The L’Oréal Academy

L’Oréal Professional Products UKI proudly opens the doors to its new state-of-the-art Academy in London. We hear the L’Oréal Academy will be a hub for educational excellence. Training and learning spaces are essential, especially in a creative, practical industry like hairdressing. It is so inspiring to see brands prioritising education. 

More about The L’Oréal Academy 

On 12th October, industry professionals celebrated this new space and the evolution of L’Oréal Professional Product’s approach to education. Alongside its existing, well-renowned technical courses, L’Oréal Professional Products is launching an innovative Hair Pro Experience Hub. Designed to immerse and inspire hairstylists, this cutting-edge space will show the best-in-class online and offline retail execution. The hub integrates leading digital innovation with an immersive experience. Sounds exciting and like a truly excellent learning opportunity. We hear you’ll leave feeling equipped with the tools and passion to drive sustainable and impactful change within the salon.  

The L’Oréal Academy also features: 

• Retail Showcase: Focused on L’Oréal Professional Products’ retail portfolio. 
• Hairstylists’ Favourites: Updated each quarter, you’ll find recommended routines and hero products nominated by L’Oréal Education Teams. 
• Curated Edit: A continuously evolving catalogue of trending, innovative and seasonal professional haircare. 

• Colour Atelier: L’Oréal Colour House’s iconic formulas for professional use only. 
• Consultation Hub: Digitally enhanced and featuring L’Oréal Professionnel Paris’ Colour Virtual Try-On technology. 
• Pro Hub: Seamless access to L’Oréal Access and L’Oréal Partner Shop. 
• Hairstylist for the Future Wall: Introducing dedicated tools and solutions to support hair professionals’ sustainability journey and show the new L’Oréal Academy’s eco-credentials.  

Supporting stylists for the future  

L’Oréal Professional Products says securing a sustainable future for the hairdressing industry with its Hairstylist for the Future initiative is critical. L’Oréal Professional Products designed the Academy with sustainability in mind across three key areas: 

Managing water sustainably 

• All backwash stations are equipped with L’Oréal Professionnel Water Saver showerheads, reducing water flow by up to 69%. 

Preserving natural resources and reducing waste 

Supporting Zero Waste to Landfill through: 

• The installation of optimised sorting and recycling processes. 

• Circular solutions for harder-to-recycle waste streams such as hair and metals. 

Managing carbon emissions and energy usage: 

• The Academy is a carbon-neutral site, fully powered by renewable energy. 
• L’Oréal Professional Products is committed to measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions yearly, aiming to have the Academy certified as Net Zero by 2030. 
• All furniture and appliances have been selected carefully, considering their sustainability footprint. 

David Higgin

David Higgin, managing director of L’Oréal Professional Products UKI, says: “Our new London Academy is a centre of excellence for education and has been built with hairdressers at its heart. The space embraces the evolution of our industry, with a particular focus on the digital and sustainable transformation journey we are on. Not only does it house the finest resources for technical upskilling and training, but our Pro Hub and our Consultation Hub bring the key digital and sustainable considerations salons and stylists need to future-proof their businesses. I am proud that our new Academy will enable us to train over 10,000 hairdressers a year. I hope its fresh, vibrant and modern design inspires creativity for every professional who comes through the doors.” 

Stewart Roberts MBE, founder of Haircuts 4 Homeless, says: “It’s exciting, you can tell it’s going to be an amazing space for education and learning. All the young professionals who will visit are going to see a wonderful space that has been made just for them. They will feel important and part of this wonderful industry.” 

Cos Sakkas, global creative director of Toni & Guy, says: “When I walked in, I thought, wow! The technology, lighting and the life-size campaign imagery… I can’t wait to come back here and educate in this space.”  

Evolution of education  

The new L’Oréal Academy is the latest in many educational developments from the Professional Products Division as it adapts to the industry’s ever-changing needs.  

The launch of its 24/7 online learning platform, L’Oréal Access in 2017, enabled hair professionals and students to learn anytime, anywhere. With more recent shifts in the professional landscape, the need for flexible learning is more critical than ever. 

Between March 2022 and April 2023, The Office of National Statistics reported that there were 126,700 working hairdressers and barbers in the UK – 49,500 of those were employed, and 77,200 were self-employed. Now, the typical ‘working day’ looks different for many, and so does the time put aside for learning.

As well as online learning, L’Oréal Professional Products says it recognises the importance of hands-on education and human interaction. Its many satellite hubs nationwide provide educational excellence and proximity. 

Consumer behaviors are continuously changing, and their expectations for the businesses they interact with go beyond the services they offer. To support salons in adapting to this, L’Oréal Professional Products provides technical upskilling across its educational sites and online, and business upskilling.  

A recent L’Oréal survey found that nearly half of British women (45 per cent) said they made more sustainable choices in 2022 than in previous years. When looking more specifically at salons, 43 per cent wanted to see their salon doing more to be sustainable. This is a clear sign of much-needed support when considering a salon’s sustainability journey and the development of the hairstylist for future e-Learning, elevated through the new Academy.