A HAWARDEN woman has been inspired to set up the North Wales Blow Dry Awards after committing to a weekly salon blow dry to help combat her depression.

Emma Leighton, 40, owned Divine Makeup in Hawarden for eight years before deciding to give up the salon to focus on her mental health and wellbeing.

One of the tools that Emma utilised to help her feel better was a weekly blow dry at a different salon each week around North Wales. Emma soon began blogging about the experience at myblowdry.com and decided to arrange the North Wales Blow Dry Awards to showcase local hairdressing talent.

Emma said: ''It might sound strange for someone in the beauty industry, but I’ve always disliked washing and drying my hair. It’s just such a faff and I can never get it to look right.

''I’ve suffered with depression for as long as I can remember and at my lowest, I would stop washing my hair at all. When I left Divine Makeup, having my hair done was a lifeline for me, and I realised that others might feel the same.''

The North Wales Blow Dry Awards are open to salons in Flintshire, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Conwy, Anglesey and Gwynedd. The top 5 salons in each county will be shortlisted with the winner for each county and the overall winner announced at the awards ceremony in May 2019. People can vote for their local salon for free at myblowdry.com

There will be an auction at the awards with all profits going to the group Flintshire Wives, founded by North Wales author Kat Massey, which focuses on mental health issues.

Emma hopes that her salon experience and understanding of mental health will help both salons and people suffering with depression.

She added: ''Salons can be a place to chat to meet people. For me, just having that appointment booked was a reason to get up and put my makeup on, and I’d walk out of the salon feeling so much better.

''As I was researching salons to go to, I also noticed that a lot of salons had incomplete details or limited digital presence. This is a great way for salons to get exposure for their business.''

As a born and bred North Wales resident and a mentor for Big Ideas Wales, Emma is also keen to promote entrepreneurship in North Wales.

She said: ''I know more than most how challenging running your own salon can be, and as I have my weekly blow dries around North Wales I am forever meeting hugely talented hairdressers who make life a bit brighter for lots of people.

''Most awards are held in Cardiff, so having the North Wales Blow Dry Awards right here in our region makes me very proud.''

If you would like to sponsor the North Wales Blow Dry Awards please email info@myblowdry.com.