Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Israel News

Battle of the Blow-Dryers

If we’ve learned one thing from Adam Sandler’s Zohan, it’s that you don’t mess with Israeli hairdressers!

Paris Preview: A sample of Israel?s collection styled by Motie Rubin and Rafael Rubin. Image by RAFAEL BEN-DOR

Thirty Israeli beauty stylists carrying an arsenal of hair dryers, nail polish and makeup will head to Paris in October 2010 to compete in the Organisation Mondiale Coiffure World Championship. The competition is run by the OMC, the largest beauty organization in the world, which Israel joined last year.

The Paris-bound contestants were finalists in the first annual OMC Israel Cup, held July 20 in Tel Aviv, where more than 100 nail artists, hairdressers and makeup stylists from around the country battled for the most artful and arguably most outrageous stylings.

Hairdressers fought it out for best street look, bridal style and fantasy design, while nail artists clawed through the competition, creating everything from French/classical nails to 3D design work. Makeup artists didn’t stop at the face; they also painted body art.

The incredible creations ranged from artful to carnivalesque, but Rafael Rubin, art director of OMC Israel, said there is much preparation to be done before the Paris competition, and the team will train intensely.

While many Israeli stylists are excited about the arrival of the organization, others said it is long overdue. Arthur Yakubov, who took first place in the Street Fashion competition, told The Jerusalem Post, “Thank God, [OMC] arrived in Israel.”

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version