Face of the Hair Group – Heat Winners and Wild Cards Announced!

Summer is here and we have some great news to add even more sunshine to your day! Our Face of the Hair Group finalists have been announced!

Out of thousands of entries that we received this year, our Heat winners were selected from the shortlist of girls who attended the Fresh Academy Studio for their entry shots. Our judges had such a difficult task narrowing it down as the standard of entries was just so high this year...
So high in fact, that they have selected 3 additional Wild Cards!

Our three lucky Wild Card winners are:

Fernanda Zorzal, Holly Drinkwater and Meral Gjonbaiaj.

The Heat winners are:

Charlotte Davies

Elizabeth Cox

Yasmin Ryan

Destiny Toussaint

Skye Wilson

Nadia Sayers

Ayesha O’Kelly

Amber Twell

Mia Wolsey

Gemma Druce

Preya Chhatralia

Alexandra Cadman

Eleanor Martin

Chloe Rambirini

Destiny Sedlacek

Brucha Howe

All the Heat winner’s photos can be viewed on the Face of the Hair Group website here.

On the judging panel this year we have our very own Charlie Kaufman CEO of Fresh Academy who was recently responsible for selecting Kirsty Heselewood as our Fresh Modelesque winner. Kirsty went on to claim the Miss England crown earlier this year! Having aided the careers of many successful models during the last 8 years, we were eager to find out what stands out for Charlie when judging a competition like this. When we caught up with Charlie in the Studio last week, he said…

"I’m all about the girls look. Is an editor of a top fashion title going to want to use our winner on one of The Hair Group promotions in their magazine? Are they edgy enough; is their look current, could they do Commercial, Beauty and Editorial?"

But it is not just presenting your outward beauty that will be your ticket to modelling success. Keely Silver, Fresh Academy’s Marketing Director always has high expectations during the interview round of the competition. Keely gave us a simple explanation of what she is looking for during this round.

"I am looking for a model to be able to express her personality and convey a ‘can do’ attitude."

Next in line on our judging panel is Ruth Deane, editor of Everymodel magazine. Ruth has a trained eye for new talent in the modelling world. Thanks to Ruth and the competitions she judges, many modelling dreams have been realised. To name a few, Siobhan Perry (an international model) Bailey Tye Baker (featured in Les Miserables and Snow White) and Alize Lilly Mounter (Miss England 2011) are all successfully working as a direct result of competitions they entered.

Ruth’s advice is both practical and encouraging…

"Personally I will be looking for a fresh, healthy looking model with natural beauty. Her hair will preferably be her natural colour, in great condition, with no added extensions, flashes or styling which defers from their natural self. To judge a great model is to see them in their raw state. Styling can be done later. What I look for in the first instance, is a blank canvas."

With that in mind, it seems an event like this is not as simple as posing for the camera during the makeover photoshoot at round one. We asked Stevie Walters, director of ModelsPlus, how the girls could get prepared. Stevie meets many girls every week who hope to break into the modelling world, she gave us some top notch advice for our FOHG finalists and unsuccessful contestants alike.

"Get plenty of early nights and drink lots of water so your skin is at its best. Get plenty of exercise so your body is toned. No over-tanning, keep sunbeds to a minimum as UV is aging and bad for other health reasons. No over-tanning products either and remember to think carefully about what you are going to talk about. Winning is not everything… Beauty comes from within."

So girls, keep your head up, smile and be yourself… This sounds similar to Charlotte Holme’s advice she gave to the Miss England contestants (Miss England 2012). On the topic of Miss England, we’re absolutely ecstatic to announce that our presenter this year is Laura Coleman, former Miss England 2008!

We can’t wait to meet all of our finalists in August! They will be strutting their stuff in casual jeans, bikinis and finally (our favourite) stunning ball gowns. Our FOHG winner last year has already begun her success story since being featured in Marie Claire and Hair Flare Magazine. We can’t wait to see who will win this opportunity this year to kick start their career.

Good luck to all our girls – keep your hair looking lush and in the meantime…
Please don’t dye it blue!