THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME
Kanata hair salon’s giving attitude impresses a longtime client facing a cancer diagnosis
I have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, and I felt the need to give kudos to an Ottawa business that goes beyond snipping your hair.
The thing that has impressed me most about Hair By Design in Kanata has been how they give back to our community.
Every time I go into the salon, they are raising money for one cause or another. Over the years, they have supported WaterCan, Friendly Giants Dog Rescue and breast cancer awareness, and always hold customer appreciation days. I was the lucky recipient of a delicious Belgian-chocolate snowman one year. I gave back and won one of the raffle prizes and received a delicious treat. How great is that?
Since my diagnosis, I have been shown great compassion from the owner, Samantha Brooks, and the women who work at Hair By Design. They have shown a kinship toward me by sharing some of their experiences with cancer within their own circle of family and friends. In doing so, I felt supported and cared for, and have to add that each and every experience was told with a positive outlook.
That kind of outlook speaks to my heart. Cutting off most of my hair was not as traumatic as I believed it would be. It transported me way back to a time when Sam gave me that cut 18 years ago. My daughter had just been born, and as some women did after having a baby, I felt the need for change. I was channelling Demi Moore’s short haircut from the movie Ghost!
My daughter just left for university this year, so I’ve come full circle, starting with needing a change right after having her, and now forced into one after she’s gone away to school.
Life is challenging; I’m trying to take it one day at a time, and many days have been filled with trepidation and fear.
I probably had some of those negative feelings walking into that salon. Women tend to think of their hair as their crowning glory. I never gave it much thought until I knew I was going to lose it. Then I did mourn my hair.
My curly red hair does define me. I still have it, albeit with no curls; it’s now a short pixie cut.
It’ll be gone soon enough, but it’s not the end of the world. It’ll grow again. So, I went into the salon with mixed feelings, and left feeling that its motto should be, “It takes a Village.”
You guys rock.