Iron Wig 2016 – Round 1: Freestyle

Hello contestants and spectators, and welcome to round 1 of Iron Wig 2016!

For our first round, our contestants received a box containing the following:
– Jasmine (Large) In Fire Red
– Long Ponytail clip-on in Light Copper Red

Contestants: This is a freestyle round! Your challenge is to create a style that includes the colors provided. You are not required to use all the hair, but you cannot use any additional hair besides what came in your box. You cannot dye the wigs, but you can use accessories, foam core, etc.

Progress photos are not required, though they do help! Take photos of several angles of the finished wig. You may have assistance with the photography, makeup, modeling, etc (just not the styling).

These are the categories we’ll be judging you on for a total of 50 points possible:
– Presentation (10 points)
– Cleanliness (10 points)
– Complexity (10 points)
– Creativity (10 points)
– Efficiency of Materials (10 points)

Here’s a rundown on how each category works:

PRESENTATION (20% of your final score)

The Presentation is how the wig is showcased. Photos of several angles of the wig is required, and progress photos are recommended. Meeting requirements does not always mean automatically getting all points though. In the past a lot of contestants used a portion of their time towards presentation by displaying their wig on a real person or themselves rather than just a wig head, and sometimes even went to a special location and dressed their model to match. You don’t have to have a professional photographer or supermodel to do this; as long as you make an effort to show your wig off on a real person and get photos under good lighting or in front of a non-distracting background, you will do well in this category.

So here are some examples on how the points in this category could turn out:

Example A: Every contestant submits photos of their wig only on a wig head, photographed with a plain, solid backdrop.
Result: Everyone will all be awarded top points.

Example B: One or more contestants add elements that complement the wig. Elements can include: makeup, the outfit the model is wearing, the scene/location of the photos, etc. You can get assistance to work out these elements.
Result: This causes a slightly more dramatic point curve. The contestants that made an extra effort to showcase their wig with the extra elements will be awarded top points, and contestants that only display their wig on a wig head will receive fewer points.

CLEANLINESS (20% of your final score)

Cleanliness is literally how clean your wig looks. Some things we look carefully for when scoring this category:
Do spikes have tips that are cut bluntly, or do they come to a nice point? Are there gaps showing? Is the hair smooth or bumpy over different areas? How’s the overall shape of a spike or hair form? Is the cut choppy or uneven? Can we see glue, flyaways, or frizz? Etc.
Points will be deducted based on how many things we nitpicked and the extensiveness of those things (is there just frizz in a tiny area or is it in several places?). It’s possible for no contestant to get a perfect score on this category.

COMPLEXITY (20% of your final score)

For this category, we look at the types of techniques used in each entry, and the level of difficulty for the style as a whole to determine a score.

CREATIVITY (20% of your final score)

This category is all about what makes your entry unique and artistic! What was the inspiration behind it? Did you use a unique technique that we’ve never seen before? Is the style like nothing we’ve seen before? Did you do something really interesting with the fibers besides just the wig? This category can be really tricky, because we don’t know what to expect every time. The wig that has the biggest WOW factor is usually going to get the most points here, but there are other things you can do here to help your score. Document your process and materials; if you’re using something that we don’t usually see, it will make it stand out! Tell us the inspiration for your work and why you made the decisions that you did. We like seeing wigs that have a meaning behind them.

EFFICIENCY OF MATERIALS (20% of your final score)

How well were you able to take advantage of the materials provided? If your wig has a special feature, did you utilize it in your design? You were provided with a specialty ponytail wig that has a skin top, a clip-on pontyail, and you also have two different colors to work with. If elements from these materials are utilized in the design, and you use a good amount of each color, then you will do well in this category.

Scores will be done by 3 Arda judges; scores will be added up and divided by 3 to give each contestant an average score for each category, and there will also be a short critique. The contestant with the top score will receive immunity in round 2! The contestant with the lowest score will be eliminated from Iron Wig, but they’ll go home with a $50 gift certificate! Contestants that cannot complete the challenge in the time limit will be eliminated, and they will not be eligible for the gift certificate.
There will be an audience favorite poll once the results are in; the top favorite will receive a $20 gift certificate to our website!

Your deadline will be: Tuesday, January 26th at Noon (Central US time)

Have fun, and best of luck! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Next Post →