & Style, Freestyle and Tag Team. Winners received trophies and an array of cash and product prizes.

American’s Beauty Show also took a step towards health by featuring Healthy Hair Day at ABS. Inspired by Modern Salon’s Healthy Hairdresser program, Cosmetologists Chicago’s selected Sunday, March 22nd, as the first official Healthy Hairdresser Day at America’s Beauty Show. A selected group of beauty professionals were given pedometers to record their steps throughout the 3-day event. All those who marked over 5,000 steps received a gift bag filled with product from Healthy Hairdresser sponsors.

Make sure to visit the America’s Beauty Show Facebook page for more pictures!