And the baddest hair did slay.
It's official! From a field of 64 entries, the last stylists standing in American Salon's Beauty Badness 2024 contest are Sara Bierman and Jessi Koehler of Appleton, WI.
That's the verdict from thousands of voters in the first-ever edition of the elimination-style March Madness competition, BEAUTY BADNESS 2024: The Fiercest Hair on Instagram.
The winning team both own salons in Appleton — Sara owns Luxe Salon Suites, while Jessi owns Cosmic Revival Salon.
As self-proclaimed "underdogs" in the Beauty Badness contest (with relatively low Instagram followings compared to many competitors), both artists leaned on their clients, fellow stylists, families, and greater community to rack up the votes needed to advance through six intense rounds of head-to-head matchups.
"The amount of support we received was incredible!" says Sara, a Jack Winn Pro color educator. "My husband, my children, my clients — even my insurance agent was calling me saying 'you’re up by this many!' Jack (Winn) himself was texting me. It brought tears to my eyes."
"We had a community of folks who really rallied for us," agrees Jessi, a cut and texture specialist. "People were sharing it that we didn't even know. Our kids' friends were sharing it!
"There was this underground movement from our communities, which was honestly the coolest thing. To be lifted up and supported by people we hadn't even met."
From a pool of 64 starting entries, Sara and Jessi's look bested contestant after contestant through six rounds of voting. They dominated the right side of the Beauty Badness 2024 bracket, then narrowly defeated left-bracket winner and semifinalist Ethan King of Austin, a Goldwell National Artist.
"It was surreal, because Ethan is someone we both really admire and look up to," Sara says. "I met him at a BTC show and a common friend introduced us, and I had to fangirl him.
"I messaged him this morning to say I truly want you to know that me and Jessi both idolize you."
Sara and Jessi collaborated on the winning look a couple years ago, when Jessi was renting a suite in Sara's salon. The collab had been a breakthrough of sorts for Jessi, who had been suffering a career crisis at the time.
"I was feeling a lot of burnout, wondering if I should leave the industry," she says, "wondering how I could move forward. I had a coach at the time and she told me, 'you really need to just play.'"
From that advice came the decision to work with Sara on a stunning transformation for Sara's cousin and client, Kelsy Kowalkowski. "She gave us free reign," Sara says.
"We had an idea for a color that would go well with a shag," Jessi says. "Sara did the color, I did the haircut and makeup."
For both Jessi and Sara, the most significant gain from their Beauty Badness 2024 experience was the strong support they both felt from the greater stylist community as a whole.
"I came up at a time in this industry where it was cutthroat and dog-eat-dog and 'I have to kick you in the face to succeed,'" says Jessi, who has been doing hair for 24 years. "I love that we have shifted that narrative and we now support each other.
"It’s just been so cool. I do see it more and more — stylists supporting stylists, community over competition. It’s just a step in the right direction, we are all changing these narratives."
Sara agrees, saying that in her 12 years behind the chair, she's happy the prevailing attitude has become less competitive and more collaborative. "It comes back to karma, helping each other and supporting each other."
Congratulations to all the stylists whose amazing looks were chosen to compete in Beauty Badness 2024! To see all 64 initial entries for this year's contest, tap here.