Intercoiffure
What is Intercoiffure?

Intercoiffure is an international hair dressing organization. “Intercoiffure Mondial” is the official name of the original organization founded in Paris in 1912. Twenty-one years later, in 1933, “Intercoiffure America/Canada,” the section we are a member of, was founded.

Intercoiffure is the most powerful and influential organization in the hair dressing industry. Only the highest prized leading hair salons hold membership into this organization. The Intercoiffure organization determines the standards of our industry and shares this responsibility with membership from over 50 other countries.

The Intercoiffure salons create the hairstyling statements that establish seasonal beauty trends. Clients visiting an Intercoiffure salon can be assured they would receive the best in quality and professional expertise. The Intercoiffure salon owners are more than just talented artists; they are also successful and respected business people.

To gain membership into the Intercoiffure organization, you must first be recommended to the membership committee of the organization by a member salon owner. An application is then submitted, which must be approved by all of the member salon owners in your area and other members throughout the country may also be involved. After initial application approval, the salon owner must then travel to New York and be interviewed by the membership board and present either a fashion or business presentation. A week to two later, the salon owner receives a letter stating whether or not they have become a member. A salon owner must be of the highest integrity with a reputation of honesty and high moral ethics as a salon owner. The type and level of services offered must be of the highest fashion and technical standards.

The purpose of this great organization is to bring together the most talented and prestigious members of the hairdressing profession to exchange ideas and information and to set standards for the beauty profession to emulate. Fellowship is an important part of Intercoiffure. One of its principal goals is the generous exchange of ideas and information and the fostering of friendships among its members. In addition to the exposure and fellowship one gains from being part of the organization, another advantage is the comfort of being welcomed by fellow salon owner members wherever they travel throughout the world. In addition, when our fashion and beauty conscious clients travel, we can confidently recommend an Intercoiffure salon in just about every country.

The official headquarters of Intercoiffure is in Paris. These headquarters are known as the International Embassy, which maintains a staff of educators, translators and secretaries who handle communications between its international meetings. The embassy also houses Intercoiffure’s own museum containing a five million-dollar collection of artifacts dating back to the 16th century.

We became members of this organization in 1988. In mid-October of every year, generally about 5-10 of our employees travel to New York to participate in the fall fashion and educational event called the “Atelier.”

The Atelier (a-till-e-a) is a two-day forum, held on a Sunday and Monday, in which we see fashion presentations and receive education and information regarding the upcoming trends. Fellow salon members from Japan, Germany, Canada, Brazil, France or anywhere in the world may be presenting at this event, as well as other salons and manufacturers from our country. Being a member of Intercoiffure provides our staff with a wonderful opportunity to view our industry at its finest. It displays the fascinating complexity of this industry and the responsibility each hairdresser in our company has to share our knowledge and expertise with our clients and progress fashion throughout our community.