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WINNER: Afro hairstylist Charlotte Mensah

FORMER AFRO Hairdresser of the Year Charlotte Mensah has added another top accolade to her trophy cabinet.

Last night (Sept 5) British-Ghanaian hair stylist took home the Best Afro Hair Enhancer for her Charlotte Mensah Manketti Hair Oil at the Best Beauty by Stylist Awards, less than six months after launching in the UK.

The Best Beauty by Stylist Awards, which took place at London's trendy Vinyl Factory, are the biggest consumer beauty awards in the UK.

Boasting 112 categories, 10 honorary Beauty Hero Awards, plus a judging panel of 500 readers and 50 beauty experts, the ceremony is designed to find the best, most-revered hair, make-up, skin, nails and body products on the market today.

More than 250 movers and shakers from the beauty industry were in attendance as the Mensah's unique hair oil fought off stiff competition to be named Best Afro Hair Enhancer.

Launched in mid-March 2016, the Manketti Hair Oil, was created by multi-award winning Charlotte Mensah to deliver moisture, softness, definition and shine to Afro, mixed-race and all curl hair types, whilst still allowing weightless movement.

Ethically and sustainably sourced from manketti nuts, which grow on mongongo trees in northern Namibia, manketti is loaded with Vitamin E and a plethora of nutrients including calcium, magnesium, protein, zinc and copper. Unlike coconut oil that is higher in saturated fatty acids or monosaturated jojoba oil, Manketti is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which act as a barrier to help prevent moisture from escaping from the hair for longer. Suitable for weaves, natural, relaxed, braided and colour-treated hair, the product is also free from SLS, parabens and silicones.

A delighted Charlotte Mensah, who is also the founder of the Hair Lounge salon in Portobello Road declared: “I’m absolutely thrilled that my Manketti Hair Oil has won Best Afro Hair Enhancer, especially as the product only launched just under 6 months ago. I poured over 26 years of my expertise into the creation of my manketti oil haircare collection and it took six years of research, development and testing to bring it to the market. So to have it recognised by one of the beauty industry's biggest awards is incredible and makes all of the hard work worthwhile."

she added: "The manketti Hair oil as well as the shampoo and conditioner that are also currently available, are just the start. I have some new and very exciting manketti oil products in the pipeline which I plan to unveil in 2017, so watch this space!”

Pouring over 26 years of expertise into the line, Mensah believes stylists know best when it comes to choosing the best products for customers’ tresses.

“I felt there was a need for an Afro hairstylist to come up with a range,” she told The Voice earlier this year. “We do the hair, so we get the first hand knowledge. We hear our client’s needs and see how their hair responds to certain products.”

She adds: “Everyone wants the same thing – healthy, shiny, beautiful hair – and that’s what they can get with my manketti oil range.”