Abacus took the L’Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy during a glitzy ceremony in London.

The prestigious L’Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy is the longest running hairdressing event in the calendar.  A unique combination of creative hairdressing, acclaimed judges, live fashion shows and fantastic prizes continue to make the competition highly anticipated every year.

The 2010 award winners; Abacus Hair, created an overall look inspired by fashion, they combined their finely tuned cutting techniques and technically excellent colour skills to create a model image that wowed the judging panel and earned them their coveted title.

Allison says “Winning the L’Oreal Colour Trophy is an absolutely fantastic experience, a dream come true! We have been striving for this goal and all the blood, sweat and tears eventually paid off. We knew it would instantly boost our recognition, it is a fabulous accolade for our business profile”.

The capital’s Grosvenor House Ballroom, Park Lane, hosted the event, during which Abacus’s team impressed a panel of judges with their artistic ability, beating competition from more than 28 regional L’Oréal Professionnel Colour Trophy finalists from across the UK.

The look that captured the judge’s eye merged the classic Purdy cut with rich chocolate colour segments, finished with a polished shine.

Nick Ford, Abacus salon owner, said: “We wanted to take an iconic cut and incorporate colour tones that are both on‐trend and have clear client appeal.”

More than 1,000 top industry figures saw Abacus staff take to the stage to collect their award from television presenter, George Lamb and Vincent Mercier, managing director, L’Oréal Professionnel Products Division UK.

Mr Ford said: “It felt amazing to go up on stage with our team in front of the hairdressing industry’s most creative hairdressers.

“It has been a long journey of hard work and determination. We have tried a few times for this award and even won our region in 2009, so this brought all of our perseverance and passion to an amazing finale.”

Abacus’s prize includes a Year of Dreams, with a tailor‐made calendar of opportunities.

Mr Ford said: “Winning this award is an amazing achievement and means so much to us.

“We are really excited about the forthcoming year and feel this is set to propel our business and really inspire our staff to aim high.”

HJi talks to the 2010 L’Oreal Professionel Colour Trophy Grand Final winners from Abacus Hair Studio in Bewdley on the set of their cover shoot for HJ