The North American Hairstyling Awards Announces the 2011 Winners for Top Hairstyling and Makeup Artistry Honors

The North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA), a Professional Beauty Association (PBA) event and the most prestigious hairstyling and makeup competition in North America announced the NAHA 2011 winners. Celebrating 22 years as the pinnacle award for beauty professionals, winners were recognized on July 31, 2011 at a star-studded Awards Ceremony held at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. More than 3,000 beauty professionals attended, including top celebrity, editorial and runway stylists, along with more than 35,000 viewers from around the world who watched the ceremony via streaming video on the internet, to see who would be honored in NAHA's 13 distinct categories. NAHA's top honor, Hairstylist of the Year, was presented to Eli Mancha of Chicago's Bang! Salon and the Lock & Loaded line.
 
The NAHA 2011 winners in their respective categories include: 
 
Hairstylist of the Year
Eli Mancha
Lock & Loaded, Chicago, IL
 
Master Stylist of the Year
Kris Sorbie
Redken 5th Ave. NYC,
New York, NY
 
Salon Team of the Year
Jackson Ruiz Salon
Austin, TX
 
Editorial Stylist of the Year
Dimitrios Tsioumas
Mizu New York, New York, NY
 
Student Hairstylist of the Year
Giovanna Simington
Golden West College of Cosmetology,
Huntington Beach, CA
 
Texture
Carlos Cintron
TIGI, Lewisville, TX
 
Make-Up Artist of the Year
Clarissa Luna
Jackson Ruiz Salon, Austin, TX
 
Avant Garde
Jake Thompson
Lunatic Fringe,
Salt Lake City, UT
 
Contemporary Classic
Simon Chercuitte
SACO, Montreal, QB
 
Fashion Forward
Zahir Ziani
Red Door Spas, New York, NY
 
Haircolor
Dimitrios Tsioumas
Mizu New York, New York, NY
 
Salon Design
Marco Verrelli
Salon M Squared, Toronto, ON
 
Salon MBA
Karie & Aaron Bennett
Atelier, San Jose, CA
 
Hosted by famed hairstylist and star of Bravo's Tabatha's Salon Takeover Tabatha Coffey, the NAHA Awards Ceremony also featured luminaries such as Peepshow headliner and star of Holly's World on E!, Holly Madison, who was presented with the PBA Beautiful Humanitarian Award for her work on behalf of animal rights. Famed hairstylist, educator, and philanthropist Michael O'Rourke was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in and on behalf of the beauty industry.  In addition, NAHA 2011 was pleased to induct entrepreneur and philanthropist Stan Klet Sr. into the NAHA Hall of Leaders.
 
The NAHA 2011 Awards Ceremony also welcomed NAHA 2010 Hairstylist of the Year Tony Ricci, who presented one of three artistic presentations.
 
Continuing to draw from a diverse and internationally renowned list of hairstylists and makeup artists from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Switzerland, NAHA is judged by the "who's who" of the professional beauty industry.
 
Judges included: Leon Alexander, Eric Allen, Michael Baker, Dean Banowetz, Antoinette Beenders, Sharon Blain, Sam Brocato, Will Bruder, Mary Brunetti, Damien Carney, Jamie Carroll, Eveline Charles, Tabatha Coffey, Laura Dunphy, Bart Foreman, Nicholas French, Stephen Gomez, Wayne Grund, Mark Hayes, Lina Heath, Karg, Larry Kopsa, Robert Lobetta, Jonathan Lovett, Liza Macawili, Vivienne Mackinder, Peter Mahoney, Anthony Morrison, James Morrison, Edwin Neill, Kendall Ong, Paul Pagliaro, Ruth Roche, Angelo Seminara, Julie Shepperly, Kris Sorbie, Oliver Steinnagel, Damian Stoney, Gary Sunderland, Bennie Tognini, Heather Wenman and Heather Wilson.

Image courtesy of PBA. Hair by Eli Mancha, winner of the highest NAHA honor, Hairstylist of the Year