Why I Still Do What I Do

This past week, a women I had never met before made an appointment to get her done at my salon. When she came in and sat in my chair she began to tell me that her hair was a mess. She told me how awful it was, how bad she felt it made her look and that it did not have a shape of any kind which made it hard for her to do.

Ok, I thought. As I was listening, I heard something else in her voice. I wasn't sure what it was. Disappointment for sure, sadness too. But there was something else. I took her back to the shampoo bowl and began washing her hair.

As she was relaxing, she began to tell me more about herself. She moved back to our small town last April, to be near her daughter, who is having this woman's first grand child. She told me that her husband died. She also told me that her hair all fell out 9 months ago. This was her third battle with cancer.

You would not have known it at all to look at her. This woman was not in any way inhibited to tell me anything about herself. She and I had a very candid conversation about her treatments and how she had gained weight after the chemo.

She told me that nothing I could to her hair would be worse than what it already was. She gave me complete license to do whatever I thought would be best. She really didn't care, as long it was better than what she walked in with.

All I can say is that there is NOTHING a hairdresser LOVES more than having a clients complete trust. We can see things that most people cannot. We understand hair in a way that most people don't. Having the opportunity to make hair be it's best in my eyes, is the Holy Grail of my art.

So as she talked of her dead husband, and the joys of being a first time Grandmother, and her travels and her three cancers; I cut her hair. I saw a vision of how it would look it's best, and carved out a very sophisticated layered look that brought softness to her face and volume to the once lifeless locks.

Once in a while she would look up and say, "It is looking better already."

As I was styling it, a smile came to her face that was not there before. When I was finished, she almost jumped out of the chair! She told me how amazing I was, how good she thought her hair looked. She told me, "Girl, you really know what you are doing. This is the best my hair has looked in years!" ( This part was REALLY good for my ego.)

Confession: I love doing hair. I love being in charge of how much to cut, and when and knowing that what I do makes a difference in how someone perceives themselves. I still do what i do after 20+ years because of experiences like this. People come to me with all their problems, and with my magic wand, I mean comb and shears, I can help them forget their problems, even if it's just for a moment. I can make them feel good, inside and out. What better privilege is there than that?