Empire Cosmetology Student Wins Grand Prize in the ISO Red Carpet Texture Challenge
One lucky grand prize winner and four runners-up recently collected well-earned prizes from ISO for their fantastic work with texture. ISO, makers of the award-winning ISO Options Waves and Mane Tamer, sponsored a Red Carpet Texture Photo Competition, and challenged students from the 110 Empire Education Group cosmetology schools to show off their texture skills. The winners were announced during the annual Empire Future Professional Expo, held in Hershey, PA.
Student Joyce Whitley claimed the grand prize in the competition, which received more than 100 entries. Joyce will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the Artistic Institute in Connecticut for a class with Joico Celebrity Colorist George Papanikolas; a K-PAK ReconstRx Vapor Iron and Blow Dryer; a Beth Minardi haircolor education DVD set and a selection of ISO waves and hair products. Runners up—Georgia Kuntz, Lashawna Strayhom, Crystal McQueen and Graciela Silva—also earned fabulous ISO and Joico prizes.
According to ISO Territory Manager Linda Gilbride, the contest was conceived to link the textured looks currently seen on the red carpet with texturizing products. “It was designed to make texture fresh, modern and fun,” she notes. Students were required to use one of the ISO Options Waves or Mane Tamer to create the look, and were not permitted to use extensions, wigs, pieces, braids or twists. Blind judging was performed by Gilbride, along with ISO National Guest Artists Christopher Fiffe, Bill Hildebrandt, Katy Cecci and Kelly Davies and Joico/ISO Brand Manager Tracey Nuhn. Gilbride describes Whitley’s winning look as “smooth and soft, with beautiful movement and wave and very modern. It was everything we were looking for,” she adds. “We could easily picture it on a number of celebrities.”
According to ISO Territory Manager Linda Gilbride, the contest was conceived to link the textured looks currently seen on the red carpet with texturizing products. “It was designed to make texture fresh, modern and fun,” she notes. Students were required to use one of the ISO Options Waves or Mane Tamer to create the look, and were not permitted to use extensions, wigs, pieces, braids or twists. Blind judging was performed by Gilbride, along with ISO National Guest Artists Christopher Fiffe, Bill Hildebrandt, Katy Cecci and Kelly Davies and Joico/ISO Brand Manager Tracey Nuhn. Gilbride describes Whitley’s winning look as “smooth and soft, with beautiful movement and wave and very modern. It was everything we were looking for,” she adds. “We could easily picture it on a number of celebrities.”
Among the most popular demonstrations, according to Fiffe, were the cotton ball and makeup sponge wraps. “We use these techniques with ISO Options Waves to create a nice boost in short hair,” he explains. “I showed the students how to wrap the top lengths around cotton balls and clip them into place to support the hair as it processes. It doesn’t produce curl, but it gently lifts the hair off the scalp. It’s a great service-to-service chemical treatment as it lasts just four-to-six weeks. We also showed them how to work in the same manner with make-up sponges to create a crisper edge to the shape.”
Among the students’ many “aha” moments during Fiffe’s classes was the segment on ISO Mane Tamer. “They were excited to learn how to use Mane Tamer as an alternative to straightening services that make hair poker straight and unable to hold a curl,” he notes. “We showed them how to apply the product, process and then neutralize on magnetic rollers to smooth the cuticle while maintaining body and movement. We explained that there is no damage with Mane Tamer and it contains no dangerous chemicals, so if the client wants more movement at some point, they can easily go back and apply an ISO Options Wave. This is the ‘straightening generation,'” he adds, “and they were really excited about this new spin on the subject.”