Top Portsmouth hairdresser named as best in the region

Andrew Smith, a hair stylist with three salons across the Portsmouth area, won Southern Hairdresser of the Year at HJ’s British Hairdressing Awards 2019.

Andrew runs salons under the same name in Fareham, Waterlooville and Gosport and has worked at numerous fashion events such as Milan Fashion Week, as well as directing the hair for Chanel at London Fashion Week.

He got the accolade after his original hair work demonstrated not only technical skills, but also creative vision and comprehension of current trends.

The judging spread over eight different English regions and his photographic work was judged twice by a panel of hairdressing legends, leading national beauty press and hall of fame members.

Jayne Lewis-Orr, executive director of the awards said: ‘Andrew’s recognition is truly deserved.

‘Andrew continues to show that excellence and creativity are still at the heart of UK styling.’

The evening was hosted by Rylan Clark-Neal, with guest appearances from Hairdressers Journal International’s executive director, Jayne Lewis-Orr and Schwarzkopf Professional’s general manager Julian Crane.

He said: ‘Thank you so much to Schwarzkopf Professional and Hairdressers Journal for putting on this amazing event. I’ve always dreamed of being here and picking this award up, it’s definitely something you dream of your entire hairdressing career. I couldn’t have done this without the support of the creative team on the shoot, my product brand milk_shake, my biggest supporters at Wonderful Life Hair Salon Supplies, my salon team and lastly my partner Dan.’

The British Hairdressing Awards has launched the careers of a host of household names: from John Frieda and Nicky Clarke, to TV stylists Lisa Shepherd and Andrew Barton.

The awards, which included 19 categories, were hosted at the Grosvenor House in London on November 25.