Beauty therapist Hollie reaches national award final

Eaton-based beauty therapist Hollie Reeve, who began her career working as a teenage Saturday girl in her aunt’s hairdressing salon, has spoken of her pride at being shortlisted as a finalist in a prestigious national competition.

Angela, who has owned the salon for 21 years, added: “The UK Hair and Beauty Awards is considered to be one of the most prestigious awards possible in our industry, so for Hollie to have her work recognised and become a finalist is such an amazing achievement and I am so incredibly proud of her.”

When Hollie started aged 13, her roles as a Saturday girl included keeping the salon in tip-top condition, taking appointments and making refreshments. “Working at the salon from a young age meant I got to see all angles of the hair and beauty industry and what hard work goes in to building a clientele and all the jobs behind the scenes that many don’t see.“

Hollie, who studied at Norwich City College for three years while continuing to work at the salon, became the self-employed beauty therapist in 2017 and continually updates her skills with regular courses to keep up to date with the latest trends.

She decided to enter the UK Hair and Beauty Awards (HBA) which shine a spotlight on  the industry professionals and businesses that set the gold standard.

“When entering I had to send in my work which was a collage of nails and all the treatments I offer,” she explained.

“I then had to go through the submission forms and answer the questions in great detail. One of the many questions was “what does it mean for me to be a beauty therapist”.

“I explained that I have always had a flair for this industry and that seeing that first smile I get from my customers when revealing perfectly-painted nails gives me such pride in my job. I told them how I always try to go the extra mile for my customers,

“Even when I get requests from them to do cartwheels in the salon purely for their entertainment I always deliver! Once I submitted everything it then went to the board of HBA where they review your work and answers to see if the individual or business stands out to be shortlisted as a finalist. I was up against tens of thousands of entries.

To her “absolute shock” Hollie recently received an email from the HBA to say that she had been selected as a finalist in the beauty therapist of the year category representing a business in Norwich. “They also mentioned that my passion for the industry had been noticed. My heart was pounding, I couldn’t believe what I was reading and my lovely certificate was attached to the email for me to display in the salon.”

Hollie is now looking forward to attending a grand final VIP red carpet event at Birmingham ICC in August. “At this massive event the finalists like myself in their personal categories are celebrated on the red carpet with professional photos taken and glass engraved trophies are awarded to a select few of finalists and even a few celebrity guests attend,” she said.