Vanessa Williams to Guest Judge on Shear Genius

The remaining eight stylists on Shear Genius can only hope that Vanessa Williams does not channel "Wilhelmina" from Ugly Betty when she judges their potentially red-carpet worthy hairstyles tonight.

Tonight at 10PM (ET/PT), the flat irons aren't the only things heating up in the salon, as tension builds when Tabatha confronts Evangelin after she continues to use gardening shears from last week's unconventional tools challenge in the salon.

"Being a surprise judge on Shear Genius was a blast," said Williams. "I think the contestants were surprised by my hair styling knowledge and I really enjoyed being constructive with my opinions from a celebrity point of view. There were stylists there who I would definitely hire to style my hair for an event."

In the short-cut challenge, stylists must create two unique hairstyles that allow models to go from daytime conservative to late-night glamour, with some stylists meeting the challenge head-on and some creating double style trouble.

Then, it's a celebrity hair affair in the elimination challenge when contestants must do a red-carpet "do" for special celebrity guest judge, Williams. She joins Jaclyn Smith, Sally Hershberger and Allure's Editor-in-chief Linda Wells on the judging panel, to decide which style is the most camera-ready.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.