MEET THE JURY:
KENNY SHEN
We give the stage to special jury member and last year’s Color Explosion category winner Kenny Shen. The Taiwanese top hair stylist shares his secret to creating the perfect look and has a word of advice for this year’s participants. If you want to impress Kenny, this is what you need to know.
“I feel that a sleek and smooth kind of texture will get long-lasting appreciation. ”
“How I became a hair stylist? I like to look good!”
Kenny lives in the Taiwanese city of Tainan and has been in hair for over 13 years. How it all started? Simply by wanting to look his best. “I like to look good and play around with my friends’ hair. And when my friends would get their hair done, I used to go with them and offer my suggestions to the hairdressers. This is when I realized that, perhaps, I should give hairdressing a try myself.” And the rest is history. Today, Kenny owns Have Salon in Tainan and specializes in Japanese style and color blocking.
It’s all about sleekness, products, and mimicking the masters
Kenny’s secret to creating a perfect look? These are his top tips:
- Go sleek and smooth
“I feel that a sleek and smooth kind of texture will get long-lasting appreciation. Too many curls or waves only make the whole structure too complicated, which can be a setback. That’s why I believe that a creation with straight hair is the key to success”, Kenny explains. - Pick the right products
Kenny: “In order to express texture, it’s essential to select the right products. The wrong products – or too much of a product – can stiffen the creation as a whole. And that may turn out not-so-nice looking. So when this happens, it’s usually as a result of unfamiliarity with the products.” - Watch and learn
Another tip from Kenny: mimic your favorite master or jury member’s creations. “Closely observe their work and take the techniques and qualities you appreciate or like. Then, when you’re working on your own creation, you can focus on mimicking these little details and transform them into your own”, Kenny says.
KENNY'S
TIPS
ONE KEY ELEMENT
Whichever category you participate in, Kenny’s final piece of advice applies to every creation: don’t incorporate too many techniques and don’t go overboard with creativity. Kenny: “If your creation contains one key element that corresponds with the theme and is expressed explicitly, that’s more than enough. Good luck!”
