Grow Together: Inside the Heart of HB Fest 2026

Oct 8, 2026

Recap Sep 12–14, 2026

From a handwritten thank-you letter to a curtain-free prep room, Hairbrained’s third festival proved that in-person education still hits like seeing your favorite band live

Two attendees, one in a cream suit and bucket hat and one with pink hair and an arm in the air, cheer from behind the red Grow Together photo wall, which is banked with yellow, pink and purple flowers. — HB Fest 2026 attendees strike a celebratory pose at the Grow Together photo wall.

Gerard Scarpaci, in a blue blazer, speaks on the mainstage in front of a giant screen reading Put your ass where your heart wants to be, credited to Steven Pressfield. — Hairbrained co-founder Gerard Scarpaci takes the mainstage beneath one of the weekend’s most talked-about slides, a line from author Steven Pressfield: “Put your ass where your heart wants to be.”

On the final day of HB Fest 2026, just before the educator luncheon began, an attendee named Savannah Elliot walked up to Hairbrained co-founder Gerard Scarpaci and handed him a letter. It ran a full page in longhand, and she had written similar ones for several educators whose classes she took, each filled with gratitude and the ambitions she holds for her career and her life. That letter is still sitting on Scarpaci’s desk.

“In the social, digital world, maybe you get a DM,” he says. “But to see that somebody sat down, probably the night before, and wrote three or four page-long letters by hand was just really quite beautiful.”

That kind of connection is exactly what HB Fest was built for. Now in its third year, the hair education event brought over 600 hairdressers, colorists, barbers, and salon professionals, plus more than 30 educators, to the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Springs under the theme Grow Together. Newer stylists and seasoned pros learned side by side, including Tiffany Garrett of Hair Haven by Tiffany, who came with her daughter. Both left with techniques they could put to work right away.

600+ hairdressers, colorists, barbers & salon pros

30+ educators

Year three JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa Palm Springs, CA

Like Seeing Your Favorite Band Live

Ethan King lifts and shapes a seated model’s voluminous red curls on the mainstage, with the Goldwell name glowing on the screen behind them. — Goldwell artist Ethan King shapes a voluminous curly look on the HB Fest 2026 mainstage.

Philip Wolff sprays the hair of a model in a denim jacket and asymmetric skirt, her dark hair streaked with red, on the Bumble and bumble mainstage. — Bumble and bumble artist Philip Wolff finishes an edgy, red-accented style during the brand’s mainstage presentation.

Scarpaci compares the experience to music. You catch someone’s work while scrolling, it sticks like an earworm, and when they come to town, you grab friends and buy a ticket. “It’s a very emotional connection,” he says. “When you get to see it live, it’s like seeing your favorite band play live.” Attendee Alexa Duran of Alexa Celeste Hair Artist felt that firsthand, calling it unreal to get so close to the educators she loves watching online.

“When you get to see it live, it’s like seeing your favorite band play live.”

Gerard Scarpaci, Co-Founder, Hairbrained

That closeness is by design. “I wanted people to feel welcomed, and I wanted it to be inclusive,” Scarpaci says. “When you bring people together, there’s an electricity from bouncing off each other that helps you grow and go faster.”

No Curtains, No Egos

Where larger hair shows often wall off artist teams behind curtains, HB Fest runs one shared prep room where every educator works side by side. “I don’t stand for that,” Scarpaci says of the siloed approach. “I think it’s bad for the craft. It’s all about that family atmosphere.”

Attendees noticed. Lynnette Poole described the event as small enough to feel intimate and interactive, but big enough to offer real variety.

It’s also why educators are chosen for character as much as skill. “They have to be a craft hairdresser,” says Scarpaci, who trained at Sassoon. “Then they can’t have a big ego, and they have to be grateful that people are interested in them.”

Education You Can Use on Monday

Jacob Khan and Ben White work on mannequin heads mounted on tripods while a packed breakout room watches from chairs and the floor. — Hairbrained Creative Director Jacob Khan and educator Ben White lead their Mastering Shags Look & Learn breakout on Monday, breaking down scissor and razor approaches up close.

Traci Sakosits, comb in hand, sweeps a model’s hair into shape as seated attendees, one in an orange cap in the foreground, watch up close. — Traci Sakosits works through a precision shape during her Look & Learn breakout, giving attendees a close-up view of her cutting process.

This year’s lineup balanced the industry’s hunger for hair color education with the cutting and styling classes attendees rarely find elsewhere. The Look & Learn sessions became a weekend favorite because the education felt usable the minute people got back behind the chair.

“Good to great is such a small thing. It’s a choice in the moment to not overlook or rush a detail.”

Gerard Scarpaci

“You might think you cut the most perfect bob in the world, and then you see one that’s a little better, and that opens your eyes to the next level,” he says. “You have to be around it to be exposed to it, and then you have to be committed to it.”

Scarpaci credits the brand partners who invested real money and manpower because they believe more confident hairdressers build longer careers, and the brand experiences that landed best were the ones that taught something.

Room to Recharge

Smiling attendees in the resort pool lean on a red SexyHair float with drinks in hand, beach balls in front and palm trees and more swimmers behind them. — Attendees kick off HB Fest 2026 at the Saturday welcome pool party, complete with SexyHair floats and beach balls.

An attendee in a bright tropical-print dress dances beneath giant orange flowers at the In Bloom party, beside guests in flower crowns and floral prints. — The dance floor comes alive at Sunday night’s In Bloom theme party, where florals, bold prints, and flower crowns ruled the room.

Between classes, a pool party and the In Bloom theme party gave everyone room to breathe. Laura Campo of JC Studio summed it up as a chance to reconnect, meet new friends, and recharge all at once.

What’s Next: HB Fest 2027

Coming together in person has become the heartbeat of the Hairbrained community, and the calendar is already filling up. HB Sessions, the one-day masterclass series that launched with a sold-out Orange County debut, has already sold out its next two stops: Sacramento on October 26 at the Old Sugar Mill and New England on November 2. Stylists building their personal brand can look ahead to Creator Con in Newport Beach, February 27 through March 1. And HB Fest 2027 returns to the JW Marriott September 11 through 13, with presale tickets already open to past attendees.

HB Sessions Sacramento

Oct 26, 2026

Old Sugar Mill

Sold out

HB Sessions New England

Nov 2, 2026

Sold out

Creator Con

Feb 27 – Mar 1, 2027

Newport Beach, CA

HB Fest 2027

Sep 11–13, 2027

JW Marriott Desert Springs

Presale open for past attendees

HB Fest 2027 presale All events

For the 600 people who filled the room this year, HB Fest felt less like a conference and more like coming home. The only question now is who will be writing the letters next September.