Lucia Siero Hernandez is the current Newcomer of the Year the British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional, here she shares her tips for entering – and winning!
We loved chatting with TONI&GUY educator Lucia on an Instagram Live, so we thought we'd write up the interview too. She shares how to create a winning Newcomer collection, how to shoot on a budget and what it really felt like to deliver a speech to a room full of thousands of hairdressers... Keep scrolling to the bottom of the interview to see the original live.
And with time running out to shoot and enter (the deadline is Friday 28 June, 5pm) it might be just the push you need to enter...
What is it like to be crowned Newcomer of the Year?
It a dream. It took a couple of days for the feeling to sink in! I have just turned 25, and I’ve been hairdressing for 7 years so I feel really proud.
You’re from a family of hairdressers aren’t you?
Yes, nearly my whole family are hairdressers! My mum and my grandma, my cousins, my dad’s brothers... My mum and dad were with me on the night of the British Hairdressing Awards, they came all the way from Spain.
Was it your first time entering the British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional?
No, I had entered Trend Image of the Year and Newcomer of the Year categories before, but I didn’t finalise in either. But this was the first time I finalised, and so to win as well was just incredible.
How have you used your win in your day-to-day working life?
Our clients know all about our wins. We put the British Hairdressing Awards logo on our windows and doors of the salon and the academy. And TONI&GUY put the winners from this years’ awards out on its social pages and sent all the winners to every client. My clients came in with presents, it was lovely. It’s showed our clients that we have a creative life outside of the salon too.
How do you begin the process of starting to shoot a collection? C
Before I settle on any models or a team, I put a moodboard together. I try to focus on covering all different types of hair textures, face shapes and different people. I prep the looks really far in advance. The more preparation you do, the less stress on the shoot day. After the moodboard I get the models, then check they are happy with what I want to do with their hair. I put together a group together to prep the team really thoroughly.
Check out the finished result here
And for those that don’t know, for Newcomer category you do six images, not eight images…
It’s still a challenge though. Shooting six pictures is still a full day’s shoot. But it’s way easier than eight! For 2024, I would love to London Hairdresser of the Year category, but it will be a challenge to eight in a day. If I do, I’ll let you know.
Can you do it on a budget?
I have been working with some of my models for a while. I wanted to have faces that I know. If you have a good team, a make-up artist and great styling, and of course a great photographer, you can work with someone who isn’t a professional model. If you take a girl from the street, if you cut her hair a couple of times and you can create a relationship it does work. They might be a bit nervous in front of the camera, but with the right team you can get the shots.
Describe how it felt to hear your name called out on the night?
Surreal. I was vibing! I don’t want to see the video of my speech, I was so emotional. I didn’t prepare anything to say as I didn’t expect it to be me. The venue was beautiful too, I’ve never seen anything like it.
Enter now for you to chance to be Newcomer of the Year? Fancy another category, take a look at the options here.
See the original live below...
