Great lengths awards produce a night to remember

Full length and fabulous was the order of the day as more than 100 guests gathered at London's stunning May Fair Hotel for the first ever Great Lengths Awards.

The intimate event was hosted by The One Show Hairdresser Michael Douglas who entertained the audience from the off by telling the winners "we'll keep the speeches like Wayne Rooney's fidelity... non existent!"

It was over to Great Lengths managing director Philip Sharp to convey the serious message of the awards - an industry first for the extensions business - and he told guests "These Great Lengths Awards are something I am very proud of. And I think that they are very important for the hair extensions industry.

"As they were out first awards we didn't know what the response would be so we are pleased and relieved to have so many entries!"

When it came to the presentations, there was a trio of accolades, including the evening's most prestigious prize, The Gold Trophy for Extensionist of the Year, for London Salon Inanch, while Moo Hair in Harrogate scooped two of the prizes,  

The evening's other highlight was a 'Hair Couture' presentation by Great Lengths brand ambassador Paul Falltrick.

"This is all about clothes inspired by hair," Paul explained. "Some of these looks come straight from the London catwalks but I wanted to push it to the limits like the catwalk and then when you take it back to the salon you will need to dilute it down."

He presented five looks that played with textures from the latest micro crimping to classic marcel waves and disconnected lengths and told the extensionists that the key to making these styles work is to make sure that clients can recreate them quickly at home.

The evening was completed with a raffle, drawn by Miss England finalist Jamie Lee Faulkner, that raised £945 for Great Lengths' charity Cancer Research. 

The Great Lengths Award winners were:

• Classic Look: Diane Shewhorak, Rueben Wood Hair & Beauty
• Marketing Award: Moo Hair
• Bridal Look: Inanch Emir, Inanch
• Tomorrow's Look: Ruth Madden, Moo Hair
• Salon of the Year: Inanch
• Avant Garde Look of the Year: Aysha Aziz, Scruples
• Rising Star of the Year: Amy Adams, Mark Riley
• The Gold Trophy Award for Extensionist of the Year: Inanch Emir, Inanch