Hair: Chrystofer Benson (photo credit: Roberto Ligresti) Roberto Ligresti
Hair: Chrystofer Benson (photo credit: Roberto Ligresti)Roberto Ligresti

Growing up, one of my closest friends enlisted in the Air Force right after 9/11. He was a musician and was known for his long, blonde hair. Before he shipped off to boot camp, as sort of a bon voyage, he invited his closest friends and family to the salon with him to cut off his ponytail. It was supposed to be fun, a light-hearted event. But I’ll never forget how real it became that he was leaving, going off to ght for our freedom, once he cut off his hair. I cried, his mothercried, even the hairdresser cried because she felt it too—she was just as much a part of the experience as we were. This was one of many times that made me think about all the shining moments and opportunities hairdressers have to connect with people.

One of my very first haircuts while I was in cosmetology school was on a 9-year-old girl named Logan. She was scared when she had seen a girl in a salon getting her head shaved, crying, surrounded by family.Logan didn’t understand whythis girl had no hair or eyebrows,and had asked her mom why shelooked like that. When her mom told her it was because she had cancer and was losing her hair, Logan decided to grow out her hair so she could donate it. I was given the honor of cutting off Logan’s hair for donation. When I was done, I spun around the chair so Logan could see her new haircut, and she started to cry.

But she assured me she wasn’t upset. “I’m so happy that I’ll be able to give my hair to another little girl who needs it more than I do,” she told me. It’s an incredible privilege to be a hairdresser. From first haircuts on toddlers, to last haircuts before chemo, to wedding days, military buzzcuts and transformational post-break-up makeovers—being a part of incredibly intimate moments in your clients’ lives is such an honor. That’s why we dedicated this issue to the art of cutting hair. Read it, enjoy it and remember to share your transformational work with us on Instagram using #modernsalon.

--Alison

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