Surrey-based hairdresser has been crowned Southern Hairdresser of the Year 2020
Surrey-based hairdresser has been crowned Southern Hairdresser of the Year 2020 at HJ’s British Hairdressing Awards, sponsored by Schwarzkopf Professional.
Thomas Hills, Owner and Director of TH1 Hair – a hairdressing salon in Oxted, Surrey – fought off stiff competition, standing out from a star-studded line-up of the city’s best-known stylists to gain the coveted top spot in the fiercely contended category – adding to his award win in the same category in 2017.
Judged twice by a panel of hairdressing legends and British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame members, Thomas claimed his status as the best hairdresser in the region, after showcasing phenomenal and original hair imagery, demonstrating technical skill alongside creative vision and trend-led styling.
HJ’s British Hairdressing Awards celebrates the people producing the very best hairdressing work across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For the first time in its 36-year history the ‘Oscars’ of the hair world, which couldn’t be held at Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel, went live instead, with the virtual event taking place on Monday 30th November – giving the hairdressing industry the opportunity to celebrate the success and talent within the industry and share the prestige and excitement of the event to an even wider audience.
Finalists were each given ‘tickets’ for their very own virtual room where they could watch and celebrate with their teams, friends and family, while the industry and clients could also show their support by tuning in to a live stream of the event, which was hosted by television personality, Rylan Clark-Neal, on the Hairdressers Journal International Facebook page.
In another first for the awards, the trophy arrived with the winners the following day, enabling them to continue the celebrations and take the all-important winner’s photo.
Thomas’ award was one of 18 trophy wins on the night in a line-up of ten regional and eight specialist awards.
Commenting on the win, Jayne Lewis-Orr, Executive Director of HJ’s British Hairdressing Awards said: “A huge congratulations to Thomas. This win is a phenomenal achievement and career highlight, particularly after the difficulties faced by the industry this year. Thomas’ hair work demonstrated unrivalled vision, skill and creativity, gaining him recognition as one of the best in the business.
“This year’s British Hairdressing Awards will certainly go down in history as one of the most challenging, but rewarding events we’ve ever organised. The fighting spirit of the hair community shone through, despite not being together in person, and the reception from our virtual viewers was truly uplifting. I’m so pleased we had this opportunity to share the achievements of these truly outstanding stylists with all their supporters near and far.”
Delighted with the win, Thomas said: “Wow, what a fantastic end to an awful year. I want to say thank you to my team at TH1 Hair – you are all amazing. Thanks also to everyone involved, my family and my friends – I love you all! And now I’m going to cry!”
