Career profile: hj's extension's specialist 2015 charlotte boyes

Fresh from judging the 2016 HJ Extension's Specialist of the Year competition at Salon International, we caught up with former title holder Charlotte Boyes to talk about her career to date, and why competitions are a great way to get yourself out there.

How long have you been hairdressing and what made you choose it as a career?

I have been hairdressing industry 11 years. I trained in hairdressing as it's what I always wanted to do - let's just say I'm more a creative person than academic! My family own Posh Hair, Nails and Beauty which has been established for over 35 years and I've worked there since training.

How long have you been doing hair extensions and what attracted you to taking this on as a new skill?

Having worn extensions myself for many years before, I decided to train with Great Lengths as we needed to offer a new service in salon. Now almost every client of mine wears extensions, as they're not just for adding length they're are great when enhancing thickness and colour. I've been doing this for seven years now and offer ranges from Gold Fever, Remi Cachet, Easilocks and Hairdreams.

How did you get into entering competitions, was it something you'd always worked towards?

I had always wanted to enter competitions but coming from quite a small local salon, it feels harder to compete as we don't have the budgets for extravagant photo shoots and professional models.

The first awards I entered were the Great Lengths Rising Star Awards in 2012 and I was so shocked I won. My model was my sister and I took the role of hairdresser, make-up artist, stylist and photographer!  I was ecstatic when David Drew presented me with my award and complimented me on 'such immaculate work and neatness as well as a fantastic written philosophy behind my look'. I was over the moon as submitting anything written is a challenge for me due to dyslexia, so it was an amazing feeling to finally be recognised for years of hard work. Seeing my work in professional magazines like HJ was also incredible as it's pretty much the hairdressers bible!

Since then  I have progressed onto and won the Great Lengths Fast Track Award 2014/15, Great Lengths Bridal Finalist 2014 and Balmain Hair Extensionist of the Year Finalist. I then entered HJ's Extension Specialist of the Year at Salon International 2015. I was heavily pregnant at the time but I still entered and I'm so glad I did as I won the competition. Being pregnant of course I just burst in to tears, it's almost like you feel like you're the best at what you do but to actually be told so by experts in the industry after seven years of hard work, training and determination, it was like getting my own little Oscar!

Why is it important for stylists to enter competitions and what has it done for you and your progression?

It's so important to enter to show what you can do as a stylist and you get to create looks you wouldn't normally get in the salon. So far I have won three competitions I've entered and been a finalist for two in the UK. My work has been featured in professional magazines, I've had the opportunity to  work on photoshoots as a well as ad campaigns with the biggest honour being working with Remi Cachet judging this years HJ Extension Specialist of the Year and helping choose the next winner amongst the best in our industry.

I have also just become a certified Hairdreams salon and am a partner in hair creations and microlines, meaning I can now offer hair replacement systems in salon. The help I can give people suffering from hair loss is just incredible.

What are your top tips for entering competitions?

I have so many tips!

• When choosing your model, take into account their confidence in front of the camera, this can take you much further than looks alone.
• You don't need expensive photoshoots, a good photo against your salon wall will work. I bought a full backdrop and lighting kit off ebay and I use it all the time to shoot.
• Any look you create needs to be easy for you to recreate to be judged live. Think about it from 360 degrees, no shortcuts, the judges will be sectioning it all and checking work thoroughly.
• Be confident in what you do, if you're asked a question, answer it honestly as if a client were asking you.
• Make sure you remember your own name as well as to breath! I know it sounds silly but I've done this myself, the competition space is very nerve wracking but remember everyone wants you to do well.
• A great little tip I was told was to try not to say basically or um too much. When asked a question always answer with that question, for example, 'Why did you select this attachment for your client? I selected this for my client because...'
• Lastly have fun and enjoy it! Try and use the time to watch other stylists and how they work and afterwards, it's the best opportunity for networking with other company's/magazines and celebrity stylists.