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HAIR STUDIO Hilda Villaverde is a hairstylist, author, business owner, public speaker and minister. "I think the most important thing a woman can have
-- next to her talent of course -- is her hairdresser" |
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If there’s one place in the world where most women tend to feel happy, relaxed, and truly "let their hair down," it is inside the safe but invigorating confines of a hair salon. For many women, the simple act of sitting down in the styling chair and talking to their hairstylist can actually play an important role -- helping not only with the head of hair, but also with the head itself! Simply put, the next visit to your stylist may not only be good for your hair, but may also be good for your mental health. In some cases, this appointment might even save the life of someone too afraid to talk to anyone but the person behind the chair. Recently, a public foundation in Phoenix, Arizona, began an initiative to study mental health in the surrounding areas. Their objective was to identify the pathways that the public uses to achieve and maintain their mental health. The project was directed by a brilliant group of people who reached outside the usual "box" of a medical mindset and asked for assistance from local professionals not normally thought of as mental health providers. I was fortunate enough to have been asked to attend one of several small focus groups formed for the study. That group consisted of ten diverse occupations -- a bartender, a massage therapist, a barber, a manicurist, a healing sound and color therapist, a skin-care and makeup artist, a hypnotherapist, an owner of a high-adventure expedition company for executives, a personal life coach, and me, a hairstylist. What did all of us have in common? According to the research findings, these providers of alternative therapies and personal services find themselves dealing with the emotional issues of their clients as part of offering their unrelated services. Clients often talk freely and discuss not only their professional challenges but, in many cases, their personal concerns and secrets. As a hairstylist and salon owner for over thirty years, I have had the opportunity to talk to thousands of women and men who have, without hesitation, spilled their entire life stories in a matter of minutes while sitting in my chair for a salon service. I would like to think that it’s my charming personality that encourages such behavior, but the truth is that throughout the world most hairstylists elicit the same behavior from their clients. After conducting my own research by talking with stylists from other countries and by reading books or watching foreign films based in hair salons, I can only conclude that globally countless beauty salon professionals experience similar confessions, conversations, or requests for counsel that create profound intimate connections with their clients. So, why do people trust their hairstylist with their most personal life events, and how does this affect their mental health? These questions have become a subject of study, as more and more people admit to getting help from the person who cuts, styles, colors, and curls their hair. One reason could be the trust factor. As a client recently answered when I asked why she felt safe in my chair, "If I trust you enough to let you work on what matters the most to me, my appearance, my image, essentially my ego, I can certainly trust you with everything else in my life. After all, what’s left to hide?" Another client had a simple explanation. "When I come in to see you, I have made that time for me, and it is my time to take care of myself. I want to use it all up. After all, it’s all about me!" she said as she laughed out loud. I would never have expected such a comment from this woman. Professionally, she is a housekeeper and ironing lady. She is sweet, unassuming, and is always giving of herself to others. Yet while sitting in my styling chair, she made this statement with complete confidence and devotion to taking care of herself. Yet another example of self-care improving mental health are schoolteachers who come in for hair appointments during the middle of the week, confessing that they were taking a mental health day away from the classroom. Instead of doing anything else, they choose to spend their time having their hair done. The list of reasons women give for visiting a hair salon includes the need to unwind, revitalize, raise their self-esteem, feel physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually better, and, perhaps, even talk to someone who may be able to help them out of a difficult situation. Because it is a well-known fact that women talk to their hairstylists candidly, new frontiers have opened up in the beauty industry. Innovative programs such as, CUT IT OUT are now training and empowering salon professionals to listen to women who may be experiencing domestic violence or other violations. The notion that a stylist may be able to spot early warning signs and be a critical connection to a victim who doesn’t know where to turn has expanded the services of the basic haircut and blow-dry. These programs are not training cosmetologists to become counselors, but to become skillful listeners who can recognize a cry for help and refer that victim to a trained professional. Several times in my own salon experience, I have become aware of clients who I suspected might be in a dangerous situation or might be a danger to themselves or a threat to others. One client, whose husband suffered with dementia, admitted that her husband had tried to strangle her when she refused to give him the keys to the car. After seeing the severe bruising around her throat where he had held her down on the hood of the car with his strong hands, I was convinced that she was in danger of losing her life. Through the urging of my assistant and me, we assured her that calling the authorities was the smart action to take. Luckily, not every day in the beauty industry is about giving advice or saving a life. By far, the greatest reason that millions of people go to beauty salons is for the sheer pleasure of feeling happy. No matter the age, religious belief, social status, political conviction, birth order, astrological sign or cultural background, every person wants to feel happy! After all, scientists have concluded that an attitude of happiness directly affects all aspects of our well-being. Hairdressers may be one of the few professionals who can speak from experience about happiness. According to the City & Guilds Happiness Index, published in the United Kingdom, "Forty percent of hairdressers are happy in their chosen careers. The rest of the workforce is lagging far behind. Even among the clergy, who came in second to hairdressers in the poll, just twenty-four percent say they were happy." And why not! As a career, hairdressing is filled with excitement, freedom of expression, connection with interesting men and women, and an opportunity to help people get what they want ... happiness! A quick glance into a hair salon with all the glitz, glamour and hype around hair, nails, and skin paraphernalia might lead someone to conclude that outer appearance is uppermost in the mind of the client. "If I look good on the outside, I’ll feel happy on the inside." The dynamics are not that simple. However, I believe that most people in our salons are at some level drawn to improve their outer beauty as a means of strengthening their overall outlook. Most people understand that the inner world of self-care creates the outer world of real beauty, mental health, and authentic happiness. The next time you need a boost just get your hair done, sit back and relax, and see what happens ...
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Pluma Designs Inc.
hildavillaverde@cox.net |
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