It's official - Rhianne Miller from Hawick is the region's top hair stylist

Rhianne Miller, 25, picked up the ‘Best Hair Stylist’ honour at the Scottish Business Awards, staged at the Philipburn Hotel in Selkirk recently.

It was quite an achievement as the Jedburgh-born stylist, who works as a self-employed stylist at Wilson’s in Melrose, is not too long into her chosen career.

Rhianne enjoyed a spell in hospitality at the Capon Tree in Jedburgh and also helped to run The Oak Lounge – now The Gretel – in Hawick for a time.

But it was always her long-term intention to plough her trade cutting and styling hair.

She said: "I actually had no idea of what I wanted to do when I left Jed Grammar and in a strange turn of events I left my job in an office and went to Borders College to see what courses they had available and the next week I was enrolled on the hairdressing course and it was the best thing I ever did.

“I was nominated for this award along with other hairdressers in the Borders and you were asked to share a link on your social media where your clients could vote for you. I also had a telephone interview with the Scottish Business Awards and then they sent a secret shopper into the salon who made an appointment and had a full service, so they got see what you were like as a person and as a stylist.

"I’m a chatterbox. I think that’s always a good sign for a hairdresser. I always believe you could be 90 per cent a good hairdresser but you are never fully 100 per cent unless you’re a chatterbox.

"I do my job because I love to make people feel good about themselves, especially when we came back to work after lockdown. It was such a great sense of pride seeing people leave the salon with such happy smiles on their faces because they feel and look good and you have helped them along with that.”

Rhianne added: “I now work full time and I’ve got over 150 clients. I have worked really hard, especially as we have been in lockdown. I’m very happy where I am at the moment. I absolutely love working in Melrose and they are such a great team at Wilson’s. It’s a very well-established salon.”