Bec Judd and Nadia Bartel’s UVA Salon in the running for national hairdresser title

She boasts Rebecca Judd and Nadia Bartel among her clients and friends and her salon is shortlisted for a national title. Prahran’s celebrity snipper reveals how she’s built up her star-studded clientele.

Hairstylist to the stars Marie Uva in her Greville St salon. Picture Norm Oorloff

The team at a top Greville St hair salon is gearing up to defend their title of best hair salon in Australia.

UVA Salon — which last year won the coveted Salon Team of the Year award at the national Hair Expo Awards — joins nine other salons vying for this year’s gong.

Owner Marie Uva — who boasts the likes of Rebecca Judd and Nadia Bartel as clients and friends — said she felt humbled by the nomination. “For a salon that’s only been open a short amount of time, it’s a big thing to receive it,” she said.

Her star-studded client list included WAGs Bec Judd and Nadia Bartel, who she styled before all their big events.

“Bec Judd and Nadia Bartel are easy to work with and love the UVA wave as their go-to for events and any social events,” she said.

“Being able to work with my friends on a weekly basis makes what I do so much more satisfying and fun.”

UVA Salon, which opened in 2013, has more than 20 staff.

Revealing the secrets to her success, Ms Uva said it all started with her motto to staff: “Do what I do, not what I say”.

“When you’re naturally gifted, which I was lucky enough to be, and you’re passionate, it’s a good mix,” she said.

“I can’t tell them what to do, I have to show them.”

Ms Uva said she believed every woman, regardless of celebrity status, was equally important when they sat in her chair.

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“I treat all my clients the same, whether I’m doing Gigi Hadid’s hair or my client I’ve been doing for 20 years,” she said.

“I think that’s what makes me ‘me’.”

She also doesn’t believe in hair trends.

“I mean, everyone goes lighter and brighter in summer and deeper and darker in winter, but I believe in what suits people,” she said.

“I think a good hairdresser knows to look at each face and gives you something that suits you.

The Hair Expo Awards winners will be announced on June 10 in Sydney.

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