Tips for entering the industry’s most prestigious awards

The organisers of the 2020 Professional Beauty Awards have released the following tips to facilitate any spas, salons, medical aesthetics clinics, nail salons, therapists, nail techs and managers wanting to enter the awards.

Winners will be announced at a gala dinner event taking place on 23 February at The Venue in Johannesburg’s Melrose Arch. The deadline for entries is 21 October.

To all entrants - first and foremost: DON’T PANIC. The Professional Beauty Awards team is always happy to help, so if you have any queries or problems please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Entering the Awards

Visit the Professional Beauty website (www.probeauty.co.za) and click on the ‘Awards’ tab at the top of the page. Or, just click here. Select a category and then email Obey Dube on obey@probeauty.co.za with your chosen category and she will gladly email you the required entry form.

Read the entry criteria. Be sure that you’re entering the right category for you by checking the entry criteria shown on the entry form.

Understand your responsibilities. If you are shortlisted as a finalist, you will then be visited by two mystery judges. All treatments, meals, services and beverages provided during the judges’ visit should be complimentary. If you are entering the Resort Spa or Game Reserve Spa categories, this may include an overnight stay in your property as well.

All shortlisted finalists are expected to send a representative to the awards night held in Johannesburg on 23 February 2020. We will provide one free ticket for one representative to attend the gala dinner, further tickets will be available for you to purchase, closer to the time. Those attending will need to pay and make their own arrangements for accommodation and/or travel.

Be available. Shortlisting for the Awards takes place between November and December, so please ensure that you are available for contact during these times, or assign a member of your team to handle Awards-related tasks while you’re away.

Make a note of important dates. Ensure you’re aware of the deadline date for entries – 21 October.

Don’t leave entering to the last minute. Our server experiences very high volumes of traffic around the deadline date, and this could mean that you fail to submit your entry in time or lose your submission. We cannot make exceptions to failure to meet the deadline, so please make sure you arrange to submit your entry well before the deadline.

Writing Your Entry

All entries must be written in English.

Give a valid phone number and email address on which the Awards team can contact you, and let us know right away if your details change.

Be clear and concise. The Awards Judges will have several entries to assess and you want yours to stand out! Grab their attention by jumping right into the best bits, and be sure to stay within the word limit for each question.

Back up your claims. Won any awards? Be sure to upload a certificate or photo. Featured in a magazine? Scan the article and provide it alongside your entry. Make the most of the Supporting Documents section to show the judges why you deserve to win.

Check and double-check your entry before you submit it. Make the best possible impression by ensuring that you have answered every question, and by checking carefully for errors.

Submitting Your Entry

Check your file format and sizes. The types and sizes of files we can accept as Supporting Documents are: JPEG, non-animated GIF, TIFF, PDF, DOC and XLS files only. If you need advice on how to convert to one of these file formats or reduce the size of your files, get in touch and we’ll be happy to advise. Files should NOT be larger than 2MB. Larger files will result in the upload failing and in some circumstances cause your entry information to be lost. If you are unsure of how large the files are please save your progress before attempting to upload files.

Save your progress regularly. It can take a while to perfect your entry. Make sure you save regularly while writing your answers, or in the event of a computer error you could lose all your hard work! Please save all elements in a folder and send this folder via www.wetransfer.com to obey@probeauty.co.za. Please make sure that you include your spa or salon name in the subject box. Instructions on how to use WeTransfer can be found on the entry form itself.

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