Episode 4 Hair

Welcome to Hair. It's the quarter final,

where there are just five contestants left in the battle

to be crowned Britain's best amateur hairstylist.

Last time, the stylists took on beehives...

Definitely is a beehive.

..bowl cuts...

One side is definitely longer.

Perhaps one side is curling under more than the other? I don't know.

..and created historical hair dos on their best friends.

-Oh, my God!

-Did you have any idea?

-No idea!

Dominika's Roman hairstyle saw her reign supreme.

I can see her standing in Caesar's palace, that's for sure.

Whilst Laura's war-time creation left her far from victorious.

When I go to Laura,

I feel I'm seeing pin curls, rolls with every brief.

And she had to leave.

This time on Hair, it's the quarter final

and under the watchful gaze of judges, Denise and Alain...

So how brave do you feel?

..the stylists will have to create perfectly coiffured chignons.

Its my birthday obviously! It's absolutely stunning.

A one-length round layer...

I would say this is going quite badly.

..and go intergalactic in the freestyle challenge.

I'm doing half-ram, half-man...

Alien-like, I suppose, brain...

-Extra terrestrial.

-Action man.

../robot.

Whatever happens at the end of tomorrow, one person will be leaving

the competition. The contestants are ready,

the judges are ready, I'm definitely ready - let's get to work on Hair.

-Yes, yes, yes! Good morning.

-Morning.

-How are you doing?

-I'm good.

Congratulations! Welcome to the quarter final.

It's an exciting time, you've all done brilliantly to get this far,

-you should be proud of yourselves. You really, really should. Ready for more hair?

-Yeah.

Then let us begin.

As you know, in the first round the judges want to see you

incorporate a set element into your hairstyles.

This week's set element is...the chignon.

The judges want to see intricate and immaculately polished finishes.

Denise, what are you thinking?

The chignon is one of the most sophisticated up-dos,

one of my most famous being Grace Kelly.

Wait a minute - you did Grace Kelly's hair?

-I certainly did.

-Check you out!

A little while ago obviously but it was an iconic, as the chignon is,

an iconic do. I don't want to see messy,

deconstructed hair. It's got to be elegant and a defined shape.

Make sure that you don't use any padding.

You can use pins and grips but make sure they're completely hidden.

It's a very luxurious finish, and it's got to look very expensive.

Taken all that on board?

You always look so nervous, you guys!

All right, you know what the judges want,

you have one hour and 15 minutes. Get to it. Good luck!

-So, have you done the hair modelling before?

-No, my first time.

-Excited?

-Yeah.

The stylists have each chosen a model with the type of hair

they'd like to work with for this challenge.

I chose blonde European hair,

mid-length,

just for the sheer fact that the kind of definition

in the colour helps you see what you're doing a little bit better.

The model's got really thick, really straight, sleek hair, which is

what I've asked for because they want a high shine and a nice

sleek look. The hair's perfect for it because it's just so shiny.

So, guys, what's a chignon?

So, from the French expression, chignon du cou is where the hair

is placed on the back of the nape.

-OK.

-OK? You can knot it, you can make a roll of it,

you can make a bun,

as long as it's attached neatly without seeing any grips.

-A chignon also is all the hair up.

-Hair up.

Yeah, so it's all within the back of the head of the hair.

You don't see it from above,

you don't see the work or the twists.

You can get a little bit of profile on the side chignon or something.

-It's a very sharp work of art.

-OK.

The only tool they've got is their combs and the only fabric

-they've got is the hair on the model's head.

-OK.

True craftsmanship for this one.

OK. Thanks, guys.

The stylists begin by preparing the hair

so it's the texture they want for their chignon.

I've done like a volume mousse round the roots and then drying it

with volume at the top so I can get a bit of height to the style

and then blow drying it straight

so I've got that nice, sleek, shiny finish.

I want it to be a really classic bun.

Kobi, the youngest stylist in the competition, takes hair,

fashion and shopping very seriously.

His model's hair will be swept into a side parting at the front, and

at the back two strands of hair will criss-cross above a full chignon.

So, Kobi, this looks interesting. What style have you got in mind?

I wanted my chignon to be really clean, really polished

so I'm just going to dry it now.

I've got some thickening creme in to give it some hold and some texture.

I'm going to blow dry it into how I'm going to finish styling

this front bit because I want it to be really, really tight.

I notice that you're using a comb to blow dry, why is that?

I just wanted to make sure all the little hairs are completely...

-Completely flat.

-Yes, really, really sleek.

It was interesting watching Kobi

because he really was using a proper technique.

He roughed the hair through and then he was using the comb to do

what he was saying - keep that shine, it was really important.

Before I was doing this I'd have been fine with a chignon,

but because I'm doing it here I'm thinking, is it too simple?

Is it too detailed? I don't know.

You kind of lose everything you know!

30-year-old Katie is a busy mum who takes every opportunity to

practice on her daughters.

She's planning on creating a flower-shaped chignon

made out of plaits.

The front of the hair will be swept into it

and it will be placed to the side of the neck.

Mm, Katie, Katie, how are you doing?

I'm all right.

You're positioning the chignon in a special place?

Down here so you can see it slightly from the front,

-so it's still low but it'll be like a circle-type shape.

-OK.

I'm doing quite a few plaits and making it into a flower shape

so it'll stay nice and shiny rather than bits falling out.

-You've got a plan then?

-Yeah!

I'm just curling the top to prepare it really, so it's like

an old school Hollywood kind of glamour. You see it on people like

Kim Kardashian and Kate Winslet, so I'm just hoping it looks as cool.

To add texture to the hair, Dominika and Annie are creating pin curls,

which involves curling the hair around a hot wand and pinning it.

All I'm doing now is taking these out, these are cooled,

and hopefully they're going to brush out really nice.

Critical care nurse Annie lives in Leeds with her boyfriend.

She is planning on rolling the hair along the nape of the neck,

creating a wave at the side.

When I was researching the chignon,

it originated like with your old, like, movie stars.

One of Denise's most famous clients

was the woman who popularised the chignon.

Grace Kelly was a Hollywood star and real-life princess,

whose style was copied around the world in the 1950s.

Elegant and sophisticated, the chignon remains to this day

the hairstyle of choice for actresses on the red carpet.

With a chignon you have to keep it sleek and clean.

Like, a couple of hairs out of place can totally mess up the whole look.

Londoner Marvin loves to work with wigs, weaves, and hair extensions.

He is planning on pulling the hair into a chignon, which

will have a plait in the centre and be trimmed with a small braid.

I kind of thought that if I kept the top

probably about 90% dry, then it will be

easier to keep smooth, once I put the products in it

and it can dry it so it will just stay where it needs to stay.

I am definitely prepared but I'm definitely winging at the same time!

Later on when the hairstyle is almost finished

I will backcomb a bit

and try and get a bit of volume on the front, a nice wave.

Polish born Dominika loves to scour markets to find

accessories for her hairstyles.

Throughout the competition her style has been flamboyant.

She's creating a chignon overlaid with curls with

a quiff at the front, and braiding at the sides.

First of all I sprayed it with some setting spray

and the hairspray, pull it back, pin it

and blow dry it to get solid finish and then on the top of it I'm

getting this French plait which still shows the slick bits.

With just 40 minutes left,

the stylists start to assemble their chignons.

I'm thinking about how many plaits I need to do

because she's got that thick hair that it might be nice to have

two thicker plaits brought round

but I don't know, I'm making it up.

Katie has got a plan of doing braids that is going to shape

the chignon itself.

I'm not 100% sure about it,

if its too tight or too compact it won't look as effective, really,

and you'll se the braid, like a normal kind of effect to it.

Let's see what she comes up with.

A classic chignon is voluminous in shape which helps to create

an elegant profile.

As they can't use any padding, there's two ways around it.

First with the thickness, if you have enough hair you can just

use the hair mass and twirl with it within the shape you want to create.

If not possible you have a ponytail, you backcomb on the inside of it,

clean on the outside, bring back the ends onto the elastic bands

and then start shaping your chignon.

It's easy enough if you

a good base, with the right amount of product and the right amount

of thickness or backcombing inside it, its pretty straightforward.

I have practised this a lot at home, I have practised sleek,

clean, up-dos but not so much on real people,

they are more on blockheads rather than...

real clients.

I'm going to section off my ponytail into two sections

and I'm going to backcomb the top part

and that's going to be my padding.

I'm just rolling that back bit up...

that's how I want it to sit.

I just think it's a really difficult one to create

to be honest with you, I've never really worn it myself,

It's quite like an elegant... something you'd

have for somewhere quite posh.

And, as you can tell, I'm not posh.

To create his chignon, Kobi puts hairspray on

one side of the hair and wraps it over the hair band.

To allow the hairspray time to set, he temporarily pins it into place.

The ends of the hair are then tucked smoothly into the chignon

on both sides.

-STEVE:

-15 minutes! 15 minutes!

Chignons formed, the stylists move onto create the

highly-polished finish Alain and Denise are expecting.

Let's get the shine.

The mistake that people make they just think product's going to

solve all the problems and create the shape

but overall I don't use a lot of product, I use hairspray to finish

so I then I've always got the shine and I've always got the flow.

I'm using hairspray, shine spray

and finishing spray just to get a really smooth and elegant look.

So, my tip for the hairspray is to keep the nozzle very far away

so you don't make the hair wet at all,

so you can reapply again and again if you want to.

Nice chignon(!)

CHUCKLING

Going well?

Yeah, it's going well, just trying to fix up on the finishing.

I'm just trying to rescue some of these bits here.

Wow, there are two hairstyles worthy of comment here.

-Obviously your model's.

-Uh-huh.

-And this.

-Oh.

-How do you do this? Did somebody do it for you?

-No.

-I did it myself.

-What time do you get up?

-That's my sweet secret!

-Come on! Level with me.

-Do you sleep with it in?

-No.

-Do you sleep upside down like a bat?

-I'm going to tell you my secret but you can't tell anyone.

-Go on...

-I unscrew my head.

-You unscrew your head?!

All right, yeah, stop poking fun!

It looks good, it looks great.

What I will state is that it looks very different from everybody else's.

-Oh, don't say that...

-I'm just saying, is this a chignon?

-I hope so cos it's below the neck...

-You hope so!

-It's a roll, it's sleek.

-It comes up?

-It comes up.

You can't see it above the front.

What am I going to do for 12 minutes?!

-CHUCKLING:

-I'm finished.

How are you doing, Kobi?

-All right, thank you.

-Are we there?

-Nearly.

-It looks fab.

Tight, intricate, immaculate. There's not a hair out of place there.

-No meltdowns this week?

-We haven't got there yet.

LAUGHTER

-This is looking pretty tight as well, I mean, I'm expecting big things from this.

-Hopefully so.

I'll leave you to it with one minute to go, that's one minute to go,

60 seconds.

Oh, just...

I plan to do basically the same shape but have like a braided trim

just around the edge.

-Yep, I forgot.

-No, I'm not messing with it.

Time's up guys, please stop coiffeuring your chignons.

Step away from the model.

Let's take a look at Annie's work.

Alain, first off, is the chignon below the crown?

It takes quite a wide...

place around the back, even reaching, a little bit, the sides

so it's on the edge of being a chignon.

Yeah, you've got a lovely elegance here, you've got a great line

coming down, just could have been a little bit tighter in at the sides.

I feel, but there's an element of over hairspraying...

Yeah, I know and I didn't want to do that!

THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

A little bit too much hairspray.

A bit untidy around here, if you are going to do a roll

it could be a little bit tidier.

-How's this positioning, Alain?

-It's not exactly in the middle

you put it slightly on the side. Don't know if you wanted to do that?

-A bit of flair!

-I think that was a bit of an accident.

-Flair!

A bit of an accident.

Erm, the way it is going feels more like...

out of the swimming pool and it just slides itself,

there is no combing in a straight direction.

It's making sure that all the lines are in the same direction

and reaching the same element.

-What do you think, Denise?

-Yeah, it's very glossy finished

and it doesn't feel too hairsprayed

and I definitely can't see a pin, I see you working hard on that,

you've done a great job on the pinning and it is very secure.

You can see that this hairline is low and quite shaggy so

this chignon wanted to come down lower it was sort of telling

you to take it down lower.

I really like the hair colour as well, I think the blonde works

-really well.

-Oh, it's beautiful.

-With the shine.

-Very wraparound type of style.

-Yeah...

-Kobi, Kobi, Kobi, Alain...?

-Yeah.

-Is this a chignon?

-It has beautiful positioning right on

the bottom of the nape.

And the design itself is quite immaculate, working that front piece.

Into the chignon itself twirling around and

I love the cross-crossing of both of them underneath,

it's very clean.

-Good proportion.

-Wow.

It's my birthday, obviously! It's perfect. I have to say.

It's absolutely stunning. A beautiful shine, perfect high gloss.

It's exactly what we asked for

and, of course, you got that by using your comb and your dryer.

The twist is secure, there's no visible signs of pinning.

It doesn't look oversprayed, it just looks beautifully shiny.

It doesn't look over-producted

It's tight, it's neat.

Jackpot.

So, Alain, does this Chignon pass the placement test?

It's placed right in the nape, it's nice you put it at the side, actually.

It's the braiding, you know around the bun...

you can see that you've done it very well, don't get me wrong,

you don't see the ends, you don't see the pins

but it feels a little blocky.

-Feels it needs to pop out a little bit.

-Yeah.

-What do you think?

-It's a little bit heavy, it's almost like you've just done that.

But overall it's lovely and shiny, it's a lovely shape, it's a nice line.

There's a few little hairs, especially with the plait,

you could have just held them down and sprayed them.

You still created a really good finish.

Love the positioning, it works really well within the neck position.

Love the volume that you created, the proportions are beautiful.

Even from the front it's very symmetrical.

The intricate design of the braid works,

I really think that it's simple enough.

I'm not sure about the pink curl on the back.

Let's see what Denise thinks about the design of it.

I like the intricacy but I just feel there's too much hairspray on it.

It's gone a little bit brittle.

Your pins are really nice and neat and it's very, very secure

-and tight.

-Still... remarkable work, you know.

Let's leave on remarkable work...

LAUGHTER

-Thank you, Dominika.

-Lovely.

OK, thank you guys for all your chignon work,

go take well-deserved break in the prep room.

Thank you.

They did say "perfect" at one point which I was really,

really pleased about but... erm

it's good to hear that I actually got out what I put in.

I felt like I was a little bit winging it, me personally,

I would have liked it a little more polished, a little bit more secure.

I think I could have done better.

Everyone's done really well so I... I've not done the best in the set element but

the fact that I got through it and I didn't mess up is good.

Now it's time for the challenge the stylists love to hate -

the blockhead round, which is all about precision cutting.

This week the judges are tasking them with cutting every single

hair on the head to exactly the same length, it sounds easy, but is it?

So... the blockhead round, which is where the judges

would like you to showcase your cutting skills.

This week they'd like you to pull off this lovely hairdo,

a round layer.

It's called a round layer. Not a mullet.

Think not Martina Navratilova in '86 at Wimbledon, think Hilary Clinton

cos she's awesome.

-Denise...?

-Ta-da! Round layer is a really important hair curt

and every single hair is exactly the same length.

And then I want you to do a flick out blow dry, you know

what I mean by that? I hope so...

Of course you'll be ranked on this round, you have one hour

and ten minutes, grab a blockhead, let's do it,

off you go, good luck.

The round layer is the most difficult cut the stylists

have been asked to do so far.

I'm just trying to work out how much to cut!

It's a flattering cut because it adds volume

and movement to the hair.

I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Why a round layer?

It's fundamental to long shapes,

short shapes, it's one of the most important haircuts you'll learn.

Each hair is evenly cut the same length all the way through.

So, you're telling me

every single hair on this head will be the same length?

-Exact.

-That's bonkers.

All the same length pulled at a 90-degree angle.

Why 90 degrees?

You're following the head shape, it's round, the layers is round,

-that's the 90-degrees angle, to follow.

-Okey-dokey,

well, easier said than done but let's see how our guys do, shall we?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah, can't wait.

As with all haircuts the hair should be sectioned before it's cut

and the round layer has a sectioning map all of its own.

What do you think of the sectioning map?

It looks a little bit complicated but I'm trying to get my head

around it and trying to be systematic

and quite logical in my approach but...

So, you're going to work... mainly following the map?

-I'm trying because I've not done this before.

-OK.

The best place for beginners to start is along the central section.

Working along this line they should cut the hair at

90 degrees away from the head.

If the hair were to stick up it would resemble a Mohican.

The hardest bit is getting your angles right

because you start with your first one which is always easy bringing

it up and then you've got to get it around the head in the right angle.

To me this is 90...

and even though this is at the front of the head

I don't know if that will be classed as a 90 as well?

And that classed as 45.

So, I'm a bit confused.

Lately I tend to cut it too short.

The first cut the stylists make determines the length of the overall hairstyle

because every cut made after it should be the same length.

I don't want to make the first cut, I don't want to do it.

Just in case I get it wrong!

Kobi, just arriving at the right time,

you were about to cut your first section?

-I think so.

-You don't sound very sure of yourself?

-No.

I just... I...

What do you think is the difficult part of it?

Just making sure that I don't cut it too short.

-That's the length, huh?

-Yeah.

-The length which is going to guide you all the way through?

-Yeah.

Oh, what the hell...

It's not... oh, what the hell...

So, how brave do you feel?

-Erm...

-Are you ready to do it in front of me?

The first section...?

-I think so.

-I think you can too.

CHUCKLING

Come on...

Well done... I thought you'd never do it!

I've got it. I got it. I think I've got it.

-Hiya.

-Hi, love.

You've got...

-CHUCKLING

-You've got your...

-"What the hell am I doing?" face on.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I've no idea what I'm doing to be honest with you.

-I'm trying.

-Are all these hairs the same length do you think?

-I don't know, hopefully.

Have you glanced across at anybody else's creation?

No, not yet, I'm just trying to concentrate on not cutting myself.

Now the stylists make a cross section from ear to ear.

Using the guide set by the first cut they move along this line

cutting at 90 degrees, which creates a halo effect.

This and the previous line have created a guide length

across the head.

I've started... where you split

it in the middle, middle part and then down the, the... halo!

Dominika, how's it going?

It's going... I don't know!

-LAUGHTER

-Have you practised this haircut before?

I've done once this haircut but it wasn't under the pressure of time.

How you finding the sectioning map?

-I love it, yeah, it's just a lifesaver...

-It gives you a good...?

-..because, probably, I would have messed up.

-Right.

-You know...

Each section should be cut with the hair pulled

tight away from the head,

at maximum tension. So, the length remains consistent.

Once the hair has been cut along the central section

and from ear to ear, the remainder is then cut to the same

length as the guide by dividing it into small orange-like segments.

I'm just trying to find my guide. I'm just trying to follow that

just so that it's the same length all the way round,

like they want it to be.

I'm just quickly checking

if all my length's OK.

I think this side might be a tad longer.

I going to make a brave decision...

..and just cut.

I just want to get this cut right, and hopefully

just spend not as much time on the finish,

although I know it's important, but...

I'm trying my best to concentrate on this first.

Throughout the competition,

Annie has struggled in the blockhead round.

I feel more confident holding the scissors and comb,

but that's probably the only thing that I've got a little bit better at.

I just watch my mum.

My mum's really good at cutting hair.

She's just got no patience to teach me.

"You just do this, Annie." That's what she does.

I would say this is going quite badly.

I've no idea what I've done so far, absolutely no clue.

I've tried to follow the guide to make sure

it's the same length all over,

but whether or not I've cut it too short I don't know yet.

I'm behind as well. I need to hurry up.

15 minutes remain in the blockhead challenge, and everyone

but Kobi is at the final, blow-drying stage.

The judges have specified a blow-dry which creates

volume at the roots and an outward flick at the ends.

This is best achieved by applying thickening cream whilst wet

and using a small, round brush to dry.

How you doing?

Badly. I'm behind by a lot.

Oh, yeah. Can you hear that, like, whirring noise?

-I can.

-Do you know what those are?

-I can hear it.

How close are you to...

THE SPEAK OVER EACH OTHER

-Well...

-How long is it going to take to finish?

About half an hour?

So you're telling me THIS is what you're going to

put in front of Alain and Denise? This?

-I'm going to have to.

-No!

I don't know how to do it, but I'm trying to...

just keep... The hairdryer's blowing all over the place.

One minute remaining!

SHE LAUGHS

Gosh, she looks so like my mum.

It's a bit long. It's a bit long!

That's it, guys! Time's up!

No more zhuzhing. Time for judging.

Ooh... This is ridiculous.

'The judges will be checking that all the hair is the same length

'and that the blow-dry has been properly executed.'

Let's have a look at Dominika.

Tell you what -

if I was Bill Clinton,

I'd be all over that.

THEY LAUGH

I really would.

The length, overall, as you visually look at it is looking good.

It looks a tiny bit shorter than the block.

The fringe looks lovely.

Feels it's got a nice movement in it.

Yeah, I think you've understood the technique pretty well.

You can see that the shape is very close to the model we had.

Ah, let's be precise here, because the length is really close.

It's really good.

Oh, a little shorter!

A third of the length's shorter on the nape.

Overall, it's very even

and you've understood the shape that you were creating.

Let's have a look at Kobi.

-So you ran out of time with the blow-dry?

-Yeah.

So there isn't really a blow-dry.

I feel if you'd been able to blow-dry it,

I would have seen something quite good.

Bit longer than we... The block was.

The shape feels quite even. Looks quite even, anyway.

You reached the right length, and then you're working through the front

and see if it's the same. It's the same, you know?

That's a good point.

Can you tell if he's been cutting at the right angle?

Absolutely. This is 90 degrees.

As you can see, if the hair's the same length on the front and...

On the top or on the front, all the way through the line,

we have reached the goal.

You sacrificed the time of the blow-dry to be a lot more accurate

into your hair cutting, and I think it's a risk you took and why not?

Slightly too long again, but...

-Yeah.

-..you're very close.

What do we think of Katie's blow-dry?

You've got a really nice flick. It's nice and shiny.

You were tight on time, so you've actually done a very nice job.

-It's feeling quite heavy at the front.

-Yeah.

Yeah, I believe it's about...

Yeah, I'd say a third too long to what our model was.

The front needs to be revised as far as having... You know, that side's

definitely longer. To me, a little bit too long. Slightly off-balance.

It's a good attempt. It's not an easy haircut. Thank you.

So, Annie...

-You've had a hard time with it, have you?

-Yeah.

-First of all, you're much longer than the model we showed.

-Yeah, yeah.

-You're agreeing on that.

-Yes.

-You've gone at least twice the length that we had.

-Yeah, yeah.

You started well. It took you a long time to get the technique right.

Eventually, yeah, it's not precise.

-The blow-dry wasn't great.

-No.

-Let's get it right.

Straightaway, I can actually see that the front

-and the back are a lot different.

-Yes.

-You know, it's not quite.

That's a good guideline on the lengths there.

In fact, if these two had been more balanced,

overall we'd have been presented with a better haircut.

I think Annie's angles were slightly a little bit all over the place.

Let's have a look at Marvin's work.

-What about the blow-dry?

-I think it looks lovely, actually.

There we go, straightaway. A little bit shiny.

-A little bit flat on the crown.

-The effect is coming out.

Just a bit longer in this corner here.

But I'm going to let Alain check it.

I really like the length you've worked on.

You've gone straight and then the angle is coming down.

I think you understood the technique pretty well because, visually,

it looks really good.

Overall, really good attempt.

Balance within the shape. You worked your 90 degrees pretty well.

-He came pretty close there.

-All right.

Well, you've all heard what the judges think but, obviously,

they'd rather talk about you behind your backs

so go put your feet up in the prep room.

Too long. Not really the shape we were looking for.

I hope they see it as just, like, "At least she's tried and it's not

"because she's rubbish,

"it's because she's not as experienced as everybody else."

-The shape is good. I think it's got good balance.

-Is just heavy.

-A little heavy.

-To here.

I don't want to be, like...

I don't want to be third. At least I have to be second. Sweet.

It's got really good proportion.

The hair's falling beautifully around.

-Yeah, it's got good shape.

-I like it.

I'm very happy. I'm just glad that I got

the feedback that I needed over the past

three weeks about my finishing and things like that so, yeah, I'm...

I'm happy.

Hey, guys.

Hi.

The judges have ranked your efforts in the Blockhead Challenge.

This week, in last place is...

Annie.

It is every week.

-You're still here, though.

-I know.

In fourth place is Katie and Kobi's in third.

Taking the silver is

Dominika.

-Which means this week's gold medal goes to Marvin.

-Yes.

Congratulations.

APPLAUSE

-Good for you. Feel good?

-Yeah, I feel very good. Very, very good.

Join me at the board. Come on, guys.

The stylists will now pick their models for tomorrow's

Freestyle Challenge.

So, what's unusual about these five is...

-The same thing we have in common.

-They're all men. Yes, they're men.

Let me tell you that the theme of tomorrow's Freestyle Challenge is

sci-fi. We're going to see some pretty unusual stuff tomorrow,

I'm hoping, anyway. So, Marvin, step forward. Pick a chap.

I'm just going to keep it real.

I don't normally work on men's hair but with my style that I've

got tomorrow it could even work on a woman or a man.

-hair type A, you're thinking.

-Yeah, let's go for it.

I'm quite looking forward to the theme, actually.

So many ideas and pull a few things together and I hope that they

can see that I've worked really hard

on thinking about what I'm wanting to achieve.

Day two and its the freestyle round which is

the stylists' opportunity to shine

and create truly memorable hairstyles.

Let's talk about yesterday, quickly. Who impressed you?

Dominika is still there. You know, she really knows the shape.

She knows how to deliver every week.

She can see exactly how to make hairstyles look beautiful.

I'm also excited to see what Marvin's going to do.

-He's a man on a mission.

-Yeah, he did a great job on the cut.

He's definitely listening and progressing with what we've

-asked him to do from the previous challenges.

-Who is in big trouble?

Annie and Katie. They've really got to work hard today.

Annie had a very bad day yesterday and Katie's was quite floaty

so they've really got to bring it out of the bag today.

Good morning.

Today's the big one, it's the Freestyle Challenge.

You have to throw everything at this one, guys,

if you want to progress in the competition.

As long as it screams science fiction. Denise?

As always, it must be absolutely secure and be able to walk well.

It's 360 degrees so we can see it from all angles.

You have to be brave, yeah? It's out there with the innovative hairstyle.

Push it as much as you can. It's science fiction.

So, think laser beams, think killer robots from the future.

You have two and half hours in which to do it. Time starts now.

May the force be with you.

-How are you?

-Good. Thank you.

-Looking forward to your crazy hair?

-Yeah.

I'm going to make you look a little and mental as well.

I'm already halfway there, to be fair.

Right. Let's get started.

In the freestyle round, the stylists can use anything

available in the prep room to achieve the look they're going for.

Whoa, look at that.

That's 60 inches of My Little Pony.

What about working with men's hair? Will there be an advantage?

Is there going to be a disadvantage? A challenge?

Men's hair and women's hair is exactly the same.

The only differences will be the hairline pattern.

What are they going to do with the hair, though, to make it sci-fi?

Wrap their head in tinfoil? What are they going to do?

You can use anything you want to build shape.

Just think of all the science-fiction films you've

seen and just think of some of the hairstyles.

-We're looking for the "beam me up, Scotty" factor, yes?

-Absolutely.

You'd be a good Scotty. A good female Scotty.

I cannae give it no more, captain!

That's good. That's really good.

So, what science-fiction theme are going to give us?

So, I'm going to go for almost like an exposed brain using

braiding from probably the back of the head here right to the front.

I want that kind of bulbous-looking brain.

How are you finding this hair?

The fact that it's got some texture, I think the plaits will really hold.

-And the hairline? You're happy with it?

-I love this.

-It's like, yeah.

-It's already there, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-So you've got a head start.

-Yeah, I'm happy with that.

So, Annie wants to make a brain.

That's a difficult thing to achieve cos even some of the top

prosthetic artists in the world struggle with that one.

But, you know, she's a nurse. Let's see what she does.

-Can I use your head real quick?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-I have a rather large head, though.

-That's fine. So does he.

What I want to create is a weird sort of alien,

extra-terrestrial hairstyle. Basically, I'm going

to create couple of horns starting with French plaiting it down.

I'm going to add extensions to the ends and fold them

against each other on top to make these really sculpted horns.

I'll be pinning the braid on top of each other rather than

putting wire in it.

Kobi's absolutely adamant there is no wire going in,

so he's really sticking to raw hairdressing techniques.

Using doughnut-shaped padding and wire, Marvin is constructing

a frame for his design, covering it in synthetic hair extensions.

What you building?

I'm doing a

-kind of half ram, half man/robot at the same time.

-Right.

He lost one of his horns in kind of a galactic war.

You've got a story behind. Sounds great.

I'm just trying to build the padding around my ram's horn.

I'm going to use his hair to wrap round the majority of it

-cos he's got really long hair.

-This is the base, kind of.

Yeah, this will be the base.

My concern is about how he made the horn itself.

He used doughnuts and wiring to put it all together.

Personally, I'm not sure it's going to hold.

This could flop quite quickly.

And also, the consistency is not going to be as nice.

Personally, I would have used chicken wire.

He's covered again and again and again.

Somehow you can see the Sellotape. I'm not sure, really.

He's going to be like a proper warrior.

Someone who's going to fight

and have, like, really dynamic hairstyle.

Action man. With some lights.

-So we can switch him on.

-Oh.

How are you finding the hairline?

Cos it's obviously a little further back and quite fine.

Yeah, I was struggling a bit with this.

I was hoping for a slightly thicker but I'm happy. It's fine.

The interesting thing with Dominika is her male model has got a

very fine receding hairline.

When she was plaiting it, you've got less hair coming into the plait

but I think, in fact, that's a positive.

If she'd had one with a squarer hairline,

it wouldn't have defined as much.

I'm making... Or attempting to make some kind of...

I'm calling them fins.

They're going to kind of like go down the back of his head

-in different sizes.

-How many have you got?

-Six.

-Six.

-Yeah, bigger going into slightly smaller...

-Right.

-..that go across.

And then sculpting the front of the hair, kind of like into it.

-A bit alien-like.

-Sounds good. Really good.

-Are you planning to hide all this?

-Yeah, I'll hide all this.

I'm bringing his hair in to it so hopefully they will get covered.

Katie is making the fins that she's going to place onto

the back of the head. They seemed a little bit small.

I'd like them big and bold just to make a strong statement out of it.

Right now, I'm not sure what it's going to look like.

-These braids have taken you quite some time to do, haven't they?

-Yeah.

-You've been here for about an hour or so.

-Yeah.

Where we're going at the moment, this isn't saying sci-fi to me.

No, it won't yet.

So, we're going for, like, an exposed brain.

-So you've got the two sides of the...

-Yes.

-You get me?

I mean, this is more like it.

I'm talking to people and no-one is saying, "Exposed brain."

You can tell I work in a hospital.

We've got a little bit of a chip here that I'm going to do

Matrix-style and put that at the back.

-He's half man, half machine.

-Yeah!

This is going to be awesome. You're going to look like a total freak.

-It's good to be amazing. Good luck.

-Thank you, love.

Right, I can leave you now. Going to make a ponytail.

One hour and 20 minutes left, guys.

I'm sort of pushed for time, so I know I've got to be fast with this.

-How is it going?

-Oh.

-Oh, OK.

My model's fell asleep.

I think mine had. Men, eh?

Dominika's space warrior design involves adding lights

which need to fit into black plastic casings.

I just need to think how I'm going to attach that.

Cos I did not work that out yet.

I'm basically beginning to braid the extensions into my model's hair.

Kobi is using synthetic hair extensions as part of his design.

I did want to actually incorporate them

in the actual braid but the model's hair is shorter than I expected.

At the minute, just literally pinned it on the end of the braid.

One of the things that's challenging with hair extensions is the join.

You know, how you incorporate that fake hair to the real hair.

And that is an art in its own.

And you can see with Kobi, that's what he's wanting to make sure.

It's not properly attached yet.

I'm going to actually incorporate it in a minute after I've plaited it.

It's funny how, like, you can start off with something and be like,

-"What? I don't understand."

-Yeah.

Annie is also using braids made out of extensions.

She's pinning hers onto the model's head.

-This is looking more like it.

-A brain?

-Yeah.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

I love the cable ties.

Dominika's found a solution for securing the lights

and their casings to the head.

-Does it feel more secure now?

-Yeah.

-It doesn't hurt or anything?

-Hurt.

-Hurts a bit? Where does it hurt?

-Is it bearable?

-Mmmm.

Have you seen the lady who's supposed to be doing your hair?

Briefly.

With only an hour left, Katie has yet to touch her model's hair.

-Hi.

-Hi. You do know your model's head is in there.

-I know, yeah.

-I've kind of deserted him, haven't I?

-What's going on?

-I'm making fins, which aren't really going very well.

-You're making fins?

-Yeah.

-How long are you going to be an year before you start getting

stuck into Thor's head out there?

-Well, I've got one more fin to make then I'm over there.

-OK, cool.

I'm about to put a pin in your head. I'm sorry.

I need to hurry up.

I keep adding my plaits now. It's supposed to be just a ponytail

but now it's a plait.

Dominika has added a string of fairy lights to her design

but is struggling to hide the wire.

Now I'm making pom-poms cos pom-poms are a good resolution

to anything if you want to hide something.

So we're just going to do the pom-pom.

Katie has finally pinned her fins to the model's head...

I'm attempting to sculpt with not a lot of time left.

..and now has just 30 minutes to work the natural hair around them

and complete her design.

I'm kind of rushing it. It's a holy show of a mess.

Oh, wow. This is awesome.

Pff. Really?

-Really. You're not happy with this?

-No. It's not what I wanted.

You said a warrior from the future

and there is no mistaking this guy's clearly from the year 3000.

OK, yeah, so later on we need to push this one up.

Oh, man. Forget year 3000. This guy's from the year 3,000,000!

-How are you feeling about this? You loving it?

-Yeah.

Marvin has attached his horn and is now making a mask

for his half man, half ram/robot sci-fi design.

I'm putting these stones, like, gravel,

from when he had his horn torn off his head and left to die in

the middle of the galactic floor, so he's got a face full of gravel.

With ten minutes remaining, all of the models' hair is changing colour.

It's more silver than grey.

I'm trying to disguise everything with spray. It's not working.

They're using a wash-out spray that colours the surface of the hair.

Just hide everything, all the mess, with pot scrubs.

Yes. Yes 1,000 times.

You had me with the horn of plenty not now you're adding

the smashed-in metal skull with the red eyeball.

That's the future, baby.

What's this at the front here? Like a big kiss?

-A smudge.

-Wait a minute, are you joking?

-Is that a smudge or did you really mean it?

-It's a smudge.

-Really?

-It's a smudge.

-Well, wipe it off. You've got about two minutes.

-I'm trying to get it off with a wet wipe.

-All right.

One minute remaining.

What have I got left to do?

Hide all the pins, make it look less of a disaster.

Time's up, guys.

Come back from the future to the present.

Yeah, all right, Kobi.

You want to try writing these things? They're not easy.

It judgment day. Terminator 2.

Let's go and see Dominika's efforts here. Mix it up a bit.

Yeah.

MUSIC: "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss (2001 Theme)

Big pimpin'. Big daddy pimp.

-Does this scream sci-fi?

-Yeah, I believe so.

-One.

-Definitely.

-Two.

-Beautiful.

-Warrior king.

-Full house. A warrior king from where?

-Space.

Yes. Vague, but it works.

There's definitely all the elements are there.

There's a big construction.

The whole Mohican element to it cut out into a ponytail

element at the back. It's really even.

The light itself is quite a fun aspect of it.

I do like the cut-out on the front. What do you think, Denise?

It looks incredible.

It's very clean and you've got that nice diamond shape that you

wanted to create. And the textures are good.

And I think the whole profile looks stunning.

So, overall, we are saying she's completed the brief

and transported us to a galaxy far, far away.

-Definitely a galaxy far away.

-Oh.

MUSIC: "Out Of Space" by The Prodigy

# I'm gonna send him to outer space

# To find another race

# I'm gonna send him to outer space. #

Does it scream sci-fi? That's what we want to know.

Not sure if it screams it but there's definitely strong elements there.

It could have been refined a lot more as far as building up

its shape of what you wanted to do.

You were getting a fabulous movement through here

but these ridges didn't stay up and strong.

You spent a lot of time building those frames

and actually you hadn't worked the hair first.

I'd have worked those shapes in first cos then while you were

making the frames, you'd have known if they were strong enough.

Let's take a look at Marvin's vision of the future.

SCI-FI MUSIC PLAYS

Have you briefed your model to be as robotic as possible?

Jesus, he's a big boy.

I wasn't expecting that. He's up there.

You don't want to mess with that guy.

You wouldn't like to meet him in a dark alley, would you?

-Does this scream sci-fi?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

It's got good points of bringing out that magic shape.

It's... You know, it's bulky enough and it comes out.

Even through to the mask is quite a fun idea.

Within your positioning of the horns, to me,

they should have been a little bit forward. You sprayed quite a lot.

Somehow it evens the whole shape out

-but you also feel that it's hiding quite a lot.

-It's a great shape.

It was really adventurous, really bold.

It's very large, which is incredible, but this is very messy.

This is very vulnerable at the end

so he really is in risk of having another horn ripped out.

MUSIC: "Spaceman" by Babylon Zoo

# Spaceman, I always wanted you to go into space, man

# Intergalactic Christ. #

-Does it scream sci-fi?

-I really think so.

-Yeah.

This proves it. On the back we have the little circuit board.

It's a real... Really nice touch. The hair is quite curly.

There's a lot of little hair breaks out as it comes at a little bit.

It came out even more when you started spraying it.

Even through the sides, you've lost little bit more definition within it.

It's a bit of a shame that you weren't able to sleek this out.

I really, really hard, though, like.

-It would have been great to see it a little tidier.

-I know.

-I thought a lot tidier.

-I know what you mean.

-Than what it is.

Let's move on and power him down. Beep, beep, beep.

DENISE LAUGHS

MUSIC: "Star Wars Main Theme" by John Williams

-Does it scream sci-fi?

-Absolutely. It screams elegant alien prince.

Yeah, I believe so. A very predator type of elements, shapes

and even through both fins coming into the back. Very even.

The construction is pretty remarkable, I have to say.

I like the way that you evened it all out with a spray.

What happens with nylon hair, it's a bit to shiny

and it looks a little too fake.

It's a really good idea to finish off with that.

It's really immaculate with the braiding.

It's beautifully done, I have to say. Very, very even.

The technique is there. You knew what you wanted and you did it.

Thanks for all your sterling work guys.

The judges will now deliberate, who wins the freestyle round

and who will be going home.

Even though I'd worked out my times and it should've been fine,

I just ran out of time so it was just awful.

I hope that they see that I'm really hard-working and that I really

do try my best and they'll put me through and give me another chance.

I do hope that I'm in the chances of winning the freestyle.

I've not been at this point before.

Normally, it's sort of scared I might be going.

-Who impressed you in the freestyle?

-Kobi and Dominika.

We saw two totally different styles there. Totally different results.

The line between the two of them is really tight.

One is sort of colour and spectacular

and the other one is a raw hairdressing. It's beautifully done.

It's immaculate. So it's really tight.

But taking into account all the rounds of the last

-couple of days, who's in trouble?

-Katie, she's floundering a bit.

Katie doubts herself quite a lot and she just lost her way.

And Annie... Annie in this freestyle round,

I mean, that's normally her strength.

The things that she's done have been incredible,

but this has really been her weakest.

They have been kind of struggled.

Even something where they don't feel confident about what they're doing.

Well, your job gets harder and harder every week.

This has to be the hardest one yet.

Oh, this is really, really difficult. This is...

I'm overjoyed that it has nothing to do with me. Good luck.

You saw the raw shape, you saw the alien, you saw the sci-fi.

There was a lot going on.

It was maybe overkill.

She's struggling, she's shaking and she knows it.

All right, let's do it.

Thank you so much for all your hard work over the last couple of days.

You just get better and better and better.

But, as you know, there can only be one winner of the freestyle round.

And this week, after much deliberation,

the judges have decided that person is going to be...

..Kobi.

-Oh, my God.

-Congratulations.

APPLAUSE

You crushed it.

-How does that feel?

-Shocked. But, yeah, pleased.

-Well done.

Congratulations. Now it's time for that bit none of us like.

It's horrible because we've become friends, we've become family

but unfortunately we are about to say goodbye to one of you.

And the person they've decided to ask to leave...

is...

..Annie.

-Oh, Annie. You've been amazing.

-Thank you.

-Unbelievable work.

-Thank you.

-Fantastic work.

Annie, we had to send her home. So sad.

But she still has high, high standards. She's got a great flair.

She's got a great vision how to do it.

It's just lacking a little bit in techniques somehow.

Some of this, Annie.

This week it was very weak for her.

I think she's reached her peak in this competition

and I think it was her time to go.

Yeah, so I won the freestyle round.

I did think it was going to be Dominika with her light-up

sci-fi hairstyle.

But I was really pleased it was me.

I love working with people. I love working with hair.

I'm pleased with what I've done and I feel everyone is proud of me

to get this far and I think, you know,

if I can make someone feel better about themselves

and create something inspiring them, you know, that's me, I'm happy.

Next time on Hair...

-This is the anarchist. Oh, mama.

-I don't know where it's going on.

I've never seen the like this before. You're properly miffed.

The theme of the Freestyle Challenge is brides.

We want to be blown away. This is your last chance.

I've got a feeling I'm not going to get it finished.

-You'll be all right.

-That's beautifully done.

-This is bold and brave.

-Avant-garde and exciting.