THE JOY OF SERVING

I'm doing what I love

By Omosede Aynde

Volunteering to braid children’s hair helped fill a void and provided some of the fulfilment that the writer longed to have

I have always loved hair: the different hair types, colors, textures and the things we can do with our hair. As one of nine children, I was always working on somebody’s hair. When I had kids, I had two more heads for practicing.

Apparently, my work did not go unnoticed. My son’s friends at school often told him how much they loved his hair and asked who took care of it. He’d tell them. “Oh, my mom does my hair.” One day, he asked me if I’d be willing to style his friend Corry’s hair. I was a bit reluctant because I was going through a really difficult time at my marketing job, but I agreed to do it.

Corry had never had his hair done professionally. He’d been growing it out for about a year but wasn’t noticing it getting any longer. He arrived at my house with it washed and conditioned. He had serious shrinkage. I moisturized, detangled and blow-dried Corry’s hair and then gave him two-strand twists.

When Corry looked in the mirror, he couldn’t believe his eyes – nor could he wipe the smile off his face. It made the hours of my afternoon spent on his hair oh so worth it.

His mom called me later to tell me how pleased he was and what the fresh hairdo had done for his confidence. She couldn’t get him away from the mirror! It reminded me of what it felt like to be a kid bursting with excitement and satisfaction over a pretty new hairdo. So I decided to offer hair braiding as a service to kids in the community.

At the time, my job wasn’t bringing me any satisfaction. I worked very long hours and had zero work-life balance. My weekends needed to be a time to rest and recharge, which apparently is mom-code for cleaning, prepping meals, doing laundry, taking children to activities and getting maybe two moments to look myself in the mirror.

Volunteering to braid children’s hair helped fill a void and provided some of the fulfilment that I longed to have. It reminded me that I did, indeed, have a life outside of the job that was making me so unhappy. It helped me to stay in touch with a part of myself that I truly love.

I know this might sound idealistic, but I wholeheartedly believe that being of service to others is one of the most fulfilling things a person can do.

After my son’s friends saw Corry’s hair, they wanted their hair done too! Parents of children of all ages began coming to my house to have their children’s hair braided. So just about every weekend I braided a few heads of hair while giving braiding and haircare tutorials to the parents. I learned about many of the difficulties parents were facing.

Many Caucasian parents of mixed-race children were unfamiliar with their kids’ hair texture and didn’t know how to detangle or manage it. Single fathers who weren’t accustomed to being the primary caretaker for their daughters didn’t know how to detangle, wash or style their hair. Non-black adoptive parents of Black children wanted to give their children’s hair the love and care that it needed but didn’t have the guidance or resources.

So while I was thinking I was just going to give busy parents a break from having to style their kid’s hair for a week, many of them were actually more interested in learning how best to care for it themselves. They were asking questions, taking notes and began requesting that I create formal training.

This gave me a new mission: to develop, teach and sell an online course on how to care for Black hair. I could now imagine spending my life doing something I loved while also being of service and providing for my family. I could see a life where I didn’t spend my days (and oftentimes nights) being a global partner marketing manager blah blah blah….

I was like, “Wait … I can be Omosede? I can be myself?” Yes, I love hair. But what I love most of all is that I can share this love doing good for others. I’m excited for what I’ll teach, for what I’ll learn and for where this will go. And I’m grateful to Corry for being the catalyst for something that I honestly believe will be truly great.

Omosede Ayinde teaches parents and caretakers how to help their children learn to love their natural hair. Find out more at hhighsociety.com.