28 of Olga Olikova’s students made the world Top 100
One Shot Hair Awards 2026. For 18 of them, it was the first time.
One Shot Hair Awards 2026, Intricate Braids and Twists
The One Shot Hair Awards just published the Top 100 in the Braids category. Twenty eight of those places belong to women who learned to braid online, in Olga Olikova’s courses (@oobraider). They come from ten countries. And Olga herself is in that Top 100 for the sixth year in a row.
More than one in four of the world’s best
This year, 28 of Olga’s online students made the Top 100 of the most prestigious braiding competition in the world. That means more than one in four of the hundred best braiders on the planet went through her course.
The most interesting part is not the number itself. It is that 18 of those 28 reached the world Top 100 for the first time. These are not the same faces every year. Each year a new wave of women learns to braid online and then holds their own against the best in the world.
Why One Shot matters
The One Shot Hair Awards, run by behindthechair.com, is often called the Oscars of hairdressing. It is the biggest and most prestigious global competition in the industry, drawing thousands of hairdressers and braiders from more than a hundred countries. Making the Top 100 in a category means you are among the hundred best in the world at what you do.
Where they are from
Olga’s students in this year’s Top 100 come from ten countries: Russia 11, Slovakia 4, Belarus 3, Czech Republic 2, United States 2, Poland 2, Latvia 1, Estonia 1, Greece 1, United Kingdom 1.
There is something worth noticing behind those numbers. In Latvia and in Estonia, the only finalist the country has is Olga’s student. In Belarus, three of the country’s four finalists are her students. In Poland, two of three. In Slovakia, four of eight. And in Russia, a true powerhouse of braiding with 28 finalists, eleven are hers. That is close to 40 percent of the entire Russian field.
Olga’s students appear in 10 of the 21 countries represented in this year’s Top 100.
Learning online actually works
The usual objection to learning a hands on craft online is that it cannot be done. That you need someone standing next to you.
Twenty eight women in the world Top 100 say otherwise. Many of them started at home. Some with their own kids as models, some alongside a full time job, some because they wanted to open their own braiding studio. None of them had Olga standing behind them. They had a method, in the right order, and they put in the hours.
Who is Olga Olikova
Olga Olikova, known as @oobraider, is a two time world champion in braiding (2023 and 2025). She has been in the world Top 100 six years in a row, from 2021 through 2026. She is an author of books on braiding, a speaker at international events, and more than 300,000 people follow her on social media. Her students come from 40 countries.
She started in 2018, teaching herself to braid, and built her way to becoming one of the most respected braiders in the world.
The numbers over time
In 2024, 12 of Olga’s students made the world Top 100. In 2025, it was 32. This year, 28.
So this year is slightly below last year, but still more than double 2024. And the reach grew: last year’s 32 came from eight countries, this year’s 28 come from ten.
What this means for you
Most of Olga’s students never set out to win competitions. They wanted to finally braid properly. The fact that the same course can take someone all the way to the world Top 100 is simply proof that the method works. If your goal is smaller, you will get there sooner.
All 28 of them
All credit goes to these 28 women. The course gave them a method. They added the discipline and the hours.
@badabraids, @braider_marina_olshanskaya, @braidifornia, @braids.by.ginger, @braids.rozi.dancehairstyle, @braidsbyadel, @efimovakosa, @evita_lashafro, @ideri_braids, @irina_braids, @kalinina_kosa, @kosandrovna, @llcopanky, @lorri_braids, @mgmbraider, @o.k.braidss, @pelina_malliou, @sasha_studiokos, @stylovewarkocze, @tomason_braids, @vrkoce, @zapletacky, @лучшие косы_курск, @topkosy, @warkoczykibydgoszcz, @анна_кос_пинск, @da.rina1770, @fraumau_braids
Want to learn to braid properly?
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