If anybody knows a thing or two about winning hair competitions, it’s Maggie Mulhern.
You probably know Maggie as Modern Media’s beauty and fashion director. Maggie joined the Modern team in the 1980s and has spent more than three decades covering the professional beauty industry internationally.
In addition to writing for both print and the Modern Salon website, Maggie travels globally as a journalist to report on the latest trends, products and techniques in the professional beauty world. She's known for her keen eye and has judged hundreds of national competitions such as NAHA, and international competitions such as Wella International Trend Vision and of course, Goldwell Color Zoom among others.
Maggie is an amazing advocate for hair professionals. She even put together her own two-day workshop called Artist Session, focused around helping others learn how to shoot hair, and today she’s going to speak into exactly what it takes to snap that perfect photo and win a hair competition.
Why Enter a Hair Competition, You Ask?
Hair competitions are nothing new. If you think back to early hair shows there was always a competitive element, whether they were measuring barbering skills, cutting techniques or the size and volume of the perm, hairdressers have always been competing.
Of course, now there are so many different kinds of hair competitions that it can be hard to keep count. There are live competitions like NAHA, print and photo competitions like the #Oneshot Hair Awards, and so much more.
So, why enter into a hair competition? Maggie says not only does it help you work better as an artist, but it also helps you define your skills and make a name for yourself in this industry.
Not to mention, the level of exposure you’ll receive if you win is unmatched, and honestly, the odds are in your favor. Maggie has judged so many of these competitions and the truth is, the percentage of people who actually enter is really quite small.
So, you just might take home the gold, and these steps will help you get there.
STEP 1: Come Up With a Concept for Your Contest Submission
Hair competitions usually have themes and sometimes there are even multiple categories that you can choose to enter into. So, it’s important to hone in on exactly the kind of look you want to create and come up with a well-rounded concept that is unique to your category but still within the parameters of the theme.
Maggie emphasizes the importance of thinking head to toe. Although the hair is the focal point, the judges will take everything into account when picking a winner. If the hair is big and the accessories scream 80s, the outfit should match. If the hair is avant-garde but the makeup is bland or boring, you might be siphoned out. If the look is super put together but the model’s nails are chipped, they’re knocking points off for sure.
So, when coming up with a concept for your photo or for your session on stage, remember to look at the whole picture in order to really elevate your look.
STEP 2: Assemble Your Team and Find a Model
First thing’s first, you need a model.
Regardless of whether you’re participating in a live competition or something more editorial, you’re going to need someone who’s willing to be your head of hair. Maggie says that no matter what, it’s best to find a model with a long neck to really show off your work.
Of course, if you’re doing an editorial shoot, you’ll need a few more helping hands. If you’re the stylist, you’re in charge of the hair and that’s about it, but there are so many other components to creating the perfect shot, so the next step is assembling a kick-ass team.
Like we mentioned earlier, no details should be spared. At the bare minimum, you’re likely going to need a makeup artist, wardrobe stylist and a photographer. Maggie says that it’s super important to bring in a photographer who knows how to highlight hair. In her experience, fashion photographers will take photos that tend to put the focus on the clothes because that’s what they’re used to, but you want to make sure that the hair remains the focal point of your shot.
Quick Tip: Maggie says it’s all in the lighting. She recommends against any shadows, because as a judge, she would assume that the photographer is trying to hide something. If you want to draw the viewer’s eye to the hair, it needs to be well-lit.
Maggie emphasizes the importance of putting together a solid team of people that you trust and know how to have fun with. Afterall, you’re the one driving this vision, so you get to choose who you want along for the ride.
STEP 3: Bring Your Look to Life
Once you’ve gotten your A-players to agree to the job, it’s time to get to work.
Maggie suggests creating a mood board with ideas and iterations of every aspect of the look that you’d like to recreate so that everyone has something to refer to. From the particular lip color to the model’s pose, it’s important to have a plan.
Then, you need to schedule a time and place for everyone to come together and bring this look to life. It’s important to map out the timing accordingly, so that everybody has ample time to complete their portion of the look.
That being said, Maggie says you absolutely must be honest and upfront with your team about how long it’s going to take to do the hair. You don’t want the makeup to wear while you’re still styling. You also don’t want the hair to fall while you’re putting on the finishing touches. And of course, you need plenty of time to get the perfect shot. Timing is everything!
A Few Extra Tips and Tricks That Will Help You Bring Home the Gold
It really is as easy as one, two, three!
There are no barriers to entry, so never let yourself believe that you’re not good enough to participate in a hair competition. Some stylists spend tons of time and money assembling a well-known team and curating an expensive, high-end look, and others won’t spend a dime and they’ll wrap the whole thing up in a matter of hours.
There’s no right way to go about entering a competition like this. But Maggie leaves us with a few extra tips and tricks that will help you no matter your budget or time constraints.
Always enter the right category and plan accordingly. If there are multiple categories to choose from, figure out which one lights your fire and get to work.
Follow the rules. It might sound obvious, but sometimes participants get so wrapped up in their own concepts that they forget all about the theme. If there needs to be glitter in the shot, add some freaking glitter.
Know the judges. Of course, this information isn’t always disclosed to the participants, but if you are privy to who’s going to be judging the competition or your particular category, take it and run with it. Do your research and play to the judges favor, it absolutely never hurts.
Want to learn more about Maggie, Modern Media, and what it takes to win a hair competition? Listen to the podcast that inspired this blog, episode 197. And if you want more insight on industry trends and forecasting, we think you’ll love episode 243, “Creating Trends with Charles Ifergan!”