Sebastian Professional’s WHAT’S NEXT AWARDS (WNA), a premiere hair styling competition for Student and Professional talent, dares artists to take their creativity to the next level. The What’s Next Awards contest allowed those working in the salon industry to express their talent through a one-of-a-kind hairstyling competition. Each year, Sebastian releases a hair collection to inspire contestants. This year, that collection is ECLECTIC.

To become what’s next in the world of hairstyling, stylists from United States, Canada and Puerto Rico uploaded a picture of their “Eclectic” inspired look, as well as a description and title for the look. In addition to the online entry process, stylists had an opportunity to enter one of the two regional competitions held in Orlando and Los Angeles for a chance to be a finalist. In January, nine finalists were selected to compete live, a total of three finalists in each category; Student, Professional and Affiliated Artist. 

Finalists will compete live in Dallas, Texas on March 5th. Competitors will showcase their unique sense of style and creative artistry for a panel of esteemed judges which includes Robert Lobetta, 2016 Affiliated Artist WNA winner Gianpaolo Colombo and 2016 Professional Artist WNA winner Damaris Earlewine. 

Judges aren’t the only deciding factor for these finalists, this year will also include a People’s Choice Award, where fans can vote for their favorites on Sebastian’s What’s Next Instagram page @sebastianwna. People’s Choice Voting begins at 5 pm PST /7 pm CST / 8 pm EST. Voting closes one hour after.

In addition to the competition, Sebastian Professional International Top Artists Diva Poulos, Omar Antonio, Marylle Koken and Anthony Cole will present the SS2017 RE-CHARGE collection, plus a sneak-peak of Sebastian’s next product innovation. But that’s not all, in celebration of WNA’s five year anniversary, the evening will also include a special appearance from the band Sixx:A.M.

The 2017 What’s Next Awards and special appearance by DJ Klever & DJ Ashba of Sixx:A.M. will be broadcast live from the Wella Education Facebook page @ 6:30 PM PST/  8:30 PM CST/ 9:30 PM EST

#sebastianprofessional #whatsnext #wna2017 @sebastianwna @sebastianpro_official @wellaeducation

2017 FINALISTS

Many artists set out to change the industry, but these nine are one step closer to becoming #WhatsNext

-Professional Category-

Laura Rocha @l_v_r_

The Harlot Salon - Venice, California

Alisha Jurkevicz @alishavalen

Red Stella Salon - Austin, Texas

Danielle June @madamepomp

The Harlot salon - Venice, California

-Affiliated Artist Category-

Luis Maldonado @luis_maldonado_1

Beyond Salon, Puerto Rico

Sabrina Cayer @propagandecoiffure

Propagande Coiffure - Trois-Rivières, Québec

Tonya Cuozzo @tonyacuozzo

Cuozzo Studio for Hair - Madison, New Jersey 

-Student Category-

Beverly Iwuala @beverlyeze

Ogle School - Stafford, Texas

Kelsey Ronan @kelseyjoyhair

Avenue Five Institute - Austin, Texas

Jaimie-Lee Keyes @jaimie_kaay

TG.Co Hair Studio - Kingston, Ontario

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