Hair Care

Hair care with a cause

Published: Monday, 02 July 2007 06:06:16
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By Tabitha Yang

All women want to feel attractive, and women in the military are no exception. When Jessica Piper of Valdosta realized that her friends stationed overseas were washing their hair with Dial soap and heavily chlorinated water, she decided to take action.

Piper, whose husband is in the Air Force, said she wanted to do something to help these women because she knew that shampoo and conditioner are scarce on the bases.

"Since it's mostly men on the bases, they might stock only 10 bottles of conditioner, which has to be shared by 100 women," she said.

She came up with a campaign called Ladies on the Line to get people in the community to donate money and products to send overseas to women in the military. She and her cousin Meghan Gross, both hairstylists, have organized nine donation drop-off locations scattered throughout Valdosta, Thomasville and Tallahassee.

The Tallahassee locations include Synergy Salon on Thomasville Road and Styles of Elegance on Mahan Drive.

They accept donations of products like moisturizers, astringent, shampoo and conditioner, and checks written out to Ladies on the Line.

Ideally, Piper would like to raise $5,000 in donations before she sends out the first shipment on July 31. So far, she's collected $1,500. Products will be sent to bases in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Africa.

Tiffany Borries, a friend of Jessica who works in the command post for the Air Force, was stationed in Africa last year and remembers having to deal with high chlorine levels in the water.

"You'd get out of the shower and your hair would feel so dry," she recalls. In an effort to get moisturizers and conditioners to the women serving abroad, she is assisting with Ladies on the Line.

"I think it's a great idea; I'm totally behind it," Borries said.

Ideally, Piper and Gross want to prevent women from returning to the States with really damaged hair. According to Gross, the damage sometimes requires cutting off 7 inches of hair.

"To women, in the military or not, that's a big deal," she said.

Contact Jessica Piper at (229) 560-8637. Tallahassee salons interested in becoming drop-off locations can contact Meghan Gross at (850) 579-5069.

Source: Tallahassee Democrat