Tressed to kill: Championship to showpiece cutting edge

MORE THAN 400 hairdressers will be twisting, spiking, knotting and chopping when the Irish Hairdressing Championships get underway in Dublin on Sunday.

The championships, which have been running for almost 30 years, will see hairdressers of all levels and ages vying for the prestigious awards across 12 categories.

Champion crimper, Maeve O’Healy-Harte, who plays a leading role in organising the event, gave a sample yesterday of how the boundaries of conventional hairdressing will be pushed back on the day.

Model Lyndsey Drea created a stir when she posed for photographers in a swirling black see-through flamenco dress and wearing Ms O’Healy-Harte’s carefully designed hair sculpture that took more than 90 hours to complete.

Ms O’Healy-Harte, who owns a hair salon in Athlone, Co Westmeath, used mono fibre hair, swept into a fantasy-inspired shape before lacquering it and baking it dry. Frills and fans were also used as a finishing touch.

The Irish Hairdressing Championships are run by the Irish Hairdressing Federation, which has been working on behalf of the Irish hairdressing industry since its inception in 1974.

Federation president, Barbara Aldritt, said the championships were first introduced to offer Irish hairdressers a forum to unleash their creative talents and get recognition for their skills, regardless of their experience.

Ms O’Healy-Harte won the title of Champion of Champions in 1999 when she won two first places and second in three categories.

“A good hairdresser is someone who listens to what their client wants and is continually updating their knowledge as well as their skills,” she said.

She was in London last weekend to see what was ‘in’ this year.

“There is very much an 80s feel to women’s hairstyles but most of the men had quiffs, reflecting the Teddy Boy era.”

At the end of the day, however, well-cut and well-conditioned hair is always in fashion, no matter what the style.

She also explained that judges at the championships will be looking for the best total look.

“The hair has to be brilliant, of course, but they still want the clothes and the make-up to set it off.”

While it would be the entire package that will make the difference between winning or losing, most of the marks given would be for the hair.

“It might take three years for a person to train to be a hair stylist.

“But a good one never stops learning,” she stressed.