Transcriber: ashley furuya Reviewer: Michael Nystrom
Woo!
There is a word for those with the audacity
to think that they can make this great big world a better place,
one person at a time.
That word is “hairdresser.”
(Applause)
We can all agree that doctors, teachers, and scientists
definitely change the world.
But could a hairstylist change the world?
There is an art to the way hairstylists connect with
and impact people.
Everyone has a hairstylist they know and love.
I propose the medicine shared in communication
between clients and stylists is profound,
even world-changing.
We can learn from these intimate interactions
and apply them to our day-to-day lives.
Hairstylists are highly trusted in society.
They are the secret keepers, the safe spaces,
and the confidants for life’s greatest moments.
As a retired stylist,
many of my clients would confide in me before anyone else in their lives.
I was there through all of life’s biggest milestones:
marriages, pregnancies, heartbreaks, new jobs,
and sometimes even death.
One of my mentors shared with me that he actually takes notes in his phone
of all the exciting things that happen in his day-to-day life
so he can be sure to remember to share them with his stylist
when he gets back to the chair.
One of my current clients, who is a retired interrogator, told me
that when they need information on a suspect,
one of the first people they turn to is the hairstylist.
(Laughter)
This fact blew my mind
and was a reminder not to cross your hairstylist.
But I’d say your secrets are safe
unless the law gets involved.
The magic that happens in the chair is world-changing.
And I know this
because a hairstylist changed my world.
I was a rebellious 12-year-old girl.
I felt incredibly alone, like I didn’t fit in,
not anywhere,
not home, church, or school.
All I wanted was to get kicked out of school
in an attempt for freedom.
So, I cut my hair
and colored it in a way that would surely get me expelled.
While sitting on the curb, waiting for my definitely angry parents,
a woman was on her way out from picking up her kids
and handed me a business card for a hairstylist.
“You should call him.”
I took the card, booked the appointment,
arrived at the salon,
plopped down, and just like protocol,
I shared every detail of my little 12-year-old life.
The hairstylist soon learned
that I was just a troubled kid who desperately needed some love.
At the end of my appointment, I was greeted by a father
who was upset about the price of my mandatory color correction
and with a promise to never return back to the salon.
But I felt something in the chair that day that I had been searching for,
and I was determined to go back.
So in an attempt to make right with my parents,
I did every chore possible to earn back the extra cash
and return back to the sacred salon.
Six months and many chores later,
I arrived back,
plopped down into the chair, and dropped a wad of cash on the table.
“What can I get for this much?”
The stylist laughed and said, “Kid, put your money away.”
He went over to talk with my dad.
He came back with a deal.
He said, “I tell you what,
I will do your hair today
complimentary and moving forward
if you promise to come back to the salon with a report card with better grades.”
(Cheers and Applause)
Beaming 12-year-old me took the deal,
and I returned back to the chair.
The magic, the connection, and the communication with the stylist.
I left that day with renewed sense of self,
feeling the magical feeling
that made me determined to return back in the first place.
I felt, for maybe the first time in my life,
heard, seen, loved, and beautiful.
That act of kindness went on until I was 16 years old.
Completely changed my life
and led to my career in the professional beauty industry.
(Applause)
So if we were to break it down,
why and how do hairstylists change the world?
The answer is simple.
They make you feel heard, seen, and loved.
It is an intimate form of human connection.
What happens in the chair is sacred.
Here we connect through listening,
eye contact, physical touch, and storytelling.
Hearts are open.
Walls are down.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could bring
this type of space holding, listening, and connection
into all the sacred spaces
of our homes, workplaces, and relationships?
Living in a digital age,
we are more connected than ever before,
but feelings of isolation and loneliness are at an all-time high.
Making each other feel heard, seen, and loved isn’t a cute idea.
It’s a life-changing concept.
For many,
the most consistent
and safe way they experience this type of human connection
is in those regular salon visits.
Clients leave local salons daily,
feeling the renewed sense of self, connection, and love,
that feeling rippling out to their communities
and their loved ones.
Hairstylists change the world one person at a time,
and you can too.
You can be the most trusted, safe space
for your loved ones, your friends, and coworkers
by making them feel heard, seen, and loved.
So often we ask the question,
“But what can I do to make the world a better place?”
What if, instead, we ask the question,
“How can I be someone who changes the world?”
I can be someone who makes others feel heard, seen, and loved.
This is the ripple effect.
Thank you.
(Cheers and Applause)