You see, I have this idea that Cape Town is all quaint little streets and European-style cafes and parallel parking in spaces that are 5 cm too small for your car. (Actually it wouldn't matter if the spaces were 2 metres bigger than they needed to be... I'm hopeless at parallel parking. I have to drive round and round until I find a space I can drive into from the front). Yesterday took me to the fabulous Hands Down Distribution, which has headquarters in Kenilworth and a second branch in Bellville, and is an emporium of all things hair, and nails, and tanning... I could have spent an hour or two in the shop just browsing round all the different brands and products. But instead, I went a little way down the road and found myself at the elegant salon Platinum Hair and Beauty. I had time for a flying visit - just enough time to photograph hairstylist Claudia at work, and to wish I could spend the whole day there! Then I drove around the corner, down the road... and that was where I found a gigantic mall. The Tyger Valley mall. I parked frontwards in a parking bay in the massive lot... and promptly lost my car! I think I need retraining when I go back to Jo'burg. But anyway... I headed into the mall and immediately found myself in hairdressing mecca. Just look at the beauty of this salon, one of the renowned Tosca Hairdressing chain. Tosca's Kelsey Swanepoel and Vanessa Bryan are posing in this shot. Then, round the corner, down a corridor... and I found another exquisite hair salon, also part of a large group - the Partners Hair Design salon chain. They have 14 unisex and 8 gents' salons in the Western Cape. Here's what it says on their website: "Just over 30 years ago, carrying a smattering of luggage and rather empty pockets, a young hairdresser from the United Kingdom arrived in South Africa, harbouring an unparalleled determination to succeed in his chosen profession. Armed with his wife’s support (and the funds raised from selling her car!) and all his savings, Lewis Thomas took the first step towards realising his dream when he opened his first hairdressing salon in Cavendish Close, Cape Town, in 1984." Posing for the photo above are Partners team Kaylyn, Chumisa, Tamson and Daphney. All I can say after such a fabulous morning is... if you are in the Bellville / Tygervalley area of Cape Town, there's no excuse for you not to have awesome hair. None at all! The rest of the day was spent catching up with industry supporters and suppliers that I am proud to call my friends. Chris Parker from ESP is a business guru and a talented writer who also knows how to code computer software... ESP can get your salon computer system working magic for you! And then it was off for a meeting in Epping at the bustling headquarters of Modern Hair and Beauty, distributors of renowned hair and beauty brands including Wella, Kadus, Sebastian, Nioxin and Intraceuticals. It was a privilege to sit down with the dynamic MD Chris Stofberg and his marketing team including Nadia, Jaypee and Tiffany. They are absolute rock stars... I meant to take a photo of the team but I didn't, so here's a photo of how I think of them! And that concludes today's blog... Tune in tomorrow for more!

They told me Cape Town was boiling hot. Then they told me that there were gale force winds. There was talk of rain and storms. But when the plane landed yesterday... well, it was absolutely perfect! The most beautiful still, calm, mild and sunny autumn day. Thank you, Cape Town. First things first... I needed good hair, fast, so I booked into a Steenberg salon called The Hair Cafe. Mandy, who did my blow dry, was the most amazing, professional, skilled hairdresser and if I had been a "mystery shopper", I would have given her ten out of ten for everything. What a beautiful salon and what an awesome experience to start my trip. From there, it was off to the incredible Bistro Sixteen 82 at Steenberg wine estate, for a wonderful meal, chat and catch-up with Maxine de Lima of Joico and Kevin Murphy. Not only is Maxine a passionate, knowledgeable and driven ambassador for the hair industry and the renowned professional brands she manages, she's also so much fun to have lunch with that I ended up leaving late for my next appointment! There was barely time for us to take a selfie! From the sweeping vistas of the southern suburbs, I headed into the buzz of Kloof Street, where I met up with Eddie van Rensburg, who manages the American Crew brand in South Africa. Eddie singlehandedly looks after all aspects of this elite men's brand which is now in more than 100 salons countrywide, and this is due to Eddie's enthusiasm, hard work, marketing skill, and business experience. The photo above was taken at Scar Hair, proud stockists of American Crew and other top professional brands, where we popped in for a surprise visit and to meet Andrew Guilfoyle, the owner. You simply have to love a salon where you arrive, and there's an impromptu photo shoot happening outside - but you're not even sure who's the model and who's the hairdresser because everyone looks so fabulously fashionable and funky. The photo above features Varushka from Scar Hair with her model. And it was really awesome to say hello to another friend and hairdressing icon, Salome de Wet. We even managed to get a sneaky action shot of Andrew himself, on his way to Scar Hair's upper level. This salon is simply gorgeous and its design, layout, decor and branding are world class. And Andrew has more plans in store... very exciting ones! What a fantastic day it was. Stay tuned... more updates to come tomorrow!

A last minute change of meeting venue saw me speeding off to one of Jo'burg's most fabulous hairdressing destinations - the Veaudry International salon in Fourways, corner of Witkoppen Road and The Straight. Owned by Michelle Stanton, who is also the supplier of the professional Veaudry styling irons, this luxurious, split-level salon was absolutely pumping, with the most beautiful hairstyles being created in an opulent environment. On the salon's upper level, there is a photo studio which I always think is the most fantastic addition to any hair salon. The studio is run by Michelle's husband David Stanton, a well known professional photographer. However, today, the studio wasn't just being used for photos - it had been transformed into a pop-up film studio, where the first of the Maybelline It Girl videos were being filmed. The studio was buzzing with excitement and activity, with representatives in attendance from Maybelline as well as from the L'Oreal Institute hairdressing academy. The dazzlingly beautiful Instagram celebrity K Naomi, who has more than 150,000 followers, was the first It Girl. She was being prepped for her interview, which will be featured on social media as part of Maybelline's marketing campaign. After this meeting, it was back to the office to launch Hairnews.co.za on social media and begin publicising the sign-ups to the industry. There are some amazing prizes up for grabs, that will be awarded to lucky sign-ups as well as ambassadors who spread the word about Hairnews.co.za. Here's a sneak preview of the first prize... more information to follow... can you believe the awesomeness of this Babylisspro Blanco hairdryer? Well, someone is going to win this in the next few days! I am so grateful to all the hairstylists who are taking time out of a hectic weekend to sign up and spread the word... special thanks to Brekkels Botha from salon 50 Buckingham in Craighall, the team at Gorgeous Hair Salon in Eco Boulevard, Centurion, Shafia Cassiem Haffejee from David Shannon Hairdressing, Sunninghill, Nicola Aires from Franco International, Kim Franklin from Carlton Hair, Angelique de Wet from Tosca, Cape Town, Shawn Odendaal and Eugene Venter from Paul James Hairdressing, Alberton, and Willie Pietersen from Hair Xotica, Pretoria. You have all been superstar ambassadors and post-sharers. There may be others that I've missed (due to Facebook privacy settings) so if you have shared Hairnews.co.za with your friends and fellow hairdressers, message me or email info@hairnews.co.za and I'll be sure to thank you personally in the next blog. Remember, once everyone in your salon has signed up (by filling in the sign-up form on the website), you will be listed as a Signed Up Salon, so drop an email to info@hairnews.co.za to let me know when you've done this - you can also supply all your salon's details. Till tomorrow!