By Danielle Kutchel
A Berwick hair stylist is among the greatest colourists in Victoria, after winning a place in the final of a national hair colour competition.
Tiana Dean, now a qualified hairdresser at Fallachi Hair on Gloucester Avenue, Berwick, was one of the top five Victorian finalists in the Matrix Collective 2021 competition earlier this year.
At the time, she was a third-year apprentice and decided to give the competition a go while she completed her training.
She was the only apprentice to make the list of finalists in Victoria.
Using one of her co-workers as a model, she mixed together different shades of pink to come out with a light, shimmery hue that caught the judges’ eyes.
“It came out really nice,” Ms Dean said.
She snapped some pictures, noted down the details of the colour and sent them in for the competition – and was quickly told that she had been named a finalist.
“It was so exciting and so unexpected,” she said.
Ms Dean was invited to a training day where she recreated her look at Edwards and Co salon in the city to be judged against the other four finalists in person.
She said it was great to learn new tricks of the trade there from some of the industry’s best.
“I’d heard of a few of the stylists through the hairdressing world but it was great to see them as well.”
A Zoom party was later held where the winners from each state were announced.
Although Ms Dean wasn’t the winner, she said the experience has been invaluable as she moves on to the next stage of her hairdressing career.
“The experience is the biggest thing,” she said.
The salon also won a “hamper of goodies” including plenty of styling products for future creations.
Ms Dean is now looking forward to getting back in the salon after lockdown ends and doing what she does best.
She loves “the feeling of making someone feel really good about themselves” by giving them a new look.
And, she’s always happy to help people with a new colour, joking that everyone should try pink hair.
“Pink is my favourite colour!” she laughed.
