As evacuees and survivors of Hurricane Harvey find refuge in the cities neighboring Houston, TX, many are rallying together to provide support for those who lost their piece of mind in the storm.
That includes a group of volunteer hairstylists who spent this past weekend providing free salon services to women and men at a make-shift Houston evacuation shelter. Organized by Gallery of Salons, a volunteer network, the women cleared their schedules and even closed their shops for regular business to provide pampering support to evacuees.
“You might have gone through the storm, but you don’t have to look like you went through the storm,” Christal Mercier, one of the volunteer hairstylists and organizer of the network, told Buzzfeed.
The group felt that it was important to provide such services as not only a form of relaxation, but also to help them get their hair clean and neat after going through such a traumatic experience.
“If you make people look good on the outside, they feel good on the inside,” said Mercier.
Aside from being a volunteer with the network, Mercier also runs a hair salon in Texas, in addition to a nonprofit organization, Hair Dreams by Christal, that helps those who lost their hair due to chemotherapy.
The hairstylists focused on providing the women with protective styles for their hair, as it remains unclear just how long some of these evacuees may be displaced until it’s safe to return home.
While they’re here, Mercier says they plan to support the women and men who may need them- in any way.
“You can’t be depressed, you can’t let this situation bring you down,” she said, smiling. “Somebody gotta find joy somewhere, somehow.”