A WEE COUNTY woman has been hailed as one of the most talented hairdressers in the UK after qualifying for the final of a skills competition.

Florence Neilson was recognised in the regional heat in Glasgow after presenting her model to judges and will now go down to London in September for the grand UK and Ireland final.

The 24-year-old currently plies her trade at Rhona McCallum Hair in Alloa where she is still developing.

Florence told the Advertiser: "I'm very happy, obviously, but I did put in a lot of hard work to get there.

"I do try and enter quite a lot of different things to try and get myself out there and make myself as recognised as I can and different from other hairdressers around."

This particular competition, The Wella Professionals Trendvision Award 2019, is a year-round contest which began in January with photographic entries.

Florence was then chosen to attend a regional heat with her model to present their look.

Down in London at the final, Florence will be working on her model in front of the judges and if she wins, she will go through to an international event in Seville with face-to-face mentoring from global hairdressing icons.

While nerves may be a factor on the day, the talented hairdresser is keeping her focus and is already planning what to do with her model.

She added: "I have done it all myself. I looked at pictures and different colours which are in trend for this season.

"I'll do something slightly different and just make it better and more polished, but I'll be on the same wavelength as last time."

For Rhona, it is also a huge accomplishment for the shop to have one of the finest hairdressers in the country on her books.

The entire team at the salon will also be accompanying Florence down to London to cheer her on.

Rhona said: "It is amazing to put us on the map, little Alloa to be up there with everyone else.

"It's brilliant to have clients come in and know that we have staff who enter competitions and win them."

"I'm so proud of her," the salon owner added. "She's done really, really well and worked very hard towards this and it's good to see her progress."

The next stage of the competition takes place at The Roundhouse, Camden, on September 30, where Florence will find out if she has won.