As some people know, I've been growing my hair out for the past two years or so so that I can donate it towards making a cancer wig. A coworker of mine does it regularly, and she inspired me to follow her lead. After all, I have hair. It doesn't cost me a thing to grow, and probably saves me money since I don't have to visit the salon as often.But yesterday, in an effort to tame the split ends and dryness, I went to a stylist at the Eaton Centre. A master stylist, in fact, since no cheapy juniors were around. She sat me down and played with my long, wayward locks for a while to figure out what to do.
"You have hair like white people's," she said. "Thin and silky. Very thin."
She was Asian--Korean, if I'm interpreting her name right--and it wasn't offensive. It just seemed like a weird way to start off the conversation.
She started to tell me that I should have more layers to lift the look, and I had to explain for the second time that I was donating my hair to cancer wigs. She took me to wash my hair and as I had my head bent into the sink, she said, "It's very kindhearted of you to do this...but quite honestly, I don't think you should. You have very thin hair...you should think about yourself first."
In my head: WTF? Altruism FAIL!
I shrugged and said I was going to do it regardless, and that I wasn't worried about my hair. After all, SOMEONE doesn't have hair, and I have an excess. And I'm not going to shave it all off, just cut it once it's long enough.
She went on to fix my hair very nicely, gave me a reduced rate (Master stylists are priced between $55 to $65 while Juniors charge $35). She was quite good, and gave me some tips on how to keep it nicely styled with the weight and flatness of it. Still, I couldn't help but think that she is probably not the only stylist with this opinion of hair donation for certain clients: in an industry that is all about vanity and making you look good, would they have a care towards someone other than the client?
1 comment:
At worst, she was thinking about her career. After all, she would probably be out of a job if everyone took to donating their hair.
However, she might have been trying to tell you, in the nicest way possible, that your hair isn't the ideal type for donation. I've read that wig makers usually prefer thicker hair because then they don't require as many hairs to make a wig.
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