Backcombing Mimics Ethnic hair

As I was in deep thought about curl behavior, I realized all the times that the little ladies in the nursing home would have their hair "teased" or backcombed was actually mimicking Ethnic hair.  The backcombing  compacts the length of the hair at the roots.  It makes the head of hair look fuller. It gives it a fixed look. Hence, this technique was probably labelled "the tease" for its created fullness effect.

Many Black woman are born with hair that compacts at the scalp making it look fuller even when recovering from scalp damage.

The backcombing technique or finger tease technique are also used in dreadlocks and Sisterlocks formation for those with harder to lock curl patterns.

Well, I am definitely thankful to God for my "built-in backcombed" curls.  They really work in my advantage with my loc styling.

Salon Concerns for Clients over 300 pounds

People of all shapes and sizes need salon services at one time or another.  For most people, the salon visit is routine, but if a client falls into an "excessively obese" category, then it can be awkward.

1) Shampoo capes may be too small to secure around the client's neck.  A "Jumbo" cape has to be on hand. I do have some plus size clients that I know to pick up my largest cape in order not to cause embarrassment when a regular cape will not close around their neck.  I would rather error on "too big" than to have to try different capes to find one that will drape the client.

2) Platform dryers and styling chairs have armrests.  Luckily, I purposely selected styling chairs with some seat width to accommodate plus size clients.  I have heard of clients breaking the armrests of chairs due to their weight.  I have to admit that the hydraulic lift of my styling chairs have been challenged at times.  Usually, pumping up the styling chair is effortless, but occasionally, I do get a client that I have to really put some "leg grease" to pump them up.  Typically, for these clients, I try to limit using the hydraulics because their weight could cause some equipment damage.

3) Finally, there was situation in the nursing home where the client was in a wheelchair and she was too big to come through the door.  She literally had to be briefly transported out of the wheelchair sideways into the salon and the wheelchair had to be folded to get through the door and then open it back up for her to sit down.  Of course, at the finish of the hair service, she and the wheelchair had to get through the door separately again.

Hair Career: Hairdresser for the Elderly

 Hair by Benita Blocker.  Thanksgiving this year was quite different for me.  Last year, I was working at the nursing home servicing some of my elderly residents.  As you can imagine, nursing homes never close. This year, the company decided to eliminate all the hairdresser positions.  Now, only independent contractors will offer hair services to the residents.  So I had more free time this holiday season, and it gave me time to reflect.

When I began my career at the nursing home, I attended training sessions on dementia.  The company had a "dementia" specialist on staff that had developed a series of training classes.  I learned to communicate with dementia patients in order to calm them and make them feel safe.  I learned body positioning. I learned to understand their world.

Hair by Benita Blocker

These skills came in handy for the seven years that I serviced the elderly.  Although, the pay was no where near my corporate engineering salary, I enjoyed making the elderly feel good about their clean head and their fresh hairdo.  When I had to transport them to their rooms, I got to see all of the pictures of their younger years and their families.  It is amazing to see that one day if we live long enough, pictures may be the only thing showing proof of our youth.

Hair by Benita Blocker

As for the short term residents that I serviced, some had been in the hospital so long prior to getting to the nursing home, a relaxing shampoo service was like "heaven" to them.  I remember so many times that the patients/residents touched my hand at the end of their hair service and just said "Thank you."  Seeing a client just smile after you made their day so much better is worth more than words could ever say.  I missed that connection.

However, what I do not miss, are the times when the residents were physically not able to bend back into the shampoo bowl.  Sometimes the wheelchairs prevented the residents from being able to receive a good shampoo.  Sometimes, so many needed hair appointments, but I had to be careful not to overexert myself because the company did not care if you injured yourself.

Hairdressing for the elderly is a specialized area of the hair industry.  Some say it's "a calling."  It is NOT a glamourous job.  Sometimes, your residents expire, but you do not want them expiring during their hair service visit.  Because of the physical toil that working with the elderly can have on your body, part-time hours are the best way to go as to not get burnt out.

Click for Nursing home video footage