Contest Hair

By Marcella Seager

What? You mean I have to get up early, put a bunch of junk on my face and do something wonderful with my hair too?! Yep! Your hair should be washed and/or ready to style by breakfast Saturday morning. EGAD!!!! The more you have done by breakfast, the easier the rest of the day's process will be for you. Contest is just around the corner. Don't panic. We still have time to get costuming, makeup, hair, music, and choreo figured out. Especially if we start preparing ourselves NOW.

If you color your hair, get it permed, or decide you need a new hairstyle, do it soon so that you have enough time to fix any problems and get used to it. If you are like me at all, you have about a two week window where your hair actually looks like you want it to. Don't do coloring or new hair styles the week before contest. That's just asking for stress overload.

Okay here's the guideline to follow about hair style for contest. The eyes have it. Everything you do should play to the eyes more than anything else. That means that if you usually wear long or heavy bangs, you need to find a way to lift them up or pull them back. Wispy type bangs can add to the hairstyle and even emphasize the eyes, but be careful it's easy to get too many. Heavy or long bangs will cause shadows over the eyes. The addition of some fullness (volume) to the top and temple area helps to bring the viewers attention up to the eyes and gives the illusion of lift to the rest of the face. If you must wear your hair down and long, it needs to be pulled back off the face somewhat. Combs and clips or pins are fine to use, but they need to match the color of your hair. NO Gold or shiny Silver and NO ornamentation or color other than hair colors. If you hair is short already and the style is back off your face and out of your eyes, then all you have to do is think "more". Remember the back of your hair too. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean the rest of world can't and that includes the judges (doesn't matter what row you are on or what choreo you do.)

What lengths to style your hair would you go to if you were on the way to dinner with the Queen of England??? That's the way you need to think about grooming for contest. Preparation for beautiful hair at contest with minimal stress added requires practicing at home. I know nobody has any time for such "practice", but I will guarantee a better outcome with less stress on contest day if you do the preparation.

Andrea Otterson and I may be able to help a few people with their hair.  Roommates should discuss what they can help each other with also. If there is any one else who can help with hair (other than their roommates), let us know by saying so in the next Key Notes. If you don't know what to do with your hair, you can have a conversation with me about it.

Be open contest day to the possibility of improvements needed. Linda Smith and myself are the ones who will give final approval on both hair and makeup. All questions and concerns about another member's hair or makeup should be addressed to me, not to the person. Bring unscented, maximum hold hair spray to use. These 'DO's have to last all day AND all night