There were cheers and tears of delight as Sara Elhaj and Abby Cooper from Toni&Guy were announced as winners of the L'Oréal Men's Image award at the L'Oréal Colour Trophy 2007. The talented team created a sleek, barbered style that looks set to be a hit with male clients in their Guildford based salon.

Over 1,200 of the world's top hairdressers gave a standing ovation as Sara and Abby collected their award from the evening's ultra-fashionable presenter Fearne Cotton and stylist to the stars, Richard Ward. Speaking moments after they came off stage, it was clear that the enormity of their achievement would take a while to sink in; "It's all a bit surreal, it's going to take a while to sink in."

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, 350 Regional Finalists were short-listed; with 45 Finalists selected to compete at the Grand Final.

The win means that Sara and Abby have hit the big time in hairdressing and they will now pick up a prize package that includes a five star all expenses paid trip to New York, a photo spread with fashion bible Vogue and numerous opportunities that will see their profile sky rocket.

On the day of the Grand Final Toni&Guy represented the Southern region and were among 9 teams from across the UK vying for the top spot in the L'Oréal Men's Image category. Under the brief 'hair inspired by fashion' competitors spent 2 hours colouring, coiffing and styling their model to perfection before a host of hairdressing legends were brought in to judge their work.

Sara and Abby explain the thinking behind their striking image: ""We had been to watch a colleague compete in the Men's Image Award last year, and found the potential for creativity really inspiring. Smart trends are huge at the moment, so we decided to use long hair but keep the styling clean-cut, barbered and fashion-forward."

TV favourites Richard Ward, Charles Worthington and Trevor Sorbie were among the panel of industry peers deliberating over who should be the winner. They agreed that Sara and Abby had met the brief set by L'Oréal Professionnel and were worthy of winning the overall title as judge Charles Worthington explains;

"Their look is an extreme hair statement with great balance, strong lines, quirky detail and great colour. It's the perfect combination for a winning look in the L'Oréal Men's Image award which is always one of the hardest fought categories in the competition."

Unaware of their fate, competitors and their supporters made their way to the spectacular Grand Final event at Earls Court 2 where they watched their model stride out onto the catwalk. Throughout the evening there were stunning shows by Zoë Irwin for Headmasters and Tim Hartley in addition to an exclusive preview of fashion designer Aimee McWilliams' Autumn/Winter 07 collection.

As the competition headed towards its dramatic conclusion, tension was riding high on the team's table. The moment they heard their name read out there was disbelief then delight as Toni&Guy was announced overall winner of the L'Oréal Men's Image award.

Despite stiff competition, the judges unanimously agreed that the team had produced a look that truly reflected the Autumn/Winter 07/08 catwalk trends. Sara and Abby will now begin their year-long journey as winners of this prestigious award and they are clearly relishing the opportunities that lie ahead.

"This is the ultimate dream," said Sara. "The whole experience has uplifted the salon and everyone is delighted that we won. Now we can look forward to getting involved with all the amazing opportunities our prize package offers. Working on photo shoots with L'Oréal Professionnel is going to be the highlight of our win."

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