Newry hair stylist a cut above the rest

PROVING that she is a cut above the rest is Newry born hair stylist Sophie Murphy.

Miss Murphy, who is the proud proprietor of SM hair and beauty, beat out the competition at the NI B-Beautiful Awards to claim the R.M.D Aesthetics Award for Best Colourist in Down.

It is no wonder that Barcroft native was able to claim the award as despite only being 22 she has been diligently practicing her craft since she was only 16 years of age.

In that time Sophie has used her skills as a hair stylist to not only sustain herself but also craft herself into a self employed business women whom any aspiring young hair stylist within the community can look up to as a role model.

Whilst it will come as no surprise to those who know her and have availed of her services that she would stand a head above the rest at the NI B-Beautiful Awards, according to the gifted stylist receiving the highest commendation at the event came as quite the surprise.

Surprising Commendation

I am from Barcroft in Newry. I have been a hairdresser from when I was 16 and I am now 22. “I work for myself in Meigh,  I am self-employed and   run SM Hair and Beauty.

   “I won an award at the  NI B-Beautiful Award. It was the Highly Commended Hair Colourist in County Down. There were seven others in my category, 

 “I was announced as the winner of the category and I wanted to cry.  I was really overwhelmed and I was not expecting it but I got there in the end and I just felt really proud of myself.”

As Sophie explains it was after being nominated for the award by the public throughout County Down and demonstrating her degree of talent first hand to a judging  panel  that she was found worthy to receive the highest commendation for  best hair colourist  in County Down.

“I got the most votes in County Down and I became a finalist.  I had to do a competition. There were six judges and they picked who the winner was.

“The competition was a hair colouring competition. I had to go to Antrim  and transform someone’s hair to something else. Judges came around asking questions. The hair that I had to do was called a Reverse Balayage.

“I had two and half hours to complete the whole colouring and styling of the hair. I was with three other girls at the time. There was me and three others that were in on that day competing against each other which then took us to the awards.

“At the awards I got a certificate in a frame.”