NAHA needs no introduction as the most prestigious photographic beauty competition in North America. Winners are guaranteed entrance into the “Hairdressing Hall of Fame” for having pushed the technical limitations of their art and setting new trends through creativity, artistry, and vision.

Aspiring salon professionals can choose to enter in 14 NAHA categories: Avant Garde, Contemporary Classic, Editorial Stylist of the Year, Haircolor, Make-Up Artist of the Year, Master Hairstylist of the Year, Newcomer Stylist of the Year, Salon Design, Salon MBA, Salon Team, Student Hairstylist of the Year, Texture, and all new for 2013, Men’s Hairstylist of the Year.  The highest honor is the coveted award for Hairstylist of the Year. 

Now we can all save the date for Sunday, July 14 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas for an evening of showmanship and entertainment, featuring Aveda, KAO/Goldwell and Dimitrios Tsioumas, recipient of the 2012 Hairstylist of the Year NAHA.

This year's host and recipient of the PBA Beautiful Humanitarian Award will be popular actor-author-journalist-producer and father, Mario Lopez.  Some of Lopez's philanthropic endeavors include contributions to a number of worthy causes, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Community Youth Athletic Center of Chula Vista, Jameson’s Army, and Padres Contra el Cancer.

For its jury, NAHA continues to draw from a Who's Who of hairstylists and makeup artists from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Switzerland. Judges included Vivienne Mackinder, 5-time NAHA award winner, founder of HairDesignerTV.com, and editor-in-chief of MOD magazine; Tabatha Coffey, author, stylist and host of Bravo’s Tabatha’s Salon Takeover; Nicholas French, renowned UK stylist, author, and speaker; and Damien Carney, prominent beauty industry educator, founder of hairstyling academy Damien Carney London, and NAHA finalist along with many other top hairstylists from around the world! A blind judging process is used to narrow down the entries to five finalists per category, from which only one winner in each category will be chosen.

And if you can't be there in person, the ceremony will also be broadcast live, via streaming video, at modernsalon.com/naha. The NAHA live broadcast is generously sponsored by Wella, the Salon Professional Division of P&G.