Stephen Moody, one of the world’s foremost educators of professional hairdressers, was recently nominated as a finalist in the prestigious North American Hairstylist Awards (NAHA) in two categories; Educator of the Year and Haircutting.
Starting as an apprentice in London at Vidal Sassoon in 1980, Moody recently celebrated 40 years in the professional beauty industry. A 31-plus-year veteran of the Sassoon Salon and Academy organization, he joined Wella in 2012. In his current role as Education Director for North America for the Wella Company, Moody leads the development of advanced curriculum, providing stylists the techniques and creative tools to grow their careers.
2021 was Moody’s first time entering NAHA in his 40-year career. “During my time at Sassoon we were not allowed to enter competitions. Instead, I gravitated to teaching, preparing, and mentoring hairdressers for competition. I had and have enormous respect for hairdressers who do. The commitment, dedication, and talent of people who enter any competition are extremely admirable,” he said.
Intrigued by the competition’s recent rule changes brought about by Covid-19 restrictions that allowed the use of previously published work, Moody’s 2021 submissions for the Haircutting category were images of final looks he created during his live seminars, spanning over six years from 2013 – 2018.
Driven by the words of his friend and industry icon, the late Fabio Sementilli, “Enter or Mentor”, Moody knew 2021 was the year to enter. “I had done thirty-five plus years of mentoring, it was time to enter finally.”
A second reason, Moody said, was “There is a song that goes; do something every day that scares you. Entering NAHA scared me!”
In addition to his entry being nominated in the Haircutting category, Moody is humbled by the nomination of Educator of the Year, “I am exceedingly proud to be a finalist in the Educator of the Year category alongside Chris Baran, Vivienne MacKinder, Sam Villa, and Tabatha Coffey. These people are legends.”
