Irene da Fonseca, founder of Zhoosh | The Curl Studio in Johannesburg, has been awarded ‘Top Five Haircut in the World’ at the recent BTC (Behind The Chair) One Shot Hair Awards in Texas, USA.
Irene is also the first ever South African stylist to represent her country at these prestigious awards.
The BTC #ONESHOT is a global competition open to any hairdresser or cosmetology student in any country. This year, over 300,000 entries were submitted from 120 countries. Out of tens of thousands of entries, Irene was nominated in four categories: Natural Texture, Cut Transformation, Mullet, and Big Shot Texture. Her collection ‘Halo’ showcased the beauty and diversity of hair in South Africa.
Said Irene, who is the mother of three: “I can't even begin to put into words how proud I am to stand on a global stage and represent South Africans with textured hair. Our hair is imbued with so much power, meaning, identity and is symbolic of our growth and history as a nation. It is for this reason that I created my salon, where my team and I not only educate society and people with texture about hair diversity, but we also created a movement for them to love and embrace their natural hair. I was incredibly honoured to represent a snapshot of our beautiful diverse texture as a nation.”
Zhoosh | The Curl Studio is the country's first internationally accredited specialist curly hair salon. Moreover, Irene is the only internationally certified curl specialist and curl restoration specialist in the entire SADC region.