A rock head, a vision, a week and a picture were the prerequisites. – I wanted to do something unique. Now I finally got the best award a hairdresser can get, says Ali Alahmad, hairdresser and barber in Nybro and Kalmar. The interest was aroused already when he was a child. – We had family businesses in Syria where two of my brothers were barbers. After school I got to help and clean there. I started cutting when I was 15 years old. Now I am 34, says Ali Alahmad. He now lives in Nybro and runs the company Troy Salon in Nybro and Kalmar. – I started alone in Nybro in 2016. Last year I also opened in Kalmar and now have six employees. It means everything to me. It is also a family business. My nephew and brother work for me, says Ali Alahmad. Now he has received the award Folkets frisör – People´s Choice – after receiving the most votes for his competition entry on social media. The pandemic meant that the project manager Barber Supplier had to rethink in order to be able to carry out his competitions. This year’s edition of Head2Head Barber Challange was made digital. 76 barbers signed up, each receiving a similar cutting head. – I talked to a friend who has a studio in Emmaboda. I cut, styled and dressed the doll in party clothes and sunglasses. It sits in a bar and drinks whiskey, says Ali Alahmad. Klippdockan was then photographed in the studio and a total of 65 entries participated in the vote on social media and Ali Alahmad won. – It feels great. I was chosen by the people for the victory. He also placed second in the Barber competition class.
The final for Barber of the Year 2018 will be decided at the Swedish Barber Expo in Stockholm on September 1 on World Beard Day. In total, just over 45 barbers will have settled for the four final places. In April, the first two finalists were selected for the West Coast and Southern Sweden. Yesterday it was time for semifinal 3, which was held at Stucklife Barber in Stockholm. Ten barbers from Eksjö, Linköping, Norrköping, Nybro, Skövde, Sundsvall, Säffle and Västerås were registered.
Judge Cari Forsgren from Barberia Havana, who won Barber of the Year 2017, and Kenneth Johnsson “freeSir2.0”, master barber with 33 years in the industry, judged the beard trimming according to seven different criteria. The barbers worked on their own model and had 45 minutes to freely trim and style their beards.
– This semi-final was the one that was most even, the barbers were really high quality. The winner excelled in that he worked with all techniques, including threading and waxing of nose hair. It was a bit of a show and felt very professional, says Cari Forsgren.
The winner was Ali Alahama from Troy Salon in Nybro. In second place came Zamo Berggren from Granlo Herrfrisering in Sundsvall.
Kenneth Johnsson also wants to highlight the semi-final’s youngest participant so far, Sargon Kanoun from Sigges Barbershop in Skövde, who at the age of 18 impressed the judges.
– He worked with such calm, had a really good technique and used all tools. It’s unbelievable that you are so mature at that age – he will be among the top in a few years.
The last semifinal for the East Coast will be decided on May 27 in Stockholm. The four finalists will compete in the final in front of an audience at the Swedish Barber Expo on September 1, with an international jury selecting the winner.
Original post on grooming
The Barber of the Year competition was canceled last autumn and the corona restrictions made the organizers think again. This resulted in a completely new competition concept that was Covid-19 safe. The barbers competed in their own barbershop on a rock head instead of a model, and the competition entry was sent in as a photo. This is how it was important to not only think about hair and hairstyle but also photography and how to communicate a vision in pictures and social media.
There were 76 barbers who signed up. And it was Ali Alahmad and who runs the hairdressing salon Troy Salon in Nybro who was chosen as the People’s hairdresser and also came second in the class Barber of the Year.
Come with the big wave of refugees in 2015
It is only six years since he came to Sweden. He brought the big wave of refugees in 2015 and already after only one year he opened his hair salon in Nybro. Since then he has another salon in Kalmar and today he has six employees.
During the trip I was awarded the barber of the year 2018, participated in Barber battle 2018, reached the semifinals of the barber competition 2019 and now I finally got the best award a hairdresser can get, namely when I was chosen by the people to win the competition Head2Head Barber Challenge 2021 as peoples choise. After five years in Sweden, I can not say more than a big thank you to the first Sweden who opened the door for me and gave me new opportunities to realize my dreams but also to you out there who visit Troys Salon, he says.
Original post on dagenskalmar