Behind the scenes at the Nail Professional of the Year 2017 judging day

On Friday (September 23) we visited the London College of Beauty Therapy to get a fly-on-the-wall look at the judging process for Professional Beauty's Nail Professional of the Year 2017.

Five finalists – Rebecca Abernethy, Katie Barnes, Michelle Brookes, Kayley Cairns and Metta Francis – went head-to-head to show off their skill and expertise, having to complete a practical exam and an interview.

In the practical examination finalists had one hour and 45 minutes to perform a range of treatments – treatment one: three nails with a natural manicure, file and polish; treatment two: two nails with soak-off gel polish; treatment three: four nails with pink and white nail enhancement; and treatment four: one nail with nail art. Two judges conducted floor judging while the other two did curtain judging.

The finalists then had to endure a 10–15-minute interview with all four judges, where they were asked a range of questions from what it means to be a nail tech to what the win would mean to them.

The judges for the day were nail competition director and salon owner Denise Wright, Essie education manager Kruti Ghandi, CND education ambassador Fee Wallace, and OPI master tech Lee Moore.

The winner of the Professional Beauty Nail Professional of the Year 2017 Award will be unveiled at a glittering ceremony in London on February 26.

Images (top to bottom): Michelle Brookes, Rebecca Abernethy, Katie Barnes, Metta Francis and Kayley Cairns.