It's always good to hear stories that suggest hairdressing is getting recognised as a serious profession. It was with some optimism, therefore, that I read about proposals by the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson which would see business, including hair salons, take a bigger role in higher education.

The pair presented two sessions, the first focussing on signature cuts, with an afternoon session looking at long-hair looks. 

Staff at Sue Jane Hairdressing in Horley, Surrey raised money through a range of initiatives, including cakes sales, plus a variety of client competition, including 'match the baby photo to the stylist', 'guess the number of sweets in the jar' and 'name the pink banana!'

Yorkshire-based salon group Goodys held a breast cancer awareness day, with clients asked to sponsor staff for wearing pink.

Gary Hedley Hairdressing in Newcastle's Eldon Square, held six fundraising days during the month with themes including the 1980s and Halloween. Pink champagne and cakes have been available all month and raffles have taken place regularly, with Pink ghds as prizes.

Sponsor Schwarzkopf Professional and Rainbow Room International's creative director, Luke Walton, joined forces to support Breast Cancer Care Scotland earlier this month in a glittering night that raised £145,000 for the charity.

The annual fundraising event invites woman who have undergone a breast cancer diagnosis the chance to shine on the catwalk in a night of glamour and inspiration. Attended by more than 1,000 people, this year's event saw 19 models take to the stage to show how to look and feel amazing again in a show of hope as well as fashion.

That represents a huge potential market for your salon, so if do not you have the knowledge and experience to work with Asian hair you could be missing an opportunity.

Mark Creed and the team at Philosophy Hairdressing in Oxford have visited India on a number of occasions in the last four years in conjunction with L'Oréal Professionnel.

In that time, Mark has developed an affinity with the hairdressing industry in India and has a clear understanding of how to get the best results with Indian hair types. So we asked him and his colleagues at Philosophy to share their advice for cutting, colouring and styling Indian and Asian hair.

Winning an award can be a platform to take your career onto bigger and better things, while being shortlisted as a finalist proves that you are at the very top of your field.

The finalists of the British Hairdressing Awards 2009 have demonstrate creativity, the ability to push boundaries and great technical skill to be shortlisted. These are their finalists' collections - don't forget to click on an image to visit their whole collection.

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