A RENFREWSHIRE woman has been rewarded for her exceptional hairdressing skills.

Stephanie Thomson, of Kaoss salon, in Paisley, was highly commended in the Colour Technician of the Year category at the 2022 Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards.

She said: “The event had to be rescheduled from December 2021 because of Covid, so we were really excited to be able to attend.

“I think everyone had really missed being able to celebrate together and just enjoy ourselves.”

Each year, businesses and individuals in the hair and beauty industry are nominated by their clients for different awards.

A shortlist is then drawn up and award organisers send a team of mystery shoppers to the salons that are in the running, before deciding who deserves to be the winners.

Stephanie added: “It’s brilliant for the business to win an award like this. It gets your name out there, especially on social media, and that’s how you build up a clientele.

“You need clients. Without clients, you won’t get anywhere.

“It helps us build a reputable reputation and, without that, you would struggle to build your business.”

The award is not the first to be collected by Stephanie.

She added: “In 2019, I won Stylist of the Year. That was a big award to get, as you are up against people from all over Scotland.

“Salons were going on stage to accept awards and there was 10 or 12 people – and then there was our wee salon from Paisley going up to accept such an amazing award. It was really exciting.”

Stephanie also explained that, because of Covid, a lot of aspiring hairdressers are being put off pursuing their dream career.

She is urging these people to stick at it, as she has already noticed a change for the better in the industry.

You can follow Kaoss salon on their Facebook page.