A Reality Check With … Theodore Leaf (Bravo’s “Shear Genius”)

RC: How did you hear about the show & what made you want to apply?
TL: I actually heard about Shear Genius through a friend & email. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get on tv, which was a goal of mine.

RC: How did you end up getting on Shear Genius?
TL: You definitely jump through a lot of hoops. The first interviews are based on your personalities. We had to do a test for hair to show our styling & cutting techniques.

RC: Tell us a little about your training & background.
TL: I started at the Paul Mitchell School in Ohio. Three weeks into beauty school, I was traveling & going to every hair show I could. I met the top artists. I traveled the country as an assistant for a few years.

RC: You started strong in this competition – were you expecting to be a frontrunner?
TL: I’d hoped to! Most definitely! Each challenge was going to bring it’s own set of challenges so you never know.

RC: What went wrong for you in the long to short challenge?
TL: When I was choosing models, I went with the texture I work with all the time. That model had a beautiful head of hair. The products let me down. I hoped for a more natural kind of blow dry. Everything everyone does is so styled. I wanted to work with natural style. But she had a length limitation and it does create an issue when a model only wants her hair so short in a long to short challenge.

RC: If you could go back, would you have done anything differently?
TL: I definitely would have gone with my styling power, I can blow dry really well. I would’ve gone from wet to dry real fast with a round brush & made it real smooth.

RC: What other contestants really impressed you?
TL: I love Tabitha, she’s really fierce. She’s actually really nice! Donna actually cuts my hair, we’re good friends. We get along really well and I’ve been keeping in touch with a few people.

RC: Which judge were you the most nervous to show your work in front of?
TL: I was really nervous to show my work in front of Fredrick. Early in my research, his name kept popping up as a force to be reckoned with. We never know who the guest judge is going to be and when he came in, I was shaking in my boots!

RC: When cutting & styling, what are your strengths?
TL: I’m great at bringing inner beauty out. I’m the last stylist that’s going to cut an asymmetrical bang on your hang. I love gorgeous, pretty hair. I live in LA & our look is to make everyone look younger!

RC: Where can we find you now & what are you doing?
TL: After the show, I opened my own salon. It's a fabulous little boutique. I've been doing runway shows, I did 18 fashion shows during Fashion Week, and photo shoots. I have a website and all my service menus are on there. We have a feature where you can make appointments online & we reply very quickly!

A new episode of Shear Genius airs tonight on Bravo at 10pm EST

For more Shear Genius links, please visit sirlinksalot.net!