Redken Symposium 2019
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
Redken @redken a hair colour and haircare brand originating in California in 1960 and now based in New York City hold an industry leading symposium in Las Vegas in the United States every two years.
I am currently on my flight returning to Sydney, Australia as I share my incredible experience with you all, whilst still on a high from the best hair and education event I have ever attended.
Redken Symposium is an event that brings hairdressers, salon owners, make-up artists and many other creatives from around the world together. People from countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia , Sweden and Hungary just to name a few.
The event runs for three days. Prior to arriving in Las Vegas, Redken contacted all attendees advising that there would be a Redken Symposium App available to download for free in the App store. This App allowed you access to all class and event schedules, meaning you were able to keep track of which class you were attending next and where the class would take place. On the App there was also a map of the Symposium area showing where each class room was located making finding classes easy and stress free. Which is especially useful given that thousands of people from all over the world attend the Symposium each day.
We begin with day 1!
Grand opening day! This was a day to get everyone set up, and as you walked through Mandalay Bay you knew you were heading in the right direction as you followed the sea of excited hairdressers and Redken Symposium signs.
The registration area was set up with some inspirational quotes such as Live Better, Earn Better, Live Best! This area was a great meeting area and I also witnessed people networking and catching selfies together with their teams and hair besties. Did I mention there was also RS19 Wi-Fi set up so you were able to connect with all the hairdressers and artists you met along the way via Instagram and Facebook?!
The Galleries housed an array of different vendors including Sam Villa Shears/tools, Pivot Point Head blocks, a Shades Eq station including a birthday ball pit, wooh! There was a line to dive into the ball pit and have your photo taken all weekend, so much fun! There were also smaller stages than those in the class rooms which were set up with different Redken artists and ambassadors demonstrating different colour, cutting and styling techniques, allowing a closer more intimate learning environment. All the colourists were super excited about the launch of Redken Shades Eq 10V so much so that all the bottles were gone in around 4 minutes. Also available was the new frizz range. I have tried and tested this range and let’s just say I hope we get it in Sydney. With Sydney’s humidity we definitely need it! The hair felt soft and silky and the products tamed the normally fluffy nature of my hair .
Also in the Galleries was the NYC Exchange. Here you could enquire about up and coming NYC class dates as well as attend hands on classes and book in for future classes at a discounted rate.
The first evening was the Grand Opening show, which was held in a huge entertainment arena. So many people came to the opening show it was like attending a concert for your favourite band. It was incredible to see a sea of people all fuelled with the passion to create beautiful hair and most importantly to learn.
The Dj was serving up some great beats and had the crowd warmed up and ready for the show and Mexican waves flew around the room and each country cheered.
The Redken Tribe had been prepping wigs, casting models and headpieces in the days leading up to the Symposium and wow did they deliver. The details in the hair and production of the show had the crowd buzzing.
The show had many great sections indulging the crowd in hair culture as well as some Vegas fun. Fire dancers, acrobats, models and dancers filled the arena with one main stage and one smaller stage closer to the back ensuring everyone was included in the action.
Many of the Redken Artists featured throughout the opening show and each section of the show was set with a different theme, one of them being a barber dance battle.
The show concluded with all the international artists coming onto the stage and greeting everyone ready for an amazing weekend of Inspiration and education.
Click the link below to read day 2: