South Ogden stylist encourages hair donations in honor of late friend
Stephanie Berrett with Nicholls & Company parts Pena Klomp's hair before coloring it in Ogden on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Barrett has been working at Nicholls & Company for 19 years and Klomp has seen Berrett as her stylist for two of those years.
Stephanie Berrett with Nicholls & Company parts Pena Klomp's hair before coloring it in Ogden on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. Barrett has been working at Nicholls & Company for 19 years and Klomp has seen Berrett as her stylist for two of those years.
SOUTH OGDEN — Stephanie Berrett will never be able to bring back a friend she lost to cancer.
But Berrett can honor the late Shauna Ross, of Syracuse, by helping other cancer patients.
“Before she died, my friend said ‘You should start your own charity to make wigs,’ ” Barrett said. “That was a little overwhelming. This is something I can do.”
Berrett, 39, is a stylist at Nicholls & Company Salon, at 4659 Harrison Blvd. in South Ogden.
For a few years, the Layton resident has given free haircuts to anyone with eight inches in length of hair they wish to donate. The hair is made into wigs for victims — most often children — who suffer from conditions leaving them without hair of their own.
Other stylists at Berrett’s salon also have followed in her policy of donating cuts and sending along the hair.
Berrett said she still can remember what it was like the first time she donated her hair, near the anniversary of Ross’ death.
Submitted by Stephanie Berrett
Stephanie Berrett cut her hair to donate to charity.
“It was emotional, but it wasn’t about my hair,” Berrett said. “It was for (Ross).”
Berrett said she does whatever she can to make hair donations easy for her clients.
Besides free haircuts, she also offers her clients opportunities to choose from between several charitable agencies that will accept their hair. Any hair is available for donation to at least one agency, even if it has been bleached or colored.
Berrett also sends donated hair to her customers’ chosen agencies.
Courtney Woffinden, of Taylorsville, said she went to Berrett two years ago to donate her hair as a way to honor her late sister, Cylvia Laybourn-Hall, who had died three months earlier at 32.
“I did 35 acts of service for my 35th birthday in honor of my sister,” she said. “I wanted to do anything that would make me happy and not miss her.”
Woffinden said Berrett helped her quickly gain the courage to let go of her hair. She said her excitement was complete a few months later when she received a thank-you letter from Locks of Love for her donation.
October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Berrett wore a pink ribbon and made extra efforts to promote hair donation.
Berrett donated 11 inches of her own hair, which she said she doesn’t really miss.
“My hair had grown excessively long,” she said.
Fellow stylists at Nicholls & Company also have put extra energy toward the effort in October.
Berrett said knowing how much the hair means to those who receive it has given her much joy. She said she remembers trying on dozens of wigs with her late friend while her friend was fighting her 10-year battle with cancer.
Berrett said she had a lot of fun with her friend, even though the wigs were a serious matter to Shauna.
“When you don’t have hair, it’s really tricky to find that piece that makes you feel comfortable with yourself,” she said.
And the resulting find often is expensive.
“My friend spent about $700 for one human hair wig,” Berrett said. “This is a great gift for them to receive. A human hair wig can be curled and styled. Younger people really like human hair. Kids’ wigs are made out of human hair.”
Berrett said she can well imagine that a family already fighting a debilitating childhood illness likely would not have that much money for a wig.
Anyone interested in making a hair donation and receiving a free haircut may call Berrett’s salon at 801-476-7100.
You can reach reporter JaNae Francis at 801-625-4228. Follow her on Twitter at @JaNaeFrancisSE or like her on Facebook.