Editor's comment: our industry deserves celebration as well as regulation

The beauty industry has been getting plenty of Government attention in recent months, with a crackdown on illegal workers in nail salons, an investigation into the safety of skin-needling devices, and a raid on retail stores selling unauthorised skin-lightening creams all hitting the headlines. Check out the news pages of the Feb issue for more on the professional market's reaction to all these stories.

While nobody would argue that such unorthodox, and in some cases unethical, practices should go unchecked, it would be nice if those in power would also take a closer look at all the good that goes on in our industry.

Beauty therapy is a great career for getting people with children or other dependants back into the workforce and contributes hugely to the UK economy. It’s also one of the best industries for helping women to start their own businesses and become financially independent.

However, with cuts to funding in education meaning fewer hours in college and less support for adult learners, it’s getting tougher for therapists to make a decent start in the industry, or indeed to afford training at all, which can of course lead to problems further down the line. 

There’s some good news this month in the form of Government approval of the new employer-led apprenticeship standards, which should help to get young therapists more industry ready. Find out more in the Feb issue.

We also talk to three beauty salon owners who are already making apprenticeships work for them, to find out how they manage the time and costs involved and turn them into star employees.

Whether you’re just starting out in your beauty career or you’re a seasoned pro running a fleet of salons, make sure to check out our mammoth show preview this issue too. With Professional Beauty London just around the corner, we bring you all the essential info on the launches, training and offers. See you there.