As part of the “Give Back Movement,” a hair salon in Australia recently provided a free hair makeover for a mother upon the suggestion of her son, leading her to shed tears of joy.
34-year-old Melissa Proietti is a hairdresser from Brisbane who runs her own hair salon called Jayne & Co. and her hair extension company, Baciami Hair Extension, with a team of eight employees.
Reflecting on her 19-year career as a hairdresser, Proietti began to rethink her approach to her profession.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Proietti shared, “In terms of customer service, I have to deal with a lot of reviews and competition between salons. I no longer felt fulfilled sitting behind a computer running the business. It was clear that we needed to market our salon services on social media, but we didn’t want to create fake content for the internet. We were not interested in performing on social media, so I sat down and had to think about what specifically I enjoyed doing and why I started doing it.”
She quickly realized that she enjoyed helping others without worrying about competing with others.
“I decided I needed to get back to the root of why I started working and living. I wanted to do something for those who may not be able to afford it but really enjoy hairstyling,” Proietti said.
Recognizing this, Proietti decided to launch the “Give Back Movement,” a project aligned with her company’s vision to spread love and kindness and break industry norms as one of the most well-known salons.
The project started two months ago, with the company calling for community nominations of individuals to receive surprise hair makeovers at no cost.
A man named Andrew nominated his mother, who happened to be a former classmate of Proietti. She was selected as the first recipient as she had recently gone through a difficult relationship breakup.
“After this relationship ended, she lost a lot,” Proietti said. “She always puts herself last in any situation, so she can put her kids first. I think it was really special what Andrew did for his mom because, you know, there’s that stereotype that men don’t easily show emotions.”
Before the unexpected transformation, Proietti read a letter to Vicki, the mother, which expressed heartfelt sentiments:
“Mom, I have never met anyone more selfless, kind, and loving than you in my life. You truly are the best person I know. Thank you for always being there for us kids, tirelessly working to give us everything we need and want. Every minute, hour, second, and dollar you have is always spent on others, never on yourself, and never expecting anything in return. You deserve this because you are always the person who puts everyone before yourself. You support everyone around you, never giving yourself the time you deserve, or the time you need. I know these past few months have been really tough for you. I hope this makes you feel extra special, just as beautiful as you are. I know you are under 110% stress, exhausted, worn out. Take some time for yourself. I love you. I know Mel and the team will take good care of you.”
Touched by her son’s heartfelt words, Vicki couldn’t hold back her tears.
Excited, Proietti drove Vicki to her salon to have her well-deserved hair transformation.
Proietti and her team welcomed Vicki with flowers and began the four-hour process of hairstyling, designing highlights and undertones for her. They then gave her a lovely trim and style.
The team provided Vicki with lunch, snacks, and some hair care products to take home.
Vicki was thrilled with her new look.
“We covered the mirror throughout the process so she couldn’t see her hair. When we blow-dried her hair, I think she was really nervous,” Proietti shared. “But when she saw herself in the mirror, she became really emotional because it was evident that she had never spent that much money on herself. She felt really beautiful. Her hair looked so amazing.”
Afterward, Andrew told Proietti that Vicki was “glowing all afternoon, smiling from ear to ear.”
Inspired by her reaction, Proietti shared a video of the makeover on social media. Initially worried about potential negative comments, she was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback the post received.
One particular comment that stood out to Vicki was, “You’re doing God’s work.”
The project didn’t stop at Vicki’s makeover; Proietti and her team recently provided a hairstyling session for a woman who lost her home in the recent floods in Brisbane.
“We went to pick her up, gave her a beautiful hairstyle, and she was so happy because she had never had the money to go to a hair salon,” Proietti mentioned.
Despite the project’s short duration, it has brought significant changes to Proietti’s life.
She said, “I’m doing this for them, but I also think I’m doing it to bring some love back into my life because I think social media has really disappointed me over the years. It made me feel like I was wearing a mask, like I wasn’t good enough, making me sometimes want to give up in this industry. I wanted to be able to give something back to people, to see how my team and I could make them happy. It reignited my passion for this industry.”
Since embarking on this path, Proietti encourages others to do the same.
“Find (your) goal again,” she said. “I think sometimes you lose sight of your goals because of societal conditions and the pressures we’re under in some way. I think you have to stop trying to be like others. You just need to ignore all the negativity around us and then… find love and as many things as possible to enjoy life.”
(Source: Provided by Melissa Proietti of Baciami Hair Extensions)