WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Adrin "Seven" Washington has known since he was a teen that he wanted to be a professional hairstylist. The 30-year-old would watch family members do hair day after day until one day, he decided to give it a try.

"I started doing my friend's hair, and people saw it, and they liked it," Washington said. "They would ask if I would do their hair. Then, they started paying me."

Washington, who grew up on Edisto Drive in Orangeburg and is a 1996 graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, said it wasn't until he completed Claflin University in 2000 with a degree in mass communications and entered the workforce that he realized his passion could become a successful career.

Most recently, Washington won the national Sensationnel's Hair Idol '08 competition in Atlanta. Competing against 15 of the best stylists and models in the country, Washington and his model Shalynda McKenzie walked away with a first-place title in Avant Garde styling and photo shoot, first place in Fun & Funky Wig Cutting and third place in Casual Day.

"This was a very exciting experience," Washington said of his time at the competition, which took place Aug. 1-3. "I was very happy to be a finalist, but I was elated winning the competition."

Sponsored by 61-year-old Atlanta-based Bronner Bros. and Sensationnel, Hair Idol '08 used elements from Fox TV's "American Idol" to showcase the latest trends in hair extension designs on models.

The team was awarded $50,000 in cash and prizes, including $10,000 for the charity of their choice. They will also be featured in Sophisticate and Upscale magazines. McKenzie was awarded representation by a New York modeling agency for one year.

Washington's career compass hasn't always pointed to hairdressing. In fact, the award-winning stylist was headed in a completely different direction following his college graduation.

Washington moved to Atlanta, where he landed an advertising job at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and from there, he became an account executive for a graphic design and printing firm. But Washington said those jobs weren't satisfying, so he decided to return to his passion -- hair -- and started applying to beauty schools.

During his search, one of Washington's aunts was killed at the Pentagon in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"When we came up (to Washington, D.C.) to the funeral, I asked one of my aunts if I could live with her and go to beauty school," he said. She said yes, and Washington was on his way to a new career, one that would lead to magazine features and becoming a full-fledged celebrity stylist.

Washington is a graduate of the Dudley Beauty College in Washington, D.C.

"I do create a lot," Washington said of his styles. "I'm inspired by old trends and old styles. I create new styles inspired by those from the past."

Washington said his biggest piece of hair advice is to "just change your look."

"If you've had long hair for a long time, cut it off," he said. "It's new to you." And he said the same goes for someone with short hair -- simply let it grow.

In his five years as a professional stylist, Washington has entered several D.C.-area hair competitions and has won the national Golden Scissors Award and Male Stylist of the Year titles. Additionally, Washington was named Top Weave Master and Master Stylist of the Total Trendy Look at the Bronner Bros. International Hair Show.

His talent has opened many doors, including those leading to celebrity hairstyling.

"I got started when I won a hair competition," Washington said. There, he met celebrity stylist Derek Rutledge, who served as a judge for one of the competitions, and was invited to join Rutledge's celebrity styling team of beauty professionals.

In 2005, while working with renowned R&B and soul singer Patti LaBelle's styling team, Washington was granted the opportunity of a lifetime.

"One time, her hairstylist couldn't show up," he said. So the honor of styling LaBelle's hair fell on Washington.

He said the finished product spoke for itself.

"She really loved it," Washington said. "And after that, I kept doing her hair." He said he traveled with LaBelle on tour and began doing hair for her friends. It was a gig that ended up lasting two years.

"I just started building up," he said. "Every day, I get new calls from people in the (entertainment) industry. I just keep growing."

Washington's day job is artistic director for Giavonni's Salon in Largo, Md. In addition to working with LaBelle, Washington has also styled the locks of Chaka Khan, Countess Vaughn, Nona Hendryx, Shirley Caesar, Sheila E., Shaun Robinson and Melba Moore.

But he was quick to add that working for celebrities is no different than working for the public.

"Everyone is the same," he said. "They all get the best of me."

There's only one thing that Washington will admit makes him nervous -- and it's not doing hair for big-name entertainers.

"Sometimes, I get a bit nervous practicing a new style," he said. "I like a little showmanship sometimes."

"What I love most about hair is that it makes you look and feel good," he said. "Hair not only completes a person's outfit, but it also represents who they are inside.

"It's the icing on the cake, and the cake is bare without the icing."

Washington said hair is both an art and a science. He has been recognized for his signature styles, and his work has appeared in Vogue, Essence, Jet, Ebony and many beauty and fashion magazines, as well as on TV's "Good Morning America," "The Martha Stewart Show" and "Extreme Makeover."

"Artistically, you can style the hair the way you want around the world," he said. "Scientifically, you have to know what you're using on the hair. What are you feeding that hair to make it healthy and strong? You just don't want to have a nice hairstyle; you want a nice hairstyle that's healthy."

Washington said he has great memories of growing up in Orangeburg, where, while in school, he participated in extracurricular activities, gifted and talented education programs and attended summer programs at South Carolina State University.

"I just remember growing up in Orangeburg and going to the Rose Festival and (Orangeburg County) Fair," he said, adding that he comes home often to visit his family and for special events, like Claflin's homecoming. His parents, Melvin and Helen Washington, still live in Orangeburg, where his father owns Mufflex Muffler on Glover Street.

"I am so grateful for growing up in Orangeburg. Most people think I'm from some great place ... but some of the best people come from the South. There's a certain type of tenacity that we have," Washington said. "Orangeburg is the sunshine city. We're a small town with a big name."

Helen Washington said she is proud of her son, who always said he was going to do hair until he ended up working for the stars.

"I think he is awesome," she said. "Ever since he was 14 years old, he has taken on that leadership role. He has always been gifted doing hair."

She said while he was in high school, Adrin would juggle school and extracurricular activities with his hairstyling responsibilities, which grew over time.

"He had so many (customers)," Helen Washington said. "People would just come to him and say, 'I don't know what I want done, but I heard you can do hair.' His talent would just allow him to be so creative. He could really do styles that people wouldn't imagine a 16-year-old with no training could do. When he went to Dudley, he really started to shine.

"Adrin is really a gifted hairstylist. I'm just so proud of him."

His mom attributes his success to the lessons she and her husband tried to impart to Adrin and his two brothers, Melvin Washington Jr. of Charlotte, N.C., and Rydrekus Washington of Orangeburg, adding that she is proud of all of them and their accomplishments. She said as parents, they always tried to communicate with their children and let them know to never give up on their dreams.

"Everything has a price. Self-respect will take you anywhere you want to go," Helen Washington said, listing some of the lessons they taught. "Always be really appreciative when someone gives you something. ... Everything you do, you are responsible for, when it comes to yourself. ... Do your part. If someone else doesn't do theirs, that's O.K. -- just be responsible for yourself."

She said she has one simple piece of advice to pass along to parents: "As silly as it may seem to you, if your child has a vision or a dream, help them to follow that vision or that dream. Help them to see it through."

"(Adrin) followed his dream and his vision, and I am just so proud," she said.

Washington said he "aspires to inspire" through his work. In addition to being a renowned stylist, Washington is also a makeup artist and philanthropist. He is cofounder of In Crowd International, a special events organization that throws parties to raise money for charity.

"My mother once said that respect and manners will take you further than anything. It's not what you do but how you do it," he said. "Even if it's a penny, you stole it if you didn't ask for it or earn it. Those are the lessons that I've lived by, and those are what got to me to where I am now.

"I love doing what I do. This is my craft."

T&D Features Editor Wendy Jeffcoat Crider can be reached by e-mail at wjeffcoat@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5546. Discuss this and other stories onlineat TheTandD.com.

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