Student wows judges with classical hairstyle

Aleisha Ward with her winning entry in UCOL's History of Hair competition. PICTURE/SUPPLIED 020913WCSUP01.JPG

An Elizabethan-era hairstyle has won Wanganui hairdressing student Aleisha Ward a prestigious prize.

Aleisha Ward, 19, won the overall award at UCOL's History of Hair competition, held in Palmerston North recently. She also won the most professional student award.

Wanganui born and bred, Miss Ward is studying a pre-apprenticeship hairdressing course at Whanganui UCOL, and hopes to gain an apprenticeship at the end of the year.

The awards were open to all pre-apprentice hairdressing students across UCOL's three campuses. The students' brief was to re-create any hairstyle from any pre-20th century era.

Miss Ward said she and her classmates had been studying the history of hairstyles in class, and Miss Ward had also done her own research to come up with her winning style.

"I like the Elizabethan style of hair. The style I chose wasn't the sort of hairstyle Queen Elizabeth I would have had - hers would have been very fancy - but it's more like how an upper class lady of that time would have worn her hair."

Her win came with a prize package of hair products.

Miss Ward's win follows her second placing in the pre-apprentice category at the recent New Zealand Association of Registered Hairdressers competitions in Wanganui last month.

For that competition she created a "night style".

"It was exciting to take part, and I was just so excited to come second," Miss Ward said.

She admits she has always loved hair and particularly enjoys creating a hairstyle for a special occasion.

"When I see a picture of a cool hairstyle I always want to know how they created it - I want to know the mechanics of it."

Miss Ward dreams of owning her own salon, but for now she's focused on her studies and on gaining an apprenticeship at the end of the year.

"It's really full-on - but I just love it."