Hair's lookin' at you, kid

Hair Wars

What: "Hair Wars: The 1999 Summer Hair Festival."

Where: Bally's hotel-casino, Pacific Ballroom.

When: 5-11 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Information: Call (800) 838-8100 or 631-9407.

Telly Savalas need not have applied. Mr. Clean would have been shown the door. Yul Brynner and his barren scalp would have been shooed from the place.

Rather, "Hair Wars" is conducted by and targeted exclusively to the folliculary functional. And that's the bald truth.

Painful puns aside, the hair-raising contest/exhibition will draw some of the top stylists (or, rather, designers) from as far away as Detroit, Milwaukee and Indianapolis, as well as the West Coast, to Bally's on Sunday for "Hair Wars: The 1999 Summer Hair Festival."

A celebration of what would result if "Soul Train," a Versace fashion show and religious revival were tossed into a blender, "Hair Wars" is billed as "One of America's Hottest New Forms of Entertainment."

The unique, frequently eye-dropping performances has given some of the most accomplished hair designers in the nation a chance to compete, convene, compare and contrast. The tour is in its 10th year and shows no signs of ebbing.

"It's getting bigger and bigger," David Humphries, founder and producer of "Hair Wars," said. "We're going to go worldwide with this."

"Hair Wars" will also tour Miami, Detroit and the Caribbean this year. Humphries' company, Hump The Grinder Promotion (which is a coy play on his last name) markets videotaped highlight packages and produces a monthly newsletter, entitled The Hair Wars Report, all in celebration of hair care and design.

"I've been in the industry for 29 years, since I was 18, and the big thing now is creativity and art," I'lah Cole, of Brieauna's Complete Beauty Services and Massage Therapy in Las Vegas, said. "You're dealing with the health of the hair, obviously, but this kind of exotic show lets the designer's imagination go to work."

On Sunday scoring will be held starting at 3 p.m., with $1,000 being awarded for the best "Big Hair," another $1,000 for the overall winner (judged on creativity and use of color), $300 for second place and $200 for third. At 5 p.m., doors open to the public and designers showcase models and hair designs in skits, or while gyrating to thumping dance music in mini production numbers.

More than 40 salons from 18 cities (including nine from Las Vegas) will be represented. The show runs until 11 p.m. and a crowd of around 1,000 is expected.

The "Hair Wars" tour was hatched from the mind of Humphries, a former entertainment promoter in Detroit who was stunned by the popularity and preponderance of artistic hair designers in the Motor City. The true heavy hitters employ stage names such as Kenny K., Little Willie, Mr. Little, Lucky, Supa Star, Boojee, Queen Champagne, Ms. Cranberry and Khalife'L.

"We have a lot of hair designers in Detroit who have learned to market themselves and have become real celebrities," Humphries said. "That's spread to other parts of the country. It's both a showcase for some of the best hair art in the world, and a form of entertainment. You'll leave with a smile on your face, believe me."

The home of more than 14,000 licensed cosmetologists (outnumbering doctors or dentists), Detroit deems itself the national hub of hair design. Humphries, a Detroit native, was hit with the idea while hosting weekly dance parties at local nightclubs in the mid-'80s.

Humphries noticed his parties were frequented by several top hair designers and shrewdly added a hair design competition while working as a disc jockey. The contest became so popular he had to move the show to a larger venue.

"Detroit is very competitive," said Michael "Mr. Little" Turner, one of the industry's top names and a "Hair Wars" veteran. "Big hair is big there."

Turner is one of the more adventurous designers in the Detroit area. His styles have been featured on every network morning show, as well as "Dateline NBC," and "Oprah."

One of Turner's specialties is the "zipper 'do," where he uses attachments of real hair shaped into a cone and clips them onto a model's own hair. On the back, he's sewn in a long zipper. The result is a very tall hairstyle that can easily double as a purse.

Women have used the "zipper 'do" to carry everything from spare hair gel to (ahem) birth-control devices. Thus, the design can be practical as well as fashionable.

Another high point in past "Hair Wars" productions has been the "Hair-O-Copter" designs. Again, real hair is formed into the shape of a helicopter, and a battery pack and tiny motor is placed inside the design. The propeller spins and the contraption looks like it's about to carry the model out of the room.

Designers in "Hair Wars" have also shaped hair attachments into the shape of planes, calling the style "Hair Planes."

"I've also got a motion pony tail (which spins around the head) that's battery powered and can be attached," Turner said. "You can take it off and put it on the dresser and go to bed, and the design is still fresh the next day."

Sheila Williams, of Prestige Looks Hair and Nail Studio in Las Vegas, said the designers are always looking to change and modify existing hair-styling methods.

"As I've gone through the hair shows and seminars, I realized it was more than just hair styling," she said. "The experience made it more of an art. We prefer to be called hair designers rather than stylists or beauticians, and everyone has their own specialties. I pretty much specialize in 'up' 'dos, creating soft, flowing, elegant hair and adding hair extensions and some colors."

Cole said this year's show will reflect the industry's trend toward bright colors.

"You will see things the people will not wear every day," Cole said. "There will be some bold reds, bold blues, bold oranges. You'll see big, big hair with a lot of color."

Designers can spend anywhere from one hour to two days on a design, creating the attachable styles, then prepping models before the show. But the work isn't finished when the designer puts the finishing touches on a masterpiece.

"It's a lot different from a fashion show in that regard," Indianapolis designer and "Hair Wars" headliner Anna "Lucky" Schnitt said. "If you want it to be entertaining, you have to do a lot of practice with your models so you can work from a performance standpoint."

Designers apply the same imaginative approach in the performances as they do in their hair art pieces.

"One time I had girls wrapped in Saran Wrap with colored extensions and it was a kind of thriller-movie theme," Schnitt said. "I had them on stage and there we had a coffin that just looked like a prop, but we had a woman jump out of it wearing this unbelievable design. Everyone hollered and screamed and it was so exciting."

Some of the more accomplished entrants in Sunday's show will fly out with a half-dozen handpicked models and an assortment of stage costumes and props, along with styling instruments. Spending $5,000 on a show such as Las Vegas' is not out of the question, but the price is easily worth the exposure, and top designers can make up to $100,000 a year.

"Besides," Schnitt noted, "it's a tax-deductable business expense."

As well as an opportunity for like-minded people to get noticed while finding fresh ideas in an ever-evolving industry.

"There are a couple things about this type of show that are really beneficial for the designer," Schnitt said. "It allows the public to get to know you, for one. Plus, you get to see other stylists to see what they're doing.

"It's kind of like a trade show in a way, a show where people can learn, and it's also fun and unique for people who have never seen it."

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