| Beauty Articles :: Beauty School Confidential |
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| Courtesy of Empire Beauty Schools: Cut, Color, Style and a Trip to London?! |
| by Elise B. Zito |
Every year, Empire Beauty Schools, which consists of 37 campuses spread across the U.S., hosts a National Hairstyling Competition and Show. This year, the grand prize is an all-expenses paid trip to London, as well as the opportunity to work with top North American hairstylists. Read on to meet two of the Empire beauty School's style-savvy contenders.
Stylin' in the Fastlane
Who says you can't mix racing cars at 130 mph on dirt tracks with hairstyling? Wes Irwin, senior at Empire beauty school's Lebanon, PA campus and recent Trend Cut and Style winner, also races sprint cars in his spare time, which he says has helped prepare him for the hairstyling industry.
"Being a race car driver, I'm always on my toes and it's very competitive," he says. "In hairstyling competitions, the adrenaline's still going but there's no danger of hurting myself."
Either way, it's clear that Wes loves to live on the edge.
"I consider myself the type of guy who's a really good freestylist -- I go more for the edgy looks with colors and cuts," he insists. And the style that won him the local competition proves his claims to be true. With violet streaks and what he refers to as a "runway model mullet" hair cut, Wes wowed the judges and earned himself a shot at winning the school's National Competition. "I got my inspiration from a London magazine," he says. "The color was very different, and hard to do on a mannequin -- it took me about a week and a half of practicing colors, but I got the result I wanted."
Wes says his experience working on mannequins in class, and later on customers in Empire Beauty School's hair clinic, has helped him gain confidence as a Hair Stylist, as well as opened doors for him (he's already been offered a chair at a local Salon). Wes' ultimate goal is to become a platform artist, which involves showing off the latest hair trends while on stage in front of other stylists. His self-described "kind of eccentric, a little nutty" personality and style is what he's hoping will take him far in the industry.
Art-Inspired Hairstyling
Also a senior at Empire Beauty School's Lebanon, PA campus is Erin Hemperly, winner of the school's Local Long Hair Evening Design competition. "I've always been into long hair," she says. "I'm kind of impulsive, so I just do it [the style] and then fix what I don't like when I'm done." Her impulsivity paid off in the local
competition, as the judges rewarded her updo style with first place and the chance to compete at the national level, alongside Wes.
Although hairstyling has always been a favorite pastime of hers, Erin began her college career studying art education. "I've always loved to do my own hair and play around with everyone else's, so I decided to check out Empire," she says of her decision to switch career paths. "And you use all the elements of art when you're working with hair -- color, shape, balance. It's like creating a piece of artwork."
Eventually, Erin says she'd like to take her trendy, innovative styles and open her own salon. "I like to break people out of what they're used to, even if it's just changing a straight part [in the hair] to a zig zag," she says. "But I also like to keep things conservative for those who aren't so much into the trendy look." Her primary concern, she adds, is helping people feel better about themselves.
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