Styling a child’s hair isn’t easy.
They fuss, they move, they fidget, and quite frankly, they’re not very interested in your goal. However, everything is that much harder when they don’t have hair like your own.
Right before Thanksgiving, mother Stephanie Hollifield received a photo of her daughter that left her genuinely appalled.
Her two-year-old daughter Haley was shown playing in the photo, but the toddler’s hair looked messy and matted. “This picture is 3 hours into the day,” she wrote. “What am I doing wrong?!”
When Stephanie had adopted Haley at 8 months old, she was approached by many African-American friends who told her that educating herself about black haircare would be important.
Since then, Stephanie had prided herself on doing research, taking advice, and buying special products for Haley—but despite her best efforts, she hadn’t mastered her daughter’s curly locks. Upon seeing the matted hair in the photo, she was inspired to reach out for help.
Taking to Facebook, the desperate mother issued a plea:
“Dear Black Friends of Social Media,
This clueless white momma is humbly coming to you to ask your help with Haley’s hair. I have asked my friends. I have asked strangers in Publix with kids with cute hair, and I’m still not getting it.”
“We wash once a week. We do the water, leave in conditioner, oil, and hot towel every morning. We’ve tried more products, no products, less products. We are gentle as can be, but she still requires at least 6 minutes of cuddles after the trauma of her daily hair combing.
“I feel like it looks great for about an hour or two and then it is tangly and clumpy again. This picture is 3 hours into the day. What am I doing wrong? I have literally bought every product that has been recommended to us. I desperately want to get this right.”
After posting, Stephanie was immediately inundated with supportive comments and advice.
But one stranger went above and beyond to help.
Monica Hunter has daughters with hair just like Haley’s. Instead of simply doling out advice, she offered to visit Stephanie in person to give her a one-on-one styling tutorial.
Loaded with a basket of hair supplies, products, and combs, Monica drove to Stephanie’s house and showed her how to style her daughter’s hair.
“She asked for nothing in return and wouldn’t accept my money,” wrote Stephanie. “By the time she left I had a little more confidence in fixing my daughter’s hair, and most importantly, I felt supported by my new friend.”
During the tutorial, Stephanie and Monica bonded over many things. The two have formed a friendship and plan to see each other soon.
When Stephanie shared the story, it immediately went viral— but at first, she wasn’t sure why.
Soon, however, it clicked:
“In our country, where everything seems so divisive, this quiet act of kindness spoke loudly to people from all walks of life. People are hesitant to reach out to someone who may be different. Conversations are too difficult.”
“We cling to those who think like us. Those who share our beliefs. Those in our same political party. Those who we look like. In the process, we close the others out.”
Stephanie hopes her story will inspire others to open up and ask for help too. Even with our differences, we’re all still human in the end.
Hear the heartwarming story below!
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