THE heady world of scrunch drying, classical bobs and ‘layering through’ went into overdrive at Barrow College of Further Education in February 1990 as hairdressing students hit the hairdryers and tongs in an all-day competition.
BUSINESS: Kirsty Chambers at a hairdressing and beauty competition at the John Whinnerah Institute in 1994
The hairdressing department was a scene of wet hair, wet towels and concentration, wrote The Mail’s reporter.
Around 40 students from the two-year course at the Howard Street college entered sections of the contest, with ‘day style’ open to first years only and ‘fashion style’ open to second years alone.
Weeks of preparation and practice on obliging ‘models’, who included relatives, friends and fellow students, finally came to a head with invited guests and judges from the trade marking the results.
“And if you still think hairdressing is about shampoo and sets, one look at the competition’s Fantasia section would have made your hair curl,” wrote The Mail.
With cuts and colours slightly restricted in the earlier scissor-wielding exercises of the day, the fantasia finale was one category where the students could really let their creativity and imagination rip.
It wasn’t just about looking food from the next up, it was an entire look on the theme ‘A Night at the Theatre’.
HAIR: A model at a hairdressing and beauty competition at the John Whinnerah Institute in 1994
“And you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered into some dress rehearsal as anything from Madam Butterfly to Mr Badger from Wind in the Willows wandered along corridors,” wrote The Mail’s reporter.
Knickers elastic, yards of net, face and body paints, even black rubber flippers were put to innovative use as weird and wonderful stage characters were created out of patient models.
It was the fourth year the college had run the competition.
PARTY: Clair Bartlett, 16, with a total evening/party look created by Nina Terry at a hairdressing competition at Barrow College of Further Education in 1990
Course tutor Sharon Turnbull said: "We encourage all the students to enter. It helps their confidence and motivation and promotes some healthy competition. They all help each other."
In May 1994, The Mail was on hand to take photographs at a hairdressing and beauty competition held at the John Whinnerah Institute.
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