With Prom season rapidly approaching, fancy hair is on the mind. Recently, the RHS Cosmetology program took the opportunity to hone their up-do skills by participating in a hair dressing competition for special occasion hair.

The competition was born out of a meeting with the cosmetology’s advisory committee, consisting of local hair salon owners and the like.

“[They] help us keep in line with what our students need to focus on,” cosmetology advisor Sandi Melucci said.

While a plethora of popular hairstyles today feature straight, flat-ironed hair, the members of the advisory committee felt that it was important for aspiring cosmetologists to become comfortable with different types of styles as well.

“The cosmetology board chose to have the competition,” senior Lauren Baulerle said.

The girls in the cosmetology department were able to enter as many up-dos as they liked in any of the two categories, Wedding/Prom or Fantasy. In order to prepare, the girls looked at a variety of pictures online and in magazines, and they watched videos as well.

“We gave them five lab days [to work],” Melucci said. A lab day consists of a block of two or three periods.

In order to create an “equal playing field for everyone” and make the competition “as fair as possible,” Melucci said, the girls were given access to different hair ribbons and colors sprays, so that they all had the same materials to use. Even so, some of the up-dos featured unconventional hair tools.

“We had girls using empty bottles or Styrofoam cups,” Melucci said.

With a myriad of different hairstyles to choose from, the most difficult part of the competition was “to get your idea,” senior Whitney Sitko said.

Bauerle agreed. “I had a real hard time,” she said. Her up-do, titled “Innocence,” was entered in the Wedding/Prom category.

The judging for the competition was based on various categories. The first two were the students’ responsibilities. Each girl was to write a written description of her hairstyle, including “the designated category, the techniques used, and the products used on the [mannequin],” as stated on the official rules sheet. She was then required to execute the hairstyle as she had specified. The judges had a point system to determine the winner, basing the points on: “composition-is the style balanced and in proportion; neatness-are proper products used giving a polished look; and desired style-does the style match the description,” as the official rules sheet designated.

Winners included senior Shelby Sitko, taking “Best of Show” and second place in the Wedding/Prom category and junior Kiara Williams, who won first place in the Wedding/Prom category. Junior Lindsey Church won first place in the Fantasy category with her up-do titled “Aquamarine,” and junior Rachel Schusseler took second place with her hairstyle, “The Easter Basket.”