Ashley King Takes The Crown As Overall Northern Ireland Gents Champion

Ashley King of Victoria King Hairdressing has plenty of reasons to celebrate after walking away with not only a first and second place at the Northern Ireland Hair Championships, but also stealing the crown as Overall Northern Ireland Gents Champion.

The awards, which were held at the Belfast Hilton Hotel, celebrate the best of Northern Ireland hairdressing. Along with taking the Overall Northern Ireland Gents Champion, Ashley also entered the categories 'Full Fashion Look' where he took first place, and 'Gents Creative Cover' where he came second.

Five salons from across Northern Ireland competed in the three categories and Ashley was the first contestant to be placed in each one. He also made history by becoming the first trainee to be crowned overall champion.

Recalling the tense battle for the coveted awards, Ashley, who runs the Eglington Street salon with his wife Victoria King, recalled,

I had to enter the room twice with my model, design and finish two hairstyles as well as prepare and team up outfits to match the styles. I also had to ensure that they were in perfect condition for the judges who came in after we had finished each style.

Thankfully everything came together on the day!

Reflecting on his success, the barbering student at BCW Training LTD, who changed career after suffering a debilitating back injury whilst working as a sales account manager said,

I am very proud to be the only person in this area who has ever won this award. I am the only junior trainee to have ever won these awards and really thrilled by what I have achieved in such a short time.

Ashley continues to create trendy styles for the lads and gents who visit Victoria King Hairdressing, and is now focussing on sharpening his skills for his next big competition - The All Ireland Hair Championships in March 2014.

The salon is also celebrating as a whole due to being upgraded to a Five Star establishment by the Good Salon Guide. Victoria and her team have been working hard in enhancing their clients experience at the luxury salon including installing TVs, texting systems, chip and pin machines and state of the art coffee machines!

A beautiful Nail Bar area is also available where clients can sit and relax whilst having their nails tended to by the expert team. As the Nail Bar has been so popular and successful Victoria is keeping the very in demand offer of 'Blow-dry and Gel Polish for only £20' running every Friday and Saturday. A new tanning service will also be joining the salon's extensive treatment menu within the next few weeks.

Stockists of Cloud 9 and Joico, and specialists in professional Alfaparf services, Victoria and the team regularly attend training workshops and aim to keep the locals and tourists of Portrush up-to-date with the latest hair trends.

Looking forward into 2014 and Victoria and Ashley can't wait to attend every hairdressing event on the calendar! It's going to be a very busy year for the pair and they look forward to clients both old and new experiencing their beautiful, luxury salon.

To book an appointment with one of the team at Victoria King Hairdressing you contact them on 02870 825211 or [email protected].