Rachel Culkin and Scott Jordan from Toni&Guy ended their journey on a high, picking up third place and an overall win of the Southern region in the world's longest running most stylish hair competition, the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy.

The talented team realised their dreams and created an award winning look that drew its influence from the gothic trend that has been spotted on the Autumn/Winter 08/09 catwalks of top designer Gareth Pugh. Short, sassy and ultra-modern, their vision is set to be a big hit with style savvy clients in the popular Camberley based salon where they work.

Over 1,300 of the world's top hairdressers applauded as the team collected their award from the evening's ultra-fashionable presenter Fearne Cotton and hairdressing guru Charlie Miller. Rachel and Scott were delighted with the result, speaking moments after they came off stage Rachel said; "This is the proudest moment of our careers.”

Talent, drive and determination saw them through three tough rounds of the competition which started way back in March. Over 1,200 salon teams entered, 351 Regional Finalists were short-listed; with 45 Regional Finalists selected to compete at the Grand Final.

Toni&Guy was one of three teams representing the Southern region on the day of the Grand Final. Under the brief 'hair inspired by fashion' they spent 2.5 hours colouring, coiffing and styling their model to perfection before a host of hairdressing legends were brought in to judge their work.

Hair gods Richard Ward, Charles Worthington and Errol Douglas were among the panel of industry peers deliberating over who should be in the winning line-up. They agreed that the salon team of Rachel and Scott had met the brief to reflect Autumn/Winter 08/09 trends as set by L'Oréal Professionnel.

Unaware of their fate, competitors and their supporters made their way to the spectacular Grand Final at Earls Court 2 to experience total glamour, total sophistication and total inspiration - the very best of British hairdressing. They watched with pride as their model stepped out onto the catwalk. Throughout the evening there were stunning shows by Andrew Collinge and Alan Edwards in addition to an exclusive showcase of fashion designer Marios Schwab's' Autumn/Winter 07/08 collection.

After a nail-biting wait it was time to start revealing the winning teams. In the first round of awards, Toni&Guy was named as Southern Regional Winner of the L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy. Then, later in the evening they were awarded third place in the overall national competition. Upon hearing their name read out there was disbelief then delight and the cheers from their supporters could be heard across London!

"It hasn't really sunk in yet,” exclaimed Rachel. "We want to say thank you to everyone who helped us to reach this stage of the competition, especially to our bosses Nina and Christian who are so supportive in everything we do. The whole L'Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy journey has been amazing and we are delighted to have achieved so much this early in our careers.”

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