Salon Success Students Win Big At Barristar Hair Show

Two teams of students from the Salon Success Academy Fontana campus took home top honors at the Barristar Hair Show Student Team Competition at the Anaheim Convention Center on Monday, April 8th. One team placed first place overall, as well as first place in the hair and makeup categories. A second team of Fontana students placed third overall, as well as second place in makeup and third place in nails.

Both teams were guided by their cosmetology school instructor, Ms. Brandy Edwards, who actually competed in the hair show six years earlier as a beauty school student. She knew from experience that this was a one of the best hair competitions around and it would serve as a great learning tool and resume builder for her students.

“When you graduate from cosmetology school, most jobs require you to audition in order to become a stylist. Competing help the students get used to being watched and critiqued. It gives them the confidence they need for their future job search,” Ms. Brandy said.

Ms. Brandy handpicked two teams of cosmetology students to compete at the hair show. She chose these students because they were interested in competing and extremely talented.  The teams then collaborated with Ms. Brandy to determine the theme for look they would create at the competition.

Team 1 – Breakfast at Tiffany’s theme
Vanessa Hernandez (hair)
Brenda Fernandez (nails)
Maria Ramirez (makeup)
Nicole Kasner (model)

Team 2 – Pink Flamingo theme
Herminia Cuevas (makeup and hair)
Maria Ramirez (nails)
Jazmine Lopez (model)

Leading up to the competition, Ms. Brandy said the students were practicing nonstop, drilling between taking clients on the clinic floor and at home during their spare time.  They also organized various fundraisers in order to raise money to purchase the supplies they needed for the competition. Not only did they need to stock their kits, they also purchased shoes, clothes, and jewelry for their models to wear to complete their finished looks.

The day of the competition, Ms. Brandy and her students drove to Anaheim in the early morning and started practicing in a hotel room. Once the competition began, each team had 90 minutes to style their model’s total look, 30 minutes for each section, before it was turned over to the panel of judges to be critiqued.

The first team’s look was inspired by Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. They styled their model’s updo and makeup just like Audrey’s was styled in the movie. Nicole’s long, spiky nails were painted Tiffany’s blue with one nail designed to look like a Tiffany’s jewelry box.

“One of the judges told me that he loved my updo. He’s a world champion hair stylist, so for him to say that made me feel really good,” Vanessa said, who styled Nicole’s updo.

The second team styled their model’s pink and black hair in a sleek updo to match their Pink Flamingo theme. Jazmine’s eyeshadow colors resembled a pink sunset. Her manicure was painted to match with hand painted flamingos and sail boat on each one of her nails.

An hour later, the judges announced the winners of the 19 teams competing that day. Coming in first place was the ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ look styled by Team 1. They also took home first place for Vanessa’s updo and first place for Maria’s makeup. Team 2’s Pink Flamingo look was awarded third place overall, second place for Herminia’s makeup, and third place  for Maria’s manicure.

“I wasn’t sure if we would win. There were lots of good teams and talented students. I cried when I found out we won!” Maria said.

Salon Success Academy offers hands on training in cosmetology, esthetics, and nail technology at its five locations throughout the Inland Empire of California. The school offers flexible class schedules, extensive preparation for the State Board exam, and Financial Aid assistance to students who qualify. If you would like to learn more about training for a beautiful new career with Salon Success Academy, please fill out this form or call 877-987-HAIR (4247).

All photos are courtesy of Shonny Annette at JMP Artistry.