Contessa 2027 Freestyle Finalists: Five Canadian Stylists Advance

Five Canadian hairstylists and colourists have been named finalists in the Contessa 2027 Freestyle category, with the winner to be crowned Sunday, November 8, 2026, at the John W. H. Bassett Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It's the 38th annual edition of the Contessa Awards, Canada's long-running national hairdressing competition.

The finalists span four provinces, and the list mixes independent salon names with a national chain:

• Tina Casciato — Renaissance Salon & Estetica, St. Catharines, Ont.
• Sonal Dodiya — Chatters Hair Salon, Winnipeg, Man.
• Angie Hunt — Chatters Hair Salon, Winnipeg, Man.
• Sharon LeClair — DastousDio, Dieppe, N.B.
• Jet Plummer — Moods Hair Salon, Vancouver, B.C.

Winnipeg's Chatters accounts for two of the five slots — a notable showing for a single chain location in one city.

What is the Freestyle category?

Contessa Freestyle is a one-photo category that's free to enter. It gives Canadian hairstylists and colourists the chance to showcase their single best shot, with full artistic freedom to express their creativity. For working stylists, that means zero entry cost and no multi-look collection requirement — one strong image is all it takes.

The finalists emerged after weeks of judging and public voting. Organizers thanked everyone who entered and voted, and directed finalists and fans to the full gallery of finalist entries, viewable through Salon Magazine's winners-and-finalists page.

What do finalists need to know about the ceremony?

Every finalist receives one complimentary, non-transferable ticket to the November 8 awards night. Organizers are telling finalists to check their inboxes — and their junk mail folders — for that ticket confirmation.

Additional tickets for the 38th annual Contessa Awards are on sale now through the event's ticketing page. Salons sending teams to support a finalist should book early rather than assume extra seats at the door.

Why it matters on the salon floor

A Contessa finalist nod is a marketable credential. For salons like Renaissance Salon & Estetica in St. Catharines or DastousDio in Dieppe — a single-location New Brunswick business — a national-stage placement puts the salon's name in front of the whole Canadian trade press at no entry cost.

For chain stylists, Chatters' twin Winnipeg finalists show that competition visibility isn't limited to independent editorial teams. Staff recognition at this level is also a retention lever: finalists carry a title they can use in bios, pricing conversations and client booking pages.

The finalist imagery itself doubles as a portfolio benchmark. Casciato's entry, photographed by Natasha Gerschon, is already circulating as the category's featured image — a reminder that the photographer credit matters as much as the hair work in a one-photo format.

The next data point to watch: the Freestyle winner announcement on stage at the Bassett Theatre on November 8, 2026, alongside the rest of the 38th Contessa Awards roster.