AN Aberystwyth hairdresser has been named the best curly hair stylist in Wales.

Cyrl Cymru on Alexandra Road and its owner, Richard James has been named curly hair stylist of the year for the whole of Wales.

Mr James called the competition very difficult, saying: Iit was like writing a CV, I was asked about my business, and my highlights of running, as well as write essays on cutting curly hair. It took me a solid month to get everything done, I was working right up to the deadline.”

When Mr James was invited to the ceremony at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London, he hoped he’d be a finalist of the competition.

He added: “I have really put the work in, so I thought it would be really good to get into the finals, but when I won, I was shocked!

“You can never go into something like this expecting you’re going to win it.

“Especially when I was there on the night, every little doubt and worry was eating away at me - ‘have I used the best pictures, how good was my technique’ it was all running through my head.”

Mr James, who is originally from Cardigan, opened his salon in Aberystwyth last year during lockdown.

“I always had a strong desire to open my own salon, but I was very anxious about it, but after the pandemic

“I thought, there’s never a good time to open a business, and I went for it.

“People with curly hair won’t find a salon that can cut their hair very easily, so I knew I had to step in.

“It used to be frustrating for me to cut too, because I didn’t know how to do it. You’re not trained to cut curly hair any different to straight hair. But people shouldn’t have trouble cutting their hair because it’s different.”

This is why Mr James has begun offering specialised training in cutting curly hair, and has already trained three stylists in Aberystwyth, as well as interest from hairdressers from as far away as London.

He said: “I was really surprised by it, there are plenty of stylists who can do curly hair in London, but for someone to want to see me was an honour.”

On top of this, Mr James has also featured on S4C’s ‘Prynhawn da’ for his hairdressing abilities, and held a pop up stall in the Eisteddfod. He hopes that he will be able to put his techniques and knowledge into a book, and has entered himself into the Welsh Hair and Beauty Awards happening in 2023.