Wichitan wins the ‘Oscars of hair’ with her bold avant-garde styles

More than two decades after first entering the North American Hairstyling Awards — known as “the Oscars of hair” — Wichitan Trish Dool won in her favorite category: avant-garde styling.

“I never thought of it as, like, winning or losing,” Dool said of all the years she’d previously entered.

“What I realized was that I truly just enjoyed the process of creating a collection,” she said. “That process is just my lifeblood as an artist.”

The competition was earlier this month in Orlando with more than 1,000 attendees.

“It was just kind of surreal when they called my name,” Dool said. “It was just kind of a blur.”

Though she already experienced new connections and was invited to enter other competitions just by being selected as a nominee, winning was something else entirely, Dool said.

“Winning awards doesn’t define me or anyone as an artist, and at the same time it’s great to be recognized, and it’s affirming in a way.”

Dool didn’t grow up thinking of becoming a hair stylist. She went to the University of Kansas for graphic design. She said she enjoyed studying it, but college wasn’t a great fit at the time.

“I knew that I wanted to do something creative,” she said. “I was really inspired by my own hairdresser.”

In Lawrence, Dool went to Carmen Rodriguez, whom she first met when Rodriguez was with the Eric Fisher Salon in Wichita.

Dool thought it looked like a fun career, so she enrolled in Xenon International Academy, now called Crave Beauty Academy. Fisher didn’t yet have an academy.

“Right away I knew it was the right move,” Dool said. “I also knew that my goal was to work for Eric.”

She knew Fisher was known globally and traveled for his career in addition to having a salon.

“That was, like the cool salon in town,” Dool said. “It was edgier.”

While in school, Dool started observing Fisher’s weekly in-house education classes. He hired her upon her Xenon graduation.

“I have a real passion for the beauty industry and for the craft of hairdressing and hair styling,” Dool said. She said most stylists “naturally discover what you enjoy most or what your strong suit is.”

Avant-garde styles call upon some of her graphic design work.

“It’s a really artistic . . . expression to the most extreme,” Dool said. “The hair is often times very sculptural.”

In the past, Dool has won in the avant-garde, hair color and master stylist categories for the Midwest Hairstyling Awards.

For this year’s national awards, she said “I was just in a place in my mind” for something strong and “kind of loud visually” with her designs.

Dool said she was “just ready to be noticed.”

“It’s the collection that has put me on the map.”

It’s so different than what she does daily, and now that she’s won such a big award for it, her clients are a bit concerned.

“Well, you must be pretty bored doing my hair,” is something she hears them say.

Dool assures them, “I still absolutely love doing hair behind the chair.”

However, deadlines are approaching for next year’s Midwest and national competitions, so Dool is back to story boarding, sketching things out and doing photo shoots.

“I love it so much. I don’t imagine I’ll ever stop.”

She also recently began showing styles live at hair shows.

“Presenting a live show was just next level,” Dool said. “It’s thrilling. It’s so different to choreograph something and present it in person and set to music. I’m absolutely hooked on it.”

After almost 30 years in the industry, Dool said she’s at a pivotal point.

“I can’t wait to . . . experience what’s next.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 4:04 AM.