The votes are in for SAM’S SHEAR CHALLENGE and “The Educator” emerged as the winner.
In this summer's American Salon & Sam Villa® competition, three candidates — dubbed “The Barber,” “The Salon Owner,” and “The Educator,” were given a week to practice with new Sam Villa® ergonomic shears, with an offset thumb design to prevent repetitive stress injuries.
Then, they had to complete their best haircut using the shears, with the winner chosen by public vote.
Michelle Sabatino, a Redken Design Certified stylist and cosmetology school instructor from Reading, MA, got the most votes out of more than a thousand cast in the competition. She edged out Dani Lyn, who owns Trim a Salon in Studio City, CA, and Mark Camponeschi Jr., a barber from Abingdon, MD.
“I’ve learned how important it is to push myself out of my comfort zone, and this challenge was the perfect example of that,” says Sabatino, who is married to her husband Anthony and has two adult children and three rescue dogs.
She works part-time at Carl Michael Salon and teaches part-time at Hair’s How Modern School of Beauty, both in the greater Boston area.
As a finalist in SAM’S SHEAR CHALLENGE, Sabatino got a 5.5-inch Signature Series Cutting Shear and Lydia Mannequin supplied for the contest by Sam Villa®.
As the winner, she receives a textured hair mannequin from Pivot Point, three 3-day passes to the 2025 International Beauty Show, and a one-on-one, hour-long mentoring session with industry legend Sam Villa.
Sabatino is "extremely excited" about her upcoming conversation with Villa, noting that getting one-on-one time with the globally renowned stylist/ educator and business owner is a rare commodity.
“I'm looking forward to getting some advice from him about elevating my education skills. I want to be more effective as an educator, and who better than Sam Villa to talk to about that?” she asks.
Sabatino only started teaching in the past few years, a recent chapter in a 40-year career that began after she graduated from a vocational high school with a cosmetology license. After years of working on and off behind the chair as she raised her children, Sabatino owned a successful salon, which she ended up closing during the uncertainty of the 2020 pandemic.
She was approached by a friend who worked at a cosmetology school and offered her a teaching job — a position she came to love. “I love education, both teaching and learning," Sabatino says. "I have such a passion for our industry, and teaching feels like I'm giving back to the industry that’s been so good to me."
But, Sabatino concedes, “My teaching skills could definitely use some improvement. I’m really excited to talk to Sam about it.”
Sabatino is a self-proclaimed fan of Sam Villa and is on the brand’s email list, where she answered a call to entries for the SAM’S SHEAR CHALLENGE competition. Having been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome a few years back, she was interested in trying out the ergonomic shear design. “Anything to put off that surgery for a little longer!” she says.
“I never expected to be picked for this competition. I just randomly filled out the entry form and did a little video. I was shocked when they told me I was one of the finalists.”
She had full confidence in her skills and didn’t get nervous “until the voting period started and I saw the votes coming in,” she says. “That’s when it started to get real!”
SAM'S SHEAR CHALLENGE, an American Salon x Sam Villa® competition, is supported by Pivot Point.
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