Hairdresser Combing Teen’s Hair Gets Surprise Of Her Life

She had been a hairdresser for over four years at this point, and by now, she thought she had seen it all. That was until she met her.

She welcomed the girl into the salon with a friendly smile, just like any other client. She looked at her, seeing another mess of hair that she had to conquer. But as she learned more about the girl, she made the realization that she was perhaps biting down more than she could chew.

Hairdressing

Maria began working as a hairdresser before she even finished high school. She loved making people feel good about themselves, she knew she had a knack for making people smile with their looks. Hairdressing was the perfect way to do just that.

In her senior year in high school, she started helping out at her aunt’s salon for a quick buck. She always knew that she wanted to become a hairdresser. But she never knew how big of an impact it would have on her life.

She Found Work

Just two years later, Maria found a job as a hairdresser in her city. She dreamed of someday opening her own salon where she could explore all that came with hairdressing.

She worked hard for four years, constantly seeing all the good and bad that came with hairdressing. By now, she thought she had seen it all, that is until that fateful Saturday morning.

The Girl

It was a busy Saturday at the salon, and Maria and her colleagues were hard at work. The salon was at full capacity, each stylist booked for the entire weekend.

As Maria was finishing up with one of her regular clients, a young teenage girl looked through the windows, and Maria noticed her. At first, she didn’t pay the girl much attention, she was used to people peeping into the salon. But what she did next made Maria set down her comb.

She Was Nervous

The girl stepped into the salon, dressed in a pair of gray sweats and an oversized hoody. Her blue eyes glanced over the crowd, her hood over her head and her hands fumbling at her sides.

Maria could instantly tell that the girl was nervous. She placed her clippers on a nearby table and turned to the girl with a smile on her face. But then the girl turned around and stormed out of the store.

She Followed

“Excuse me, Lucy,” Maria spoke to her current client before making her way to the door and into the street, “Hey!” She shouted out to the girl. “Come back!” She called, just before the girl turned a corner.

She stopped and slowly turned around. Worry lurked behind her eyes and her lips lightly trembled as she looked at Maira. “Please, come back,” Maria tried to encourage her, smiling at the girl. She wanted to make sure that the girl was okay.

Friendly Offer

As the girl approached Maria, she asked for her name. She mumbled her name and Maria shared hers. “Do you want to come in? We have milkshakes and great stories,” she offered in a friendly tone.

Maria could tell that the girl was uneasy as she nodded slightly and headed into the shop. She walked with her through the busy place, and when she lowered her hood, Maria instantly knew why she’d run away.

Cut It All

As Maria stared at her hair, the girl spoke, “Cut it all.” Her hair was matted and messy, it looked like it hadn’t been combed in months. Maria knew she’s have to clear her schedule to get through this one. “Why d’you want me to cut it?” Maria asked.

“Because it’s worthless,” the young girl responded. “I’m worthless.” Tears were now welling up behind her eyes, “Please cut it all.”

Helping Her

Maria instantly felt sympathy. “Let’s take it slow,” she responded with a slight smile. “We’ll start with a comb first, really work through the motions.” Maria’s tone was sweet and calm, “We’ll use the clippers as a last resort, okay?”

The girl had a confused look on her face as she nodded slowly, asking,  “Why do you care?” What she said next broke her heart in two.

Her Story

Her voice was soft as she said, “Nobody ever cares.” She then shared her life story, telling Maria that her mom had passed away just a few months ago. Ever since then, the poor girl had been falling apart.

The girl shared that she often felt so down, neglected, and worthless that she didn’t even have the motivation to brush her hair. But why did she wish to cut it?

Her Reason

“School’s around the corner,” said the girl. She’d need a new photo for the semester, and she couldn’t deal with the pain of combing her hair all out.

Listening to her story broke Maria’s heart. She cleared her entire weekend, squeezing in her clients to some colleagues. She sat with the girl throughout the day, powering through hours of combing and cleaning. Could she stop her from cutting her locks?

A Saturday Well Spent

As the day ended, Maria turned the girl around in the mirror. They’d reduced what was once a mass of matted curls into a more manageable lump of tangled hair.

The girl smiled, her first smile of the day. But Maria knew they still had more work to do. She smiled back and asked the girl if she could return the next day.

Day Two

Maria rarely opened the salon on Sunday mornings, but this was a special occasion. She wasn’t sure the girl would show up, but as she pushed the door open, she saw her reflection behind her.

“Come in!” she chirped, ushering the girl into the salon. The girl dressed differently than the previous day. She’d swapped her sweatpants and hoody for a flowing blue dress, and her dark hair was free. Did she seem happier? Maria would find out.

They Spend Another Day Together

Maria picked up where she left with the girl’s hair. She asked her what length she was comfortable with and her preferred styles.

Although the girl was reluctant to talk sometimes, Maria thought she was exciting and lovely to talk to. They spent hours together. Maria found her delightful and enjoyed the work until she noticed a problem.

A New Challenge

While most of the huge blobs and matted portions of her hair had been fixed, there was still a lot of damage near the scalp. Maria frowned as she wondered how to proceed.

They had made so much progress that Maria worried the girl might slip back into her sadness and feel hopeless again if she mentioned it. She came up with a plan instead.

Buying Time

Maria knew she had to buy some time to ensure she could come up with a better solution. If she stared at the girl’s head for too long without working, she might get suspicious.

Maria’s mind raced as she tried to think of ways to prolong the situation while she could work out what to do. She feared that if she couldn’t find a suitable fix, she’d have to resort to cutting after all.

The Best Approach

Maria has been successful in the hairstyling profession because she was talented. However, with Maria, her customers knew she also rendered another priceless service.

Maria always felt comfortable with her older clients, and her added services flowed naturally. However, the girl’s issues and the weight she carried made it a tricky situation to navigate.

Treading Carefully

Maria knew that if she could get the girl to open up a little more, she could look for common ground with her. She desperately wanted to help her more.

She had proven easily scared before, so Maria knew she’d have to approach with caution. She took a deep breath and began asking her some questions to see how it went.

Getting Personal

Maria was itching to learn more about her. She obviously carried around a lot on her shoulders, especially for someone so young.

It pained Maria to know that the poor girl was going through so much. It was a lot to take for anyone in her position. However, Maria also had a personal reason for wanting to help her.

Maria’s Story

Life hadn’t been easy for Maria either. She had grown up the hard way. With very little money, she’d grown up needing to help her mom pay the bills for herself and three siblings.

Leaving school at such a young age was a difficult choice. Maria once had dreams and ambitions but was forced to put them aside for her family. Then, things got even harder.

Her Mom

Maria’s mother had struggled through life. She faced obstacles throughout her life. When she was just 22, Maria’s father abandoned her and the children.

Her mom had found a way to keep the family afloat, often working three jobs to make ends meet. Life seemed to just be turning a corner for the family when tragedy struck. Maria was only 17 when her mom got sick. 

Losing Mom

Losing her mom to illness at such a young age was the most difficult thing Maria had ever endured. It was many years ago, but she still felt the pain daily.

Maria realized now why she had felt an instant connection to the girl. As she stared at the damaged roots of her hair, she knew she had to help her somehow.

Getting To Work

Maria changed tact at that moment. Rather than asking the girl to open up and risk her feeling uncomfortable, Maria decided to speak about her past instead.

While the girl was occupied hearing about Maria’s own tragic childhood, Maria used this time to figure out a solution for her hair. As she spoke, an idea soon came to her.

A Tricky Solution

Maria realized that the last clumps of matted hair were too small and delicate to extract without hurting the girl. However, if left that way, they could also grow out and mess up her hair again.

Maria realized that if she could delicately apply a relaxer treatment to those portions, it would untangle the hair for her. It wouldn’t be easy, though.

Getting To Work

Maria knew that relaxers contained harmful chemicals. They weren’t meant to be applied directly to the scalp so she’d have to be extremely careful.

Getting together some tools of her trade, she mixed some of the treatments and began carefully applying them to the affected areas. It was a stressful situation.

The Results

Maria kept the girl engaged in conversation as she executed her plan with the delicacy of a surgeon. Luckily, being so good at what she did, Maria could work in the relaxer without getting any of it on the girl’s scalp.

With bated breath, she allowed it to settle and waited. At last, she saw it beginning to work. She turned the girl toward her and smiled as she told her the news.

It Worked

The relaxer worked a treat and had automatically un-matted the portions of her hair that would have been too tricky to do by hand. Amazingly, after the state of her hair when she first came in, it was now completely transformed from roots to tips.

Maria told her the good news. Unexpectedly, the girl’s eyes welled up, and she began crying. Maria expected her to be happy and had no idea what was wrong.

A New Friend

When the girl calmed down and explained, Maria was relieved. They were tears of happiness as the girl said how grateful she was. No one had ever shown her this much kindness before.

Maria was ecstatic. She finished the last bit of the marathon job. Now that the girl’s hair was beautiful and manageable again, all that was left was the styling. When she was done, the girl gasped with shock.

A New Beginning

Maria brought the girl a mirror. She’d trimmed the hair above the girl’s shoulders, curled the ends, and added slight shades of sandy brown to compliment the girl’s golden bronze color.

The girl ran a hand against her hair, sifting through the soft curls. Her lips curved ever so slightly, her eyes budding with tears. She looked up at Maria, “I’ll actually smile for my school’s pictures,” she said. “You made me feel like me again.” 

A Happy Ending

In the end, Maria managed to get the girl’s hair back to normal and gave her a free makeover too. Brimming with renewed confidence now, she was the star of picture day. After hearing Maria’s story, she and the girl became close friends.

Maria spoke to her boss, and they allowed her to come to the salon after school to work as an apprentice stylist. After all, she had lost in life; her makeover ended up giving her new hair and a newfound hope to change her life.