Shear Genius, Episode 1

The first episode of the new season of Shear Genius started up on Bravo last week, and wow! I've forgotten how crazy this show is. When you watch it, you have to remind yourself that the point of this show is not to display how the contestants can style hair nicely for everyday wear. No. The point of this show is hair as art; stylists as creator. And that's ok with me.

The new season means a whole new cast of characters and, sadly, a new host. Jacquelyn Smith, the former host, has been replaced by Camila Alves. Now, Camila might be a great model and a very nice person, but she is no Jacquelyn Smith. Her hosting skills leave much to be desired. Hopefully she'll get better, but in the first episode, she seemed stiff and didn't do a great job with reading her lines. Oh well. Also new this season is the addition of Jonathan Antin as a judge. Jonathan is a nut, but he's fun to watch.

The new cast is chock-full of drama queens and over the top personalities. One contestant skated around in rollerskates and a gold bathing suit that left very little to the imaginaiton. Really? Ok...

So, the 12 contestants didn't have long to size each other up before their first Shortcut Challenge: Punk To Polish. Arzo drew first pick while Amy, the British ex-pat, was saddled with last choice, a head full of heavy, black dreadlocks. After two hours, Amy emerged victorious, transforming a mess of hair into a sleek and sophisticated asymmetrical bob. Faatemah, Brian and Janine made up the bottom three.

Ahead of the first elimination challenge, the stylists were thrilled to learn that their mentor for the season was stylist to the stars Orlando Pita. Orlando and Camila revealed that the elimination challenge would head to the runway for swimsuit client L*Space. The catch: the models would only wear bottoms, leaving the stylists to cover their chests with creative hair designs. In the end, Amy went from top to bottom alongside Adee and Joey, whose lack of vision and execution lead to this being his final cut. Janine, fittingly, went from bottom to top with her ‘sea nymph’ hairstyle, which won her immunity from elimination for the next episode.

The challenges were a bit crazy, but the judging seemed solid. Both the Amy and Janine deserved their wins. I liked the Short Cut challenge a lot--it was interesting to see how the stylists would take a woman with bright pink hair and transform them into respectable, more conservative versions of themselves in a very short period of time.

Winning look: Before

Winning look: After

While I doubt you're going to try to cover your ta-ta's with hair before instead of wearing a proper top, here are tips on how to get the winning look:

You can make the winning look into an everyday style by still creating fun volume. Try recreating the same silhouette without going over the top, for a style that is both modern and wearable.

• Shampoo and condition with products that will provide extra body, such as Nexxus Diametress and Nexxus Sublime Volume.
  
• For added lift, mist a volume boosting spray gel, like NEW Nexxus Lavish Body, onto damp hair, then turn head upside down and blow-dry.
  
• Once dry, flip head back over and smooth out bangs.
  
• To create a flowing texture, try curling one-inch sections of hair at the root using a medium barrel iron.
  
• For added texture, also try teasing random sections of hair at the root using a small-toothed comb. Work from the bottom up to minimize tangles and knots.
  
• To help hold the volume and style, lightly misting with a strong-hold hairspray, like Nexxus Maxximum.
  

For more from Kevin Mancuso and to learn about “Shear Genius Season 3,” become a fan of Nexxus on Facebook. And be sure to tune in to Bravo every Wednesday at 10 to check out the show!