A competition celebration celebrating the wide variety of hair textures ranging from wavy, coily, kinky, curly to straight is airing soon.
Monaè Everett whose worked with the likes of Mariah Carey, Taraji P. Henson, and Dominique Fishback previously announced the Texture Style Awards, a competition to celebrate the beauty of all hair textures and honor the artists who have mastered styling them.
Now the finalists have been announced for the virtual ceremony hosted by Everett on July 5. Award presenters include Michelle O’Connor, Briana Cisneros, Oliver “Kolor King” Adams, and Laura “La La” Chihaia.
The 2021 Texture Style Awards has also announced finalists for its inaugural competition and a bevy of professionals are seeing their names highlighted for their accomplishments in the industry. Presented by the Wella Company, a press release notes that the Texture Style Awards is the “first fully texture-based hair competition created to increase inclusion within the beauty industry.”
The 16 top hairstylists were selected from more than 350 submissions in one of the four hair texture categories: straight, wavy, curly, and coily/kinky.
Straight Hair Stylist Of The Year
Eugene Davis
Lynn Levesque
Angelica Mirela Tanta
Kyley Williams
Wavy Hair Stylist Of The Year
Angela French
Sandra Henri
Angelica Mirela Tanta
Joy Williams
Curly Hair Stylist Of The Year
Haley Garber
Jaimee Smith
Richar Staten
Joy Williams
Kinky/Curly Hair Stylist Of The Year
Brendnetta Ashley
Koren Green
Ajee Hassan
Rania Nekole
In addition to the top four hair categories, the Texture Style Awards will also honor one of the entrants with a New Talent Stylist Of The Year Award and industry leaders, Keya Neal, who will receive the Change Agent of The Year Award, and Nina Tulio and J. Ladner, who will receive The Beauty Media Of The Year Award.
“I have been overwhelmed by the beauty community’s support and all of the stylists, brands, and media that used their voices to promote the needed diversity and inclusion in this industry,” said Everett. “It warmed my heart to see so many stylists who believed in themselves enough to enter the Texture Style Awards. Most importantly, I am thrilled about the opportunities that winning this competition will bring the entrants.”All submissions were voted on by a curated panel of 18 celebrity hairstylist judges, including Stephen Moody, Lala Chihaia, Michelle O’Connor, and Jenny Strebe, along with representatives from The Wella Company and Fromm Pro. The top 10 hairstylists advanced to a second public voting round where they received more than 27,000 votes.
Winners will receive an assortment of prizes, including a custom plaque, one-on-one mentorship with a Wella Company ambassador, up to $3000 worth of prizes from sponsors, and marketing and media exposure through partner channels.
The 2021 Texture Style Awards virtual ceremony will stream live July 5, 2021, at 8 pm EST on texturestyleawards.com.