Joan announced she is going to try something new: “Shave it all off!”
“Joan, are you sure?” I said. “You’ve worn the same hairstyle for the past six years that I’ve known you.”
Joan was one of those women who always looked so put together. Her hair and makeup were always done. Her outfit and jewelry always matched. She was funny and outgoing, everything I wished I could be. She was a presence. Everyone knew when she was in the room.
“It’s going to fall out anyway,” Joan said. “Why not do something fun with the little I have left? I came home from Wisconsin to die… I’m not bitter about it. I’m ready for whatever. If I didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t even do chemo anymore.”
I have worked for the past eight years as a licensed cosmetologist and make-up artist. I am also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in digital communication and social media. Pursuing my degree, while working in a field where communication is so important, allows me to apply many of the concepts I am learning to my everyday experiences.
I was emotional throughout Joan’s entire time with me. Life is so unfair sometimes. Joan was a tough cookie. But behind that tough exterior, I knew she struggled with her image.
She said to me: “Hun, can’t you take this double chin off too, while you are back there cutting?”
When I got home, Joan messaged me. She said she was over the moon happy with her hair. She said it felt so good to be pampered and fussed over, how it made her feel “normal” again. I knew her battle only had just begun. Joan had more rounds of chemo to go.
And now, losing her hair to cancer, I cried, knowing her hair was the only thing she felt she had control over in her life.
Joan passed the following year.
Most people have spent some time sitting in a hairstylist’s chair, trying to explain what’s going on in their world, including positive and negative influences affecting their lives and their choices.
Joan was just one of my clients I have had the blessing to get so close to. As a hairstylist, I am forced to be in a close emotional and physical proximity to people. I must listen to what the client wants to achieve, conceptualize what they are saying, repeat it back to them affirming that’s what they want, and then carry out their expectations in a concrete creative styling process.
In a 2016 study, hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists were ranked third in relative importance of feeling tasks out of 10 industries. Industries that involve feeling tasks are heavily focused in interpersonal interaction, emotion and empathy.
Thus, it is fundamental to my work that I learn how to apply effective communication skills in order to create a deeper rapport with each client, and thus inspire them to return.
Working as a hairstylist and going to school can be challenging.
Managing my schedule of class time and work time can be difficult. I carry my paper planner at all times. I work many nights and weekends, times in which I could be working on homework. 6 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. is typical, especially on a Saturday.
Being a hairstylist can be physically demanding. I have tendinitis in my hands and my hands are numb almost every morning. Standing all day with no break to even grab a snack or a drink of water is normal.
A multi-case study concluded that on average, hairdressers are at a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), in comparison to other occupational groups. In addition, they concluded that lack of adequate breaks and overtime may deteriorate health and performance of hairdressers.
Above all my job paired with school can be mentally tiring. Clients depend on me to process all of their thoughts and stories and give them a logical reasoning to their struggles, all while creating their desired style. Sometimes I am a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason when someone is going through the hardest parts of life such as a divorce, or like Joan, cancer treatment.
Nevertheless, there are so many positives to my job. There must be some reason the U.S. News & World Report ranks hairdressing as fifth in best social services jobs.
I get to give children their first haircut. I get to see people at their personal best, their prom, their graduation, their wedding day or before a job interview at a high-profile company.
I find balance knowing that my career as a cosmetologist runs parallel with my education.
Knowing that I can give my clients the confidence they need to embark upon new beginnings at their most vulnerable times and at their most pivotal moments, gives me the self-assurance that I can navigate anything school and life throws at me.
