July Hairdresser of the Month - Hair Expo Australian Hairdresser of the Year - Caterina DiBiase

Caterina DiBiase
Australian Hairdresser of the Year 2007 and 2009
Heading Out, Melbourne VIC

By Rob Kotevski July 1 2009

“Hairdressing has taken me right around the world and given me every opportunity. It’s opened lots of doors - particularly if you want to travel and see the finest things in life, hairdressing can do it.”

Hair Expo Australian Hairdresser of the Year Caterina DiBiase's passion is evident as she speaks to myhairdressersearch.

Artistic and Education Director for Heading Out Hair and Beauty, DiBiase won Australia's top trophy for the second time this year.

“It was very exciting for me,” she tells myhairdressersearch. “And being the second time I've is absolutely fantastic. The whole experience is very exhausting emotionally; but when you win it’s such a relief.

“It’s like winning gold at the Olympics. What does an athlete have to do to win gold? It's just as hard for hairdressers to win the country's top award.”

Fresh from taking out the top honour of Hairdresser of the Year at the Hair Expo Awards, DiBiase explains her winning collection was inspired by luxury designer labels, such as Prada, with its focus on “big fabulous hair”.

Christian Dior is also an inspiration and she applauds John Galliano’s vision with his “great attention to detail” and “really pushing things grand and large.”

“More radical hairstyles can always be out there, but beautiful hair always has to be elegant. Women always want to be beautiful.”

Hair stylists fortunate enough to be nominated for Hairdresser of the Year understand the gruelling process compiling the enormous amount of recorded information that forms half of the submission.

“You can’t fluff your figures or number of activities because the people who are judging know the industry well,” DiBiase says. “You still need to be in the salon and be in touch with your clients. Whilst I love the salon and the clients, I’m very much involved in the industry too.”

Good basic skills and training are essential building blocks for those wishing carve out a name for themselves in any profession.

DiBiase strongly believes education is the way to success in the industry: education for herself as well as training and development for those entering hairdressing. Just this year, she traveled to India to educate up and coming hairdressing talent and was a part of the elite hair team at L’Oreal’s 100 year anniversary celebrations in Paris. She was also Hair Director at this year’s L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

A focus for DiBiase for the remainder of the year is the new Heading Out training academy which provides education for hairdressing apprentices. Passing on her skills and knowledge from years of experience in the industry, Caterina aims to have her apprentices become “better hairdressers than me”.

“I love to teach,” she explains. “So I do a lot of education.”

“I want the academy to be number one. My focus is going to be raising the bar of hairdressing education in Australia.”

DiBiase says the trend at the moment is for apprentices to enter hairdressing after they have already completed tertiary education in other fields. As older students they have finally discovered what they are really passionate about.

“I’m finding apprentices are coming in a little later. They’re hungry for where they want to go.”

What would her advice be to young apprentices just starting out in hairdressing?

“Have a dream and go for it! Have a big dream and have smaller ones along the way. There are no shortcuts. You constantly have to train and perfect. You need to be committed and believe in your dreams.”

Heading Out Hair and Beauty
225 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC
03 9419 1448

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