BY EMMA DODD
A HAIRSTYLIST from Henley has won a national award for the fourth time.
Enrica Russo, 32, who works at Dorata Hairdressing in Hart Street, scooped first prize in the creative image category of the Salon Awards 2025 held at Hilton Bankside Hotel in London earlier this month.
It is the fourth consecutive year the stylist has taken the prize home after previously winning the award in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Ms Russo submitted a number of hairstyles for the judges’ consideration and was chosen out of hundreds of entries from across the UK.
Each submission was carefully reviewed by an independent panel of industry experts in hairdressing, salon business, marketing and design. The judging process focused on originality, client experience, professionalism and overall impact.
‘The judging process focused on originality, client experience,
professionalism and overall impact’
Ms Russo, who found out she was a finalist a couple of months ago, said that she was “very” surprised to have received the award.
She was unable to attend the ceremony due to work commitments but a video of the ceremony was captured by her partner Andrea Dorata, who runs the business with his siblings, Angelo and Simona.
Ms Russo said: “It was quite surprising because I enter every year and this is my fourth year in a row winning the same award.
“Every year I think, ‘I can’t win another year, it’s impossible’.
“I was speechless. I can’t even describe it. It’s so cool when you see such a big screen with your image from your collection and your name.”
Angelo, who is the director of the Henley-on-Thames branch of Dorata, trained in Italy and moved to the UK in the early Nineties, soon followed by his siblings Andrea and Simona.
Ms Russo, who previously worked in a salon in Chelsea before moving to Henley, is coincidentally from Syracuse, the same town in Sicily as the salon owners, whom she met in London.
She said her favourite design she submitted to the awards features intricate braids that she had styled on Afro-textured hair and then wrapped with colourful yarn.
Her designs come from her latest project, “Creatures”, an avant-garde collection that explores themes of the wild, the whimsical and the unexplored. Each style took her several days to complete.
She has also won major international awards, including best international avant-garde collection at the International Hairdressing Awards 2023.
Ms Russo joined the Henley branch of Dorata, which is run by Angelo and Simona, at the beginning of June.
“I’m really happy to be here,” she said. “It’s a really nice family business and I love Angelo and Simona.
“They’re really nice and really kind and moving from London was a big change for me.”