Denman chairman honoured at awards for services to beauty industry

Dr John Rainey MBE, chairman of Denman International – producer of the famous Denman hairbrushes – has been honoured for his contribution to the beauty industry at the inaugural NI Beauty Excellence Awards.

Held on 23 June in Belfast, the awards were professionally and independently judged by a local panel of experts: Linda Stinson, co-founder and director of Bellamianta Tan; Pamela Smyth, Emmy Award-winning make-up designer and founder of The Make-up Department; Katrina Doran, skincare specialist and make-up artist; Paul Stafford, Stafford Hair; and Dr Mervyn Patterson, medical director at Woodford Medical. 

Alongside 18 winners from across Northern Ireland, the panel selected Dr Rainey to take home the Outstanding Contribution to the Industry award to honour his decades of experience and management at Denman.

“John has built the business, which operates from Bangor in Co Down, to one of the biggest hairbrush businesses in the world, used by professionals in every country and has become synonymous with excellence within the industry,” said Stafford.

Other individuals and businesses rewarded on the night were Shankey Male Grooming for Barber/Male Grooming Establishment, Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort for Hotel Spa of the Year, Charlotte Tilbury’s Belfast Team for Make-up Studio of the Year, and He-Shi Tan for Beauty Product of the Year. Several independent salons and academies were also rewarded throughout the categories. 

“The inaugural NI Beauty Excellence Awards have been fantastic, from our judges to the standard of entries, and of course the impressive businesses and individuals who were finalists and won awards this year,” said event director Sarah Weir.