Hairdressing

Overview

Hairdressing is at the cutting edge of fashion.

As a hairdresser you need to have exceptional technical knowledge of colouring, styling and cutting, and be able to work with all styles and textures of hair.

Hairdressers also require exceptional customer service skills, communication skills and self-promotion via social media channels as well as an awareness of Fashion trends.

Hairdressers also need to be aware of sustainability and ensure that wastage is minimised throughout

This competition assesses all the skills and abilities of competitors entering the field of Hairdressing.

How competing has helped Ellie develop her skills and excel at work.

The skills you need to demonstrate

Customer service skills
Health and safety knowledge
Sustainability
Time management
Creativity
Attention to detail
Team working
Innovation
Interpreting customer requirements

Useful resources

Prepare for competition success

Our library of endorsed local skills competition briefs ‘benchmarking assessments’ helps prepare learners to build technical skills, productivity, and mindset competencies for national competition success, including employability progression pathways.

Paired with the benchmarking tracker, educators can record progress, identifying strengths and target areas for improvement. Together, they offer a reliable, standards-led framework, creating a sustainable model for skills development that supports educators to empower learners to be competition ready.

Access on the Learning Lab

Contact details

worldskillsuk.hairdressing@loreal.com

Entry criteria

Competitors must be working towards or have completed a relevant Level 2 or Level 3 qualification or equivalent in the last 12 months.
This is an individual competition.
There is no limit to the number of competitors permitted to enter the competition from any organisation.
Competitors must be familiar with the core competencies (these can be found in the National Standard of Excellence in the ‘Useful resources’ section) and must not have more than 5 years’ industry experience.
If you are a level 1 learner with a SEND qualification please refer to the Foundation Skills: Hairdressing competition.

How it works

1. Register

Registrations open on Monday 2 March 2026, 9am and will close Friday 27 March 2026, midnight.

2. Entry Stage

Entry Stage will be released between Monday 2 March with a final deadline of Tuesday 14 April 2026.

3. National Qualifiers

National Qualifiers will take place throughout June 2026 – exact date will be confirmed closer to the time.

4. Training and Development

To help finalists prepare ahead of the UK Final, we will provide relevant technical training and share mindset development techniques, to support them to remain focused on achieving success.

Prepare students and apprentices by engaging with our benchmarking resources to master their skills and mindset masterclasses to build confidence and resilience on the WorldSkills UK Learning Lab.

5. National Finals

The National Finals are scheduled to take place in Wales during the week commencing 16 November 2026.

6. Squad UK

Competitors who are age eligible and have achieved the benchmark score will be invited to opt into Squad UK for the WorldSkills 2028 cycle, subject to the skill progressing to the international competition cycle.