Tips For Entering

Increase Your Chances

The UK Hair and Beauty Awards are not a pay to win or pay to place competition. and reaching the National Top 100 is not guaranteed. We also change our criteria each year to allow for new winners and placements. Our human approach to awards gives even the smallest of businesses the chance to achieve first place.

Whilst there's no set way to win, and HBA don't release a 'cheat sheet' criteria, there are still ways you can improve your chances for 2026, and this page is designed to help you understand what the judges are really looking for.

Disclaimer: These tips are designed to help entrants understand more about our process, and does not guarantee any winnings or placings as the criteria is changed annually.

Communicate Your Story
It is no secret that submissions are judged on technical skill, but did you know previous year's criteria looked at you as an individual? Your personal and business story, journey into the industry and resilience are all factors in what makes your business what it is today.
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‎It is important to communicate these points effectively as the panel don't know you, and only see the anonymous submission in front of them - not your socials.
Details Are Important
One word answers are a no go, or when asked why you should win 'because I am the best' (whilst it may be true) will not score highly with the judges.
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It is important to remember, there is a real person reading the answers, so we encourage entrants to try to speak to them through their submission, and show why they are different from others, answering the same questions.
Filling In Your Form Correctly
It is important to fill in your form correctly to avoid losing marks. In the past, many submissions have had questions left blank, answered in the wrong box or uploaded the wrong evidence/not what is asked for.
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‎You can always upload additional evidence after you've attached what is asked for in the form, but judges will mark you down if information/evidence is missing.

Don't Edit Your Photos - We Know!
This is a biggie! We have a system that can detect whether photos have been altered with Facetune, FaceApp or similar.
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It is important to use unedited photos with no filter. Our judges are all professionals, and are briefed beforehand that they are judging the quality of the work, not the quality of the pictures - so even if your photo skills aren't the best - it doesn't matter - it just needs to be real!
Say NO to AI!
At HBA, we are big on real jobs for real people, and real connections with our community. We want to hear from YOU, not Chat-GPT!
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Please don't use AI to answer your submission questions - it has a habit of using the same words and phrases, and before you know it, your submission is the same as someone else's using AI too!
Draft your Answers
You don’t need to hit “submit” straight away. Draft your answers on a separate document, review them, and make sure they fully cover the questions, while highlighting everything you want our judges to know.