Work it! Work it!

Hello everyone! Just a quick update of a CRAZY, amazing day! This morning, 8 of the contestants and I went to the MG Studio to shoot a real life infomercial for Wen hair care product by Chaz Dean! Wen is a new sponsor for the Miss America Organization and we are thrilled to be using the Chaz’s cleansing conditioner product! We left our rooms at 7 a.m. with strict instructions to wash our hair with ONLY shampoo (no conditioner or product) and let our hair air dry completely. You should’ve seen our beautiful rat’s nests as we left the hotel! J

When we arrived at the studio, we took “before” video and pictures while Chaz Dean assessed our hair condition and determined what he would need to do to help us look our best! The shoot was wild. The set was arranged just like small hair salon with 2 sinks and 2 work stations with mirrors and chairs. All 9 of us took “before” video and 3 of us taped additional footage with Chaz cleansing our hair on set (the other 6 were cleansed backstage). So this is the funny part…as I was waiting for Miss Oregon and Miss Texas to finish getting their hair cleansed, which included asking Chaz questions and having Chaz explain the product in detail as to fully inform customers how to use it, I was placed at one of the work stations with a hair stylist named Danny. We were in the shot with my face and hair in the mirror but Danny wasn’t actually allowed to do anything to my hair (since I still needed it to be cleansed with the Wen product) and we couldn’t talk since Chaz and the contestant needed to talk through the filming. It was so much fun to ‘act’ and have that role in the infomercial! Because we couldn’t talk, Danny and I kept making eye contact and smiling and he started running out of things to “do” to my hair. He continually sprayed the Wen hydrating spray on my hair and by the time I had sat in the chair for an hour, we had almost used the entire bottle! Too funny!

The shoot was moving very quickly and by the time my turn to be cleansed came around, we were almost out of time. So we got the camera rolling and Chaz asked me about my hair and the  hair issues I was having. We figured out how many pumps of the product to put in my hair (12) for best results and he started the cleansing process! 4 pumps into the cleansing, the director shouted that we needed to move onto the next scene! Cue my flexibility skills... Thank goodness I’ve gotten so much practice throughout grad school and my job with being flexible "in the moment"! Haha! Instead of Chaz finishing my hair, another stylist wrapped my hair in a towel and took me outside to the ‘backstage’ hair washing stations! She put the remaining 8 pumps of product in my hair and made sure I was totally taken care of!

Once I was brought back onto the set, I was put in Chaz’s styling chair and had a similar experience in that he began the styling of my hair and explaining which finishing products to use but as SOON as he finished his explanation, we had to move onto the next scene! Fortunately, this gave Danny the opportunity (finally) to actually work with me hair! It was amazing having it beautifully blown out and curled but never with a curling iron! My make up was touched up by the artist on hand and I lined up with the rest of the contestants for our final interview, “after” shot, and beauty shots! The interview was so much fun and the “after” shot went smoothly but the beauty shot was a learning experience for me! Even though I’ve seen models on t.v. “working” the camera, it was totally different doing it myself! It was so much fun to loosen up, really let me hair flow and move, and to smile and engage the camera! Just like I had seen in movies, the producer really did yell super encouraging things like, “yes, I LOVE it, work it” and my favorite, “look at that camera, love it, LOVE IT!!” It was SO high energy, ridiculously warm in the room because of all the lights, and very fast paced! After each contestant completed her shots, we took a few group pictures and we were outta there! It was an almost surreal experience to be a part of a shoot like that and I absolutely LOVED it! Plus, during the time when I had to be acting like Danny was doing my hair, it gave me a wonderful amount of time to reflect, be peaceful, and pray for the coming times. J

We headed back to the hotel and had 2 hours before dinner. I was able to get so much finished including prep for my interview tomorrow, a 27 minute nap, and beautifying myself for the film shoot after dinner! We ate dinner quickly at 4:15 and left the hotel shortly after that for more filming for the Miss America show!

Like I’ve mentioned before, make sure you’re watching on January 14 for some amazing entertainment! All 53 of us filmed for about 2 hours and with the wait time included, were out at the shoot site for around 4.5 hours. We finally got to head back on the bus during which ride I got to spend some awesome time with Miss Alaska! She just finished her teaching practicum and got her degree in December! How awesome! We had a great time exchanging school stories and it is wildly apparent that we are both so thankful for the support we have from our schools! Although I highly doubt any school could beat Rozet! J

I am now in bed, ready for interview tomorrow morning at 9:44 a.m. I can hardly believe that I am actually at my first judged phase of competition. I, along with so many wonderful people, have worked so hard to get to this point and I thank God that I am able to be in this position here and now! I am so excited to meet and converse with the judges and I pray that God’s light shines through me during that time, allowing them to see my heart, my passion, my drive, and really who I am! Thank you all so much for encouraging me with every word, prayer, and thought you send my way! I cannot wait to let you know how everything goes! I can hardly wait to see those of you coming to Vegas-it’s coming up so soon! Love!