Rush Masterclass Salon International 2024

The colour section kicked off with Seung Ki Baek and the colour team taking centre stage. Baek discussed the movement that colour placement can impart on hair, alongside high and low frequency cutting techniques. Using a square-cutting technique and a razor to remove weight from his model's hair, Baek added a strong fringe cut at a low elevation to emphasise the eyes. "Working with the cut and colour together gives me so much energy and increases my creative frequency," he explained.

Kirsty Judge coloured Baek's model based on chakras, incorporating beautiful copper tones. Tina Memhi shared her low-frequency colour, aiming to enhance Baek's haircut using high-definition tones and a mottled effect created by applying a sponge to pre-lightened hair with violet, yellow, pink, and turquoise tones.

Kirsty Judge emphasised the connection between light, colour, and frequency. "We're working with light and dark bases that represent positive and negative energy," she explained. Using a vivid, bright tone through the front, Kirsty added a luminous yellowy-green shade and applied it through the sides. She applied a more yellowy shade in zig-zag sections through the fringe to add depth.

The next section of the show featured RUSH Editorial Director Tina Farey, who presented the more avant-garde looks from the FREQUENCY collection. Focusing on energy, chakras, and the colours of nature, Farey created hair pieces that worked with headmapping to anchor the designs. The hair pieces were constructed with wire and bias binding, resulting in stunningly powerful and colourful ponytails.

Sophie Chandler, International Artistic Team member, worked with a strong colour palette of wigs and wefts, creating a visual soundbar effect that complemented the overarching theme of FREQUENCY. Layering up hair wefts was key to achieving the stunning colours, while a pin frizzing technique created a shape that could be easily manipulated.

For the second section of the masterclass, Andy Hensman returned to the stage for the cutting section. For his model Amelia's hair, he wanted to use soundwaves as inspiration for his sectioning pattern. Taking higher sections into lower sections and using a round shape on Amelia's curly hair, he finished the ethereal look with a freehand cutting technique through the front to open up the face.

Michael Rackett, from the RUSH art team, worked on his model Sophie with expansion and elongation. Working with a high line up to the top of the head and back down in a radial section, he created expansion underneath by layering the look using flat graduation combined with disconnection. Craig Mason added disconnections throughout the cut, keeping it choppy through the crown, hugging the internal shape and exaggerating the external shape.

The stunning finale featured 11 models gracing the stage with looks ranging from commercial to avant-garde, all inspired by the same frequency. The RUSH Artistic Team's presentation at Salon International 2024 was a hairdressing masterpiece, leaving the audience in awe of their creativity and technical expertise.