In 2025, we kicked off the first-ever industry awards celebrating the rule-breakers; the brands, founders, and creatives who dared to do things differently. With the launch of PRINTED, five finalists across ten boundary-pushing categories were selected, each representing a distinct way artists and brands are reshaping the industry’s future. Our audience was then tasked with deciding which of these 50 trailblazers deserved to wear the Rule Breaker crown with honor.
Now, after months of anticipation and thousands of votes cast by our readers from June through October 2025, we’re thrilled to reveal the winners of the first-ever Rule Breaker Awards. These honorees didn’t just defy convention, they set new standards. Chosen directly by the people with the most influence on the beauty industry (OUR audience), the RBA winners reflect the courage, creativity, and conviction that keep professional beauty evolving.
Let’s hear it for the ones who aren’t afraid to get a little messy.
Winners:
Branding Badass: KEVIN.MURPHY – Honorable Mention – Oribe
Cosmetic Cosmonauts: MAC – Honorable Mention – ONE/SIZE
Distribution Disruptor: KMMA – Honorable Mention – Salon Services PRO
Eco-Activists: Davines – Honorable Mention – Green Circle
Education Boundary Breakers: Free Salon Education – Honorable Mention – Pivot Point
Guerrilla Hair-Fare: OLAPLEX – Honorable Mention – Color Wow
Nail Tech Trailblazers: Function of Vex – Honorable Mention – Apres Nail
PR/Marketing Powerhouse: Denman Brush – Honorable Mention – K18
Skin Savants: The Ordinary – Honorable Mention – HydroFacial
Tool/Tech Titans: Dyson – Honorable Mention – ghd
And the momentum doesn’t stop here. In March 2026, we’ll feature select winners in our Rule Breaker Box by Hello Salon Pro, and shortly after, nominations officially open for the 2026 Rule Breaker Awards, complete with new and reimagined categories. Finalists will be announced in our S/F 2026 issue dropping this summer. The next generation of rule-breakers is already rising… and we can’t wait to recognize them.
