The Perfect Way To Test The Stylists

It was a very interesting finale we had this week. The different ways in which the stylists were challenged made for a daunting task, but I was genuinely impressed with all of the stories that they told in their final hair show. The incorporation of Vidal Sassoon's "Nancy Kwan" was the perfect way to test the stylists' technicality. It's all about cutting a straight line, and if you can be that precise, it demonstrates incredible talent. A bob can easily be just a bob, but when it's perfectly executed, you couldn't have a sharper looking cut.

Any of the final three could have won last night, but Anthony really outshined his competition. His consistency stayed true through the last challenge, and I think that's one of the most important qualities in a stylist. People love stylists like Anthony. He's the kind of consistent performer that makes clients keep coming back and want to develop a relationship with him. You don't go to work with a real creative high everyday. Anyone could have won one week and been eliminated the next, as we all saw when stylists on the Allure Wall of Fame kept getting kicked off. Just as much as with failure, it's a real challenge to deal with success. You may feel on top of the world, but you can't lose focus.

This is an industry where a lot of people strive for celebrity status, but it's almost never attained. If you manage to start your own business and successfully grow a brand, you can expect a certain amount of exposure to follow. But now the tables are turned. Some of our competitors are still in the beginning of their careers, and they're already famous. There's no telling how much that will help them along the way. Either way, I expect we'll see a lot of great things from them in the future. They're all incredibly talented in their own way, and there's clearly no shortage of personality. Congratulations to them all for making it as far as they did!