On Sunday 1 December, Twincare held the 30th annual Hairstylist of the Year finals at the Lyric Theatre. This was a fabulous night of entertainment, where guests were treated to spectacular shows from some of the most talented and creative hairdressers in the SA industry.
Twincare’s MD Stav Dimitriadis welcomed everyone to the show, and spoke about Twincare’s most exciting launches over the past year as well as what hairstylists could expect in early 2020. Stav then acknowledged two very special people. The first was a tribute to the iconic Darrel Watt who was Twincare’s Education Director for many years – his amazing humour and daring antics at previous Hairstylist of the Year shows will never be forgotten. The second was the very first winner of Hairstylist of the Year, industry icon Isabel Forssman, who was present at this event and invited onto stage to be honoured.
The judges were then welcomed onto stage – the judging panel included Janine Kotze, Savvas Hourrides, Sasha Mosafeer, Shanti o Hagan, Lewis Thomas and Giovanni Battista. Stav reminded the audience that the stage shows formed a percentage of the total marks, and that each contestant had also been judged on their portfolios submitted.
Stav and the Twincare team always perform a show to open this event and this year they out-performed themselves with a fabulous show and some seriously funky dance moves.
MC for the evening, the popular Duane Rockwell, then took the stage and he kept the action moving with his trademark energy and humour throughout the night.
The first event was the dramatic Avant Garde section, sponsored by Kevin Murphy, where hairdressing is given futuristic and larger-than-life interpretations and this year the shows were breathtaking as well as thought provoking. Competitors included Inge Ramos from Style Studio Platinium, Sasha-Lee de Vries from Pasquale, Crystal Andrews from Paul Mitchell Salon Pineslopes, Tristan Jade from Beautiful Chaos Blonde, and Karen Theunissen from LZ Hair Studio.
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The next section was the very popular The Boys, sponsored by Ref. These shows were all about edgy and trendsetting men’s hairdressing, and competitors included Aquilas John Mukendi from Paul Mitchell The Salon Mall of Africa, Leon Erasmus from Head Rush Hairdressing, and Macha Eksteen from Stijl Men.
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This was followed by the Team event, sponsored by Moroccanoil, and two teams vied for the prize this year with incredible, colourful themed shows. SHE team included Shantal Benecke from Blu Gel, Henry Wakefield from Henry E Hairdressing, and Eric Way from Groomed Academy. They competed against the team from Punked Hair Studio.
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This year, the Apprentice of the Year sponsored by Biosense, was held at a separate event during Salon International Africa, and the winner, Jesse Gallant from Images 1 Academy, was invited to Hairstylist of the Year to receive his award on stage.
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Finally it was time for the Hairstylist of the Year section, sponsored by Paul Mitchell. Five super-talented hairstylists took the stage, with phenomenal shows, to vie for the title of 2020 Hairstylist of the Year. Corlia Strydom from Wernology Hair Design, Tiffany Jade Sansom from Paul James Hairdressing, Raeesa Dawood from Raeesa Hair, Demi Butt from Show Hair and Beauty, and Eric Way Lovemore from Groomed Men.
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Just after interval there was a surprise announcement where a video started playing – and turned into a marriage proposal, making a new first-ever for fabulous happenings during the Hairstylist of the Year. Simon Long proposed on stage to HSOTY contestant Demi Butt – who gave him a delighted yes!
It was then time for the winners to be announced. The Best Show award was won by Sasha-Lee de Vries, who was also the winner of the avant-garde section. The Boys was won by Leon Erasmus, and the Team event by Team SHE featuring Shantal, Henry and Eric. The Hairstylist of the Year event was won by Raeesa Dawood.
After the awards were given, everyone was invited to party with the Twincare team and celebrations continued late into the night.
A huge thank you to every contestant – producing shows of this calibre is a huge achievement, and it was impressive how every contestant put their heart and soul into their show, along with bucket loads of talent and skill. The entire event was an accolade to the standard of SA hairdressing. A huge thank you to Twincare for creating this opportunity for our top hairstylists to shine. To produce an event like this year after year, and always keep it fresh, exciting and memorable, takes dedication and creativity.
Some socials from the event...
If you would like to know more about Twincare’s amazing brands, contact 011 305 1600 and like their Facebook page HERE.
Coming Soon in Hairnews: Look out for an interview with Raeesa, the new reigning Hairstylist of the Year, later in early January – and next year, we’ll be showcasing more amazing launches and innovations from Twincare.
