The reality behind reality TV? Your makeover better be fast, and it better be dramatic! Here, Billy B. explains why.	October 1, 2004 American Salon
	TV reality shows are all the rage these days. It seems like every time I turn around, there's another one cropping up. Whether they're making over people or redoing their homes, the popularity of these shows is exploding, because our society is fascinated with before-and-afters. I've always been fascinated with makeovers myself; that's why I do what I do for a living. I've been called to audition for a number of shows like these, and when they're relevant to what I love to do, like Fox's Ambush Makeover (the number-one reality show in its time slot), I jump at the chance. Ambush has a fun format—its fashion and beauty "victims" are literally whisked off the street and taken away for a head-to-toe transformation. It was even more fun because I got to work with my friend and fellow American Salon columnist Ruth Roche; it always takes teamwork to do a successful makeover. Doing before-and-afters for television is very different from the kind of work you do in the salon, where everything centers on the client's needs. For one thing, the time crunch on TV is a huge factor: You simply do not have all the time in the world. You have to deal with the needs of a whole TV production team, and you have to work fast. Often your makeover subject is rushed off to the next place so quickly, you don't even get the satisfaction of seeing her reaction to your work. But the bottom line is, your number-one responsibility is good TV. Your "after" look has to be dramatic—nothing spells TV doom like a boring makeover. If you're experienced and can work at a fast pace with minimal direction, then you know what makes for good TV. So whenever I do this type of work, I always go a little bit further than what the makeover subject would do on her own. Always keep this in mind if you get the chance to make someone over for TV, or think you want to pursue this kind of work. Our "ambushee" was a bass player who was going to be onstage performing that night. She had naturally very curly hair, and when Ruth was finished blowing it out, smoothing it and coloring it, I really had a time crunch on my hands. Still, my job that day was all about her 15 minutes of TV fame, not so much as giving her a look she would continue to do on her own every day. She had to look like a star, and whether you're making over a musician or a soccer mom, you're not going to do that with just lip gloss and mascara. The producers thought it was one of the best makeovers they'd seen. And the reality is, that's good TV.	Billy teamed with Ruth Roche to create this before & after look for Ambush Makeover.