When it comes to creating exceptional hair colour and the hottest catwalk looks, a talented young hairdresser from Contemporary hair salon in Middlesbrough has proved she is among the best in the UK having made it through to the Grand Final of the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy.
Melissa Laverick, 22 has been chosen to represent the North Eastern region in the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy - Young Colourist Award, sponsored by industry bible Hairdressers Journal. This exciting category seeks to uncover the next generation of industry colour gurus and Melissa saw off stiff competition to clinch her place in the Grand Final. She is now one-step closer to winning a once-in-a-lifetime prize package which will catapult her ahead of her peers and into the future of a glittering career.
Melissa explains the look that caught the judges eye; "It's a really commercial, wearable look that was inspired by the type of colours that my clients regularly as for. The shades are a mix of warm, autumnal, coppers and reds."
Hundreds of the regions tastemakers gathered to watch the competition in action making for an electrifying evening that celebrated hair inspired by fashion. In-keeping with the stylish ambience of the event, guests witnessed a stunning fashion show by London Fashion Week hot-ticket Jacob Kimmie featuring hair by the L'Oréal Professionnel iD Artist Team.
It was down to an esteemed panel of hairdresser judges to decide which of the teams would be continuing their journey in the competition. No easy task given the standard of this year's entries as judge Anita Cox-McMillan explains; "We were all really impressed by the standard of the competition floor in Sheffield. It was clear that a lot of thought and consideration had been invested into the looks and people really seemed to have gone above and beyond the brief. The teams were spot on in terms of their trend inspiration and this really shone through. "
After a nail-biting wait, it was time for the winner to be announced, a moment that Melissa will never forget. "I started crying when I realised I had won then the, whole salon jumped on me. This experience is amazing as it will help me to build my profile, expose my work to the famous hairdresser judges and ultimately let my clients know what everything that I'm doing."
With her place in the final line-up now guaranteed, it's time for Melissa to show her style credentials as she heads to London to compete for the award at a Live Final in London on Friday 15th May. An incredible panel of industry luminaries, including Alan Edwards, Jo Hansford, David Lambert, Anita Cox-McMillan, Carolyn Newman (Charles Worthington) and Lisa Shepherd will judge their work based on their innovation in new techniques and their ability to translate high street trends into wearable, commercial looks.
But hairdressing talent alone is not enough to win this incredible award. Each finalist must impress the judges with their presentation skills, ambition and understanding of trends in a fifteen minute face-to-face grilling. They will then face a tense wait until the winner is announced at the glittering Grand Final award ceremony at Earls Court 2 on Monday 1st June.