Winning a British Hairdressing Award symbolises a huge achievement and recognition of creativity and skill in our talented industry. Countless hours of dedication are poured into every entry, so we spoke to past winners to ask what winning a trophy means to them and the impact it’s had on their careers.
"It meant the world to me. I wasn't expecting it, I was over the moon and very shocked. It's a nice feeling of achievement with my team and the people that helped me put that shoot together." Jordanna Cobella, London Hairdresser of the Year 2022, 2023
"It's great for your personal growth. It was a big one for me to come back and pit myself against my peers but it was an amazing experience and you never get tired of lifting that trophy!" Ken Picton, Wales & South West Hairdresser of the Year 2009, 2011, 2012, 2023
"We feel like all the hours of work, and staying behind really paid off and we're super happy with our collection. Each year we've done it we've gone back and looked at what we can do better and become better hairdressers. As salon owners we should be pushing ourselves and educating ourselves in hair that we're not confident with. We don't want to turn any clients away and want them to be confident to be in our salon." Melissa Timperley & Sara Williams, Afro Hairdresser of the Year 2023
"To be a finalist is to already feel like you're on the right track. Winning is only a small differece, it's nice to win but to be a finalist means you're in the right area and to just keep going." Seung-ki Baek, Southern Hairdresser of the Year 2010, 2013, 2023
"Winning means a lot to us and the team, it's a marker of how far we've come and it's lovely to look back on that." Laura Kulik and Ria Kulik, North Western Hairdresser of the Year 2023
"It has a special meaning. We want to win many different awards but since I was a young hairdresser I've wanted to win a British Hairdressing Award." Jorge Cáncer, International Collection of the Year 2023
"This win was amazing for me. I've entered colour many times and this is the first time I've won it. I'm super passionate about colour so I was ecstatic." Suzie McGill, Rainbow Room International 2023
“Winning with Zoe was incredible. This is our fifth time we've been here in a row and to have Zoe beside me makes it even more special. It's been a really good achievement and great experience.” Rick Roberts and Zoe Roberts, North Eastern Hairdresser of the Year 2023
“Winning Eastern Hairdresser of the Year has been an incredible experience. The journey has been a necessary learning curve. All of the previous collections are the steppingstones to achieving the goal. To work together on this for the first time and actually win was amazing!” Nathan Jasztal & Zoe Jasztal, Eastern Hairdresser of the Year 2019
“Winning Midlands Hairdresser of the Year at the British Hairdressing Awards in 2019 has given me so many opportunities and has helped me to be noticed by brands that wouldn’t have seen my work before. It’s also motived the team of people I work with to achieve their own goals!” James Earnshaw, Midlands Hairdresser of the Year 2019
“Winning has made me want to enter again even more! It’s such a great event and seeing my work in Hairdressers Journal International is one of the best moments in my career so far.” Jon Wilsdon, North Western Hairdresser of the Year 2019
“Winning for me has been a celebration of the hard work behind the scenes and a team that supports me. Winning has also given me the motivation to get better and better every year.” Federico Patelli, Trend Image of the Year 2019
“The prestige of winning this award has been wonderful for our family business and has really created a buzz in our salons and within our team and most of all our clients who have loved to see our success. I am a salon-based hairdresser based outside of London so I hope my win represents the hard work and dedication shown in salons across the country. With lots of exciting things to come this year I can’t wait for you all to see what else I have to share with everyone!” Robert Eaton, British Hairdresser of the Year 2019, 2021.
“Being named Southern Hairdresser of the Year has catapulted my career beyond my wildest dreams. I was invited to solely create a global ICON collection for milk_shake and z.one Concept and I’ve since travelled to Italy four times and three other countries (Asia is next) to teach and inspire the global education team. My work is on salon walls, in marketing materials and on videos being shared by tens of thousands of salons across the world. I've headed a team at London Fashion Week. I’ve been featured in eight print publications and I seriously pinch myself every single morning when I open my eyes!” Andrew Smith, Southern Hairdresser of the Year 2019, 2022
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Andy Heasman RUSH “It’s been such an honour winning this award and the start of my year has already been very exciting. We’ve done some big shows and we’ve had lots of attraction from international clients in our Covent Garden academy, so I hope it continues.” Andy Heasman, London Hairdresser of the Year 2019
“Wining Scottish Hairdresser of the Year has been amazing for us. Not only has it given us lots of local publicity and opportunities, but it’s also made our clients in the salon incredibly proud and the place has been buzzing ever since.” Jason Hall, Scottish Hairdresser of the Year, 2019
“Winning Artistic Team of the Year at the British Hairdressing Awards is a truly amazing feeling as it involves all of our team and is the culmination of all our creativity and energy into one melting pot and everyone feels part of it. The award is great for team morale and our clients love hearing all about our accolades. We have already taken part in some amazing international shows this year.” Mark Leeson Art Team, Artistic Team of the Year 2012, 2013, 2019, 2023
“Winning British Colour Technician of the Year is a dream come true, putting us in the same place as so many other hairdressers that we have looked up to throughout our whole career. It is something that we will proud of for the rest of our lives. Our colour clientele has risen significantly, and it has brought a lot of new business to the salon. We’re so grateful to have received such an accolade and excited for our journey this year.” Sophie Gibson & Jonathan Turner, Schwarzkopf Professional British Colour Technician of the Year 2019
“It such an honour to be recognised for my craft at the highest level. The British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional is such a prestigious award platform and the level of talent involved was sensational. To top it off I was there in person to accept the award itself which was an out of body experience. It’s definitely my career highlight.” Jacky Chan Oscar, International Collection of the Year 2019
“Winning the British Hairdressing Awards in 2019 was a truly wonderful experience. This was my third win and way to go out as in October I moved to Los Angeles to launch my new range of wigs called the Alexander Couture Collection. Having this award has helped with the launch and the PR behind it as not only has my collection launched in the US, it is now available in the UK too.” Alexander Turnbull, North Eastern Hairdresser of the Year 2010, 2019
“Avant-garde was a unique challenge to anything we have done before. It required all of our passion, creativity, commitment and sanity. We gave it our everything and it’s been a whirlwind ever since winning. To be recognised for this art in an industry do full of creatives is an absolute honour.” Sophie Springett & Hayley Bishop, Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year 2019
“I feel so grateful to win Newcomer of the Year. It was my first award and to win alongside such creative people in the industry who are so talented and respected within the industry. It’s been a whirlwind and has already opened up so many opportunities for me. I’ve gained confidence and I’ve realised you can do anything if you set your mind to it. I’m excited for what this year will bring.” Alex Morton, Newcomer of the Year 2019
