Third-year hairdressing apprentice Sophie Kinson is off to the Gold Coast to compete in a national hairdressing competition.
Ms Kinson is about to finish her qualifications at Busselton's Wavelengths Salon Studio and had an opportunity to take part in the World Skills Regional Competition.
She come out best for the South-West region.
Held every two years, World Skills has more than 50 trades and skills compete at 34 regions across Australia.
The best are chosen to take part in a national competition and the ones who come out on top are selected for an international event.
As part of the competition, Ms Kinson was required to compete in three events including a short ladies cut, men's classic cut and a hair-up.
"We were assessed on our skills, different practices in a salon environment, and who was the best all-round hairdresser," she said.
"We were marked out of 100 for all three events, I received 80/100 points which is a really good achievement."
Ms Kinson is now heading to the Gold Coast to compete against all the other gold medalists from each region of Australia.
"It is a three-day event where you show off your skills in front of a massive group of people," she said.
"It does not feel real yet, but it is amazing it has changed the way I feel about myself and my work.
"It was the first time I have done a competition and I did not expect to do so well, I went for the experience and fun of it."
Ms Kinson said she loved her chosen career and being the person who could change someone's life by making them feel good about themselves.
"Hairdressers have the ability to help people change the way they look at themselves," she said.
"I love being able to make people feel good about themselves."
