[Posted Jan. 2, 2008]

Local Academy Prepares Students For "Hair Wars"

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

   While critics are raving nationwide about the new book “Hair Wars” which contains jaw-dropping black hairstyles, Kennetha Sanderlin is preparing to teach another class of Hampton Roads students that a cosmetology license can open many doors.
    Registration will begin Jan. 15 at SBC Braiding and Natural Hair Care Academy. The school is located at 654 Church St. Classes, which requires students to complete 170 hours, often include trips to area hair trade shows like those shown in the new book by photographer David Yellen and writer Johanna Lenander.
“You would be surprised with what you can do with hair during a competition,” said Sanderlin, the CEO and president of the braiding school. Sanderlin won her first hair show prize in 1983.
   “I’ve been to quite a few hair trade shows over the years as a student,” said Sanderlin who has claimed about 15 trophies as a winner.
   “Hairstylists from around the country participate as either a group or an individual. These shows also offer continuing education programs and new techniques,” she explained. “Any service that is offered in a salon or a continuing education class is offered at these trade shows, along with new hair products.”
Sanderlin said a trip to a hair trade show enlarges her student’s perspective. In addition to winning cash prizes ranging from $1000 for students to $10,000 for professionals, the contests can also push a student’s career into a new dimension.
The same applies to the new coffee table book by husband and wife, Yellen and Lenander. Featuring hairstyles that could stop traffic, the slick photos in the new coffee table book were taken at trade shows held nationwide from 2004 and ‘06.
   

   There is no air-brushing. It’s all about the hair. Whether it’s the hairpiece that’s shaped like the Olympic logo, or one model whose hair resembles a Star Wars character, the slick photos and hairstyles are masterpieces.  

   The stylists combine human hair pieces with pounds of glitter and makeup. Props range from fish bowls to barbecue grills to Bibles.   “It was not about the money; it was not a contest,” said David Humprhies, who helped the authors of the new book to bring hair and glamor together.
    They wanted to create a performance, Humprhies explained. They wanted to advertise. Some of the hairstyles took a month to design and two weeks to create. One model is shown with a propeller that lifts off her head and flies.
    Another hairstyle features birds and flowers, all crafted from human and synthetic hair. Even the outfits worn by the models are often made from hair. The introductions in the new book were written by the authors. Yellen’s work has appeared in Time, Life, and People. His writer-wife’s work has appeared in the New York Times.
“I was looking at some of the models and thinking, ‘How did you fit through the doorway,’ “ said Yellen, who met his wife at a hair trade show at the Apollo Theater in New York three years ago. “I love things that have their own unique beauty.
“As a visual (Hair Wars) is stunning,” Yellen said of his new book which contains 74 color photos. “It is shocking and, at the same time, hilarious.”
    Sanderlin said, this is why many students’ eyes are opened at hair trade shows. “They realize there are more areas and jobs that they can go into such as the movie industry, running a shop, or working in the beauty industry. There are so many different opportunities.”
    To date, she’s taken about 75 students at one time to a hair trade show. This February, she may take some of her students to the upcoming hair trade show in Atlanta.
    There, students will work on mannequins or live models. “It gives them a larger perspective. It makes each person see that the industry is larger”--bigger than what they thought or imagined it was, Sanderlin said.

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