Use Product!

Not the best performances this week, huh? Things started off strong enough with the short cut color challenge. Some of the contestants are incredibly talented colorists, so it was nice to give them the opportunity to really get dramatic. Charlie and Dee both did sensational work, but I'd be interested to see how Charlie's client looked with her hair down. I think he may have saved himself with some great styling. He really has a knack for photography-quality hair. I was a little sad to see Dee not come out on top. Not only is she an expert with color (I saw that when I was judging a couple weeks back), but Charlie's win kept him from participating in the elimination challenge, and I really think he would have done some incredible work.

Overall, this should not have been a hard challenge. These looks are iconic. You can find modern representations of them every day. But like any other styles, they need to have movement. None of the nine looks the contestants produced shared the movement of the hair that inspired them. There also can't be holes in the hair. The gaps between where some of the curls fell were so obvious. It made you want to reach into the television and tussle the women's heads to mess up and create some volume in their hair. Some of the judges even mentioned this, because that's really all it would have taken to make the hair look fuller. An easy way to give hair movement is the proper use of product.

Stylists must always know when and how to use product to achieve the look they're going for. This week, I think we saw the contestants just using it to cover up their mistakes. If you're afraid to give the hair a mind of its own ... if you're going to be too controlling, the result is going to be just that, controlled. If Glenn had used just one product like Nexxus Alluring Curls to define and hold the curl for the Jaclyn look (instead of several), the hair would have had bounce and movement. It probably would have spared her from elimination.