How was the World Hairdressing Championships?

Elena Filonenko , international class master, coach of the Ukrainian national hairdressing team

After the world championship, we asked a few questions to Elena Filonenko, who worked on the team of makeup artists this year. She shared her impressions and told what new products they brought for the Ukrainian Championship.

What are your impressions of the Championship?

International championships are always a holiday to which a large number of countries send their participants. At this global event, competitors from different parts of the planet meet to compete for victory: 50 countries want to prove that they are the best! Preparations for the event are very extensive, and, as a result, everything is carried out at the highest level. Each participant tries to demonstrate their skills and meet the highest level.

What nominations are announced at the World Hairdressing Championships?

At the World Championships, there are a lot of nominations in the area of hairdressing - both in the men's and women's sections. They are divided into categories: fashion for long hair, wedding hairstyles, gala hairstyles, complex technical nominations for short hair. My personal favorite thing to watch is seeing creative, progressive haircuts being created. There, craftsmen perform incredible work for a while!

What was your preparation for the Championship? How long did it take?

Our teams this year performed with excellent results, because each one was well prepared. I believe that we are hair trendsetters and are advancing the beauty industry in the world. If we talk about results, we are among the ten best masters in the world, despite the huge number of competitors. This is a great experience and a large-scale event for the whole of Ukraine.

We prepared for the Championship for 6-8 months. During this time, full-fledged images were created and worked out: clothes, makeup, hairstyles, styling. This is a very interesting and sensitive process for all participants. This time I worked in a team with makeup artists. In my opinion, they had great ideas and work. I had tremendous pleasure working in this team.

I would like to mention the head coaches, without whom it would be difficult to cope. This is Taisiya Vasilyeva - the person who trained a large number of competitors and champions, and Valentina Mikheeva - my teacher and mentor. It is thanks to her that we stand on pedestals and receive awards. Our hairdressing team entered the top ten in the Gala Hairstyle and Wedding Hairstyle categories. Despite the excitement, the guys who performed for the first time were able to show a decent result.

What are your plans for preparing for the Ukrainian Championship?

We came with inspiration, new ideas and are already preparing for the Ukrainian Hairdressing Championship, which will be held on November 10-11.

We, coaches , try to keep up with the times and tirelessly learn from the best. And we share our experience with our competitors so that they also win various competitions.

Such competitions are a sport. Someone comes, participates and says what they like, then returns. And some people don’t have the desire to take part in the competition a second time . And those who want to move on have a chance to compete first in Ukraine and then try their hand at the international arena.

I would like to wish the participants good luck, and remind the coaches that they always need to train in a new direction and with new ideas.