Lauren into national hair final

9:18am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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A TEENAGER has earned a place in the finals of a national hair and beauty competition.

Wiltshire College hairdressing young apprentice Lauren Payne, 15, from Shetland Close, Westbury Leigh, fought off competition from students at both the Trowbridge and Salisbury campuses to book her place at the Hair and Beauty Industry Authority (HABIA) national awards.

The young apprentices, who are undertaking a Diploma in hair and beauty, equivalent to four GCSEs, were asked to come up with a theme for a hair design, accompanied by a mood board highlighting their influences.

The 12 finalists' work, including Lauren's, which was inspired by 1960s fashion, was judged by industry experts at HABIA's headquarters in Doncaster on Tuesday to determine who will win the national award.

Lauren, who works one day a week at Beautopia in Westbury as part of her qualification, will now have to wait until the awards ceremony at the L'Oreal Studio in Hammersmith, London, on Tuesday June 10, to see if she has won.

She said: "It's amazing, really amazing. I feel really lucky even to get into the course so to get to the finals is great. I choose the 60s as a theme because it was so colourful then and because the hairstyles were straight forward but really big, bold and funky.

"I thought these styles would draw people's attention because they are so eye-catching.

"I have wanted to be involved in hairdressing from a young age; it really grabs my interest, particularly designing different styles.

"It has been hard work juggling school, college and a work placement but I am managing to stay on top of my work. I am very proud of myself for winning this competition and feel that I have achieved a lot."

Lauren's lecturer Jane White from Trowbridge, said: "I am extremely proud of Lauren. We found out a couple of days ago and we've been dying to tell her. We are so pleased with all of our students at the college. It is fantastic to be able to showcase their talent in this way. As a college we do like to involve students in competitions so they can see how good they are. It's the first time we've run the course but it's the second year that the course has been run nationally.

"It's been a very popular course but the students have to be interviewed and they also have to be on target for five GCSEs A to C grade, so it's hard to get into."