Our September Healthy Hairdresser Challenge is going strong! Many of you are sharing “what you stand for” as a salon professional. All participants are eligible to receive one of 30 pairs of compression fashion hosiery from this month’s Healthy Hairdresser sponsor, Stand + Deliver. Your responses indicate that you need that type of help, since nearly all of this Challenge’s participants are indicating that they experience work-related leg and foot discomfort. Most participants also would like more information about Stand + Deliver’s compression hosiery designed specifically for salon pros. We’re happy to provide it!

In such a giving industry, it’s no surprise that a lot of you told us that you stand for love, beauty, peace, artistry, quality, excellence, education, mentoring, charitable works, health, personal growth, excellence and integrity. Many responses focused on one particular aspect of your work: making people to look beautiful on the outside as a way to empower them, give them confidence and help them feel beautiful on the inside. While echoing others in telling us that she stands for individual expression Karla H added that this is because the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, said, “Express yourself!” 

Other responses included standing for:

• “Hardworking single mothers.”—Heather R.

• Discovering in people their own “beauty reflection.”—Satnam S.

• Customizing the cut and color.—Caroline M.

• “Fabulous fashion and fun.”—Mary P.

• The professionalism of a no-tipping policy.—Gloria P.

• “Completeness and balance.”—Sonia V.

• “Laughter, good times, honesty and having a special place in clients’ hearts.”—Michelle L.

• Face-to-face communication and hugs in a time of advanced technology.—Christmas K.

Gabie V. told us that ever since losing two dogs in a fire, she has stood for helping families to avoid losing pets in fires. “I was one of the winners in the Wella Cares Challenge and was able to put the money I won toward an organization that supplies pet-saving equipment to communities,” Gabie reported. “Beauty professionals can make a difference.”

Another personal story came from Jillian O. “As a beauty professional, I stand for awareness of blood clotting,” Jillian wrote and quoted the statistic, supported by StopTheClot.org, that blood clots kill one person every six minutes. Jillian and four of her female relatives have suffered from clotting problems that she blames on taking contraception.

“As a family of hardworking women—nurses and hairstylists—we know the importance of support hose for circulation, edema and overall care of our feet and legs,” Jillian continued. “I stand for my mother who has one lung capacity due to pulmonary embolism, my grandmother who was in the hospital weeks due to pulmonary embolism, my aunt who nearly died of blood clots in her brain and my great-grandmother who lost her legs because of unawareness of the symptoms. I stand in my hose and deliver the services as a stylist because they taught me the symptoms and importance of knowing what a blood clot looks like and how it feels. As a survivor of blood clotting, I tell everyone near me how important support is—in hose, shoes and lifestyle. I stand because compression hose saved my legs and the legs of my mother, who also was a stylist, from pulmonary embolism.”

To enter the Challenge and tell us what you stand for, go to this month’s Healthy Hairdresser Challenge page.