This probably isn’t how you imagine finding out you’ve won an award.

There was no glamorous dress.

No stage.

No champagne.

I wasn’t even at the awards ceremony.

I was at home BBQ’ing chicken for the kids when my phone suddenly lit up.

Life had got in the way, as it sometimes does, and I hadn’t managed to make it to the Hair and Beauty UK Awards that evening.

Of course I was disappointed not to be there, but sometimes being a mum, running a business and just generally juggling real life means plans change.

So there I was, getting dinner sorted, completely unaware of what was happening elsewhere…

And then my phone started going crazy.

Messages.

Notifications.

Congratulations.

And the words I genuinely wasn’t expecting to read:

I’d won Best for Aesthetics at the Hair and Beauty UK Awards.

I think there was a moment where I just stood there, probably still holding the BBQ tongs, thinking…

Wait. WHAT?!

Not exactly the glamorous awards-night moment you picture, is it?

But looking back, I actually love that this is how I found out.

Because it feels very me.

Behind the polished clinic, the treatments, the training, the photographs and the achievements, there’s still real life happening.

There are kids to feed.

A business to run.

A million things to juggle.

And apparently, chicken to BBQ while winning awards.

What “Best for Aesthetics” Means to Me

Once it had actually sunk in, I started thinking about what winning this award meant to me.

And it’s much bigger than being able to put the words “award-winning” next to my name.

Aesthetics is incredibly personal.

People aren’t simply booking an appointment or buying a treatment. They are trusting me with their face, their confidence and, importantly, their safety.

I never take that trust lightly.

My approach has never been about doing the most.

Sometimes good aesthetics means treating.

Sometimes it means doing less.

And sometimes it means being confident enough to look at somebody and say:

“You don’t need anything.”

So to have my work and my approach recognised with Best for Aesthetics genuinely means a lot.

The Part You Don’t See

Awards are funny because eventually you get the beautiful photograph.

The dress.

The stage.

The trophy.

The perfect image for social media.

But you don’t see everything that happened before that photograph.

The years of training.

The studying.

The investment.

The self-doubt.

The late nights.

The difficult decisions.

The consultations where I’ve said no.

The treatments I’ve decided not to do.

The constant analysing of my own work and thinking, How could I make this even better?

And all of that happened alongside normal life.

Being a mum.

Running a business.

Trying to be present for the people who matter to me.

And occasionally missing something huge because life simply had other plans.

That’s why I think finding out about this award while making dinner for my kids was strangely perfect.

The glamorous moments are wonderful, but they’re not where the success is built.

It’s built in all the ordinary days in between.

This Award Belongs to My Clients Too

There is no clinic without the people who choose to walk through its doors.

Every client who has trusted me with their face, returned for another appointment, recommended me to somebody they love, left a review, sent a lovely message or simply supported what I’m building has played a part in this.

You allow me to do something I genuinely love.

And when somebody chooses you as their aesthetics practitioner, that relationship means far more than an appointment in the diary.

So although my name might be on the award, there are a lot of people behind it.

Thank you.

And Now I Get to Pass It On

One of the things I’m becoming increasingly passionate about is education.

As my experience has grown, so has my desire to teach and share what I’ve learned with other aesthetics practitioners.

I don’t believe knowledge should be gatekept.

If something I’ve learned over the years can help another practitioner become safer, more confident or better at what they do, I want to share it.

When I teach, my goal isn’t to create practitioners who simply copy me.

I want the practitioners I teach to eventually become better than me.

Because raising standards shouldn’t stop at the doors of your own clinic.

The more knowledgeable, ethical and confident practitioners we have in aesthetics, the better our industry becomes for everyone.

So, What Happens After You Win?

You carry on.

You go back to your clients.

You keep learning.

You keep questioning.

You keep teaching.

You keep improving.

You keep being Mum.

And yes…

You finish BBQ’ing the chicken. 😂

Winning Best for Aesthetics at the Hair and Beauty UK Awards is something I’m incredibly proud of.

Maybe I didn’t get my big moment standing in the room when my name was announced.

But somehow, the way I actually found out means even more to me.

Because the trophy is one moment.