Scissor Sister.(Dee Adames)(Interview)

Byline: Cara Litke

Winning the reality show Shear Genius gave Dee Adames a shot at styling hair for these pages--and telling her own story.

Unless they're on PBS, reality shows aren't exactly known for enlightening viewers. But the genre's dependable tropes--ego-fueled fights, zany challenges, and sophomoric romances--often add up to a big guilty pleasure. Season two of Bravo's Shear Genius , a reality show about hair, never stoops as low as, say, Flavor of Love , but it also doesn't take itself too seriously, poking a little fun at the beauty world while showcasing actual talent.

The show, which put 12 stylists through various hair-related challenges, such as cutting hair blindfolded and creating a jaw-dropping red-carpet style, was full of the drama you'd expect from a bunch of prize-hungry hairstylists--there were tiffs and insults, and more bad hair than a 1980s mall. But the winner, Dee Adames, managed to stay above it all (almost, anyway) as she made her way to the final cut and took home the prize: $100,000 from Nexxus. We asked her to tell us about her competition--and why she thinks she made the final cut.

So, now that you've won, what's next? My biggest dream has been to have my own salon, and that's possible now. I already have a name for it--Dee&L Hair Studio. The L is for my business partner, Laila Turner. I'm planning on opening it in Miami as soon as I can. Focus is what got me into this competition and made me a winner, and it's going to be the reason my new salon succeeds. Speaking of which, how did styling the hair for the allure shoot go? I thought it was going to be really tense and stressful, but we ended up having a blast. Everyone was very patient, and they helped me turn my initial vision into the final look, which is more beautiful than I could have imagined. Which challenge freaked you out the most? Tell the truth. I hadn't worked with dogs before, so that was tough. We had a crash course on cutting dogs' hair, but you can only learn so much in ten minutes. I just did my best and tried to stay focused, and I ended up coming out on top. Ever disagree with the judges? They weren't crazy about my design at the avant-garde photo shoot, but I thought it was amazing. It looked cool, and it definitely wasn't ordinary. Who was your toughest competition? Definitely Charlie. He's extremely talented, and he's been in the business for years. But while Charlie had lots of experience with models, I was more consumer-friendly--and at the end ...