Beautiful, wearable hair. It’s every woman’s dream, whether that dream is for a subtle cut and colour or a head-turning cut and colour, you want it to the highest of standards, and designed just for you.

If anyone gets this, it’s Canberra’s Leslie Henshaw, from Next Hair, who has just won Salon Stylist of the Year, Australian Hair Industry Awards.

“Colour is fabulous. It’s a great confidence booster for a client, who walks out of the salon with their head held high and feeling like a new person,” says Leslie. “It’s also a dynamic and exciting component of the industry for me as a professional.”

Leslie’s passion about styling and colour hair runs deep and he’s done Canberra proud by winning this national title. Not only does Leslie show his talent as Head Colourist and Senior Stylist at Next, he does through his work as an educator in training—across Australia and in Hong Kong, China and the Philippines. His education and training work has culminated in another big win. Leslie has just self-published The Hair Colour Bible, a rich industry resource on in-depth colour theory and techniques.

Leslie’s work is amazingly diverse and he works incredibly hard at refining his unique style and technique. Throughout his career, Leslie has completed more than 140 professional photo shoots. He’s worked with industry icons, award-winning photographers, top models and dozens of fashion designers, including several who have been spotted on the catwalk at FASHFEST. Indeed, Leslie himself has lent his talent to the event, working backstage at FASHFEST one year. And he’s worked on many other runway shows, including for the big guns like Wayne Cooper.

Leslie’s work has been published extensively in Canberra, nationally and overseas. One example is his Chromatophores collection, which has been published 42 times internationally, including in artCoiffure Russia and disconnect (Hong Kong).

And last, but not least, Leslie generously donates his time to travel to the Philippines as a volunteer for Hair Aid, a not-for-profit organisation that provides hair-cutting training for low-income individuals, helping them to develop livelihood skills.

Keen on a new cut or colour? Whether you wear it long, short, sleek or curly, classic or quirky … you can find Leslie at Next Hair in Braddon. 62472062.