Hairdressers with big hearts bring back confidence to teen with depression

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Battling chronic depression might be arduous and challenging, but it's those little victories that one scores over the mental illness that pave the way to overcome it.

For a 16-year-old in Iowa who has been fighting depression for years, it was a spectacular hair transformation that put a smile on hair face just before school opened.

Feeling down had had its toll on the young girl, whose years of depression kept her bed bound and unwilling to engage in everyday activities, including the most banal such as brushing her hair.

With her hair tangled, lifeless and wild and school about to start, the girl was left with no choice but to shave it all, which could have deeply scarred her. Luckily, she crossed paths with two hairdressers who showed resolution to turn her messy hair to a dressy style.

Photo via Kayley Olsson's Facebook account

One hairdresser Kayley Olsson posted on her Facebook account the before-and-after photos showing the drastic transformation of the teenager, and voiced how serious mental health problems could be, raising awareness about depression.

Photo via Kayley Olsson's Facebook account

She said it took as long as 13 hours over the course of two days to brush the hair out instead of simply shaving it off, with the help of her colleague, Mariah Wenger – and they eventually managed to save it.

Screenshot of Kayley Olsson's Facebook post

The story caught the attention of netizens, receiving more than 205,000 likes, 77,908 shares and 11,000 comments so far.

Social media users in China were also quick to join the discussion, sharing their concerns over the situation of young people gripped by depression as well as showing respect to the kind-hearted hairdressers.

“I hope everyone who is kind-hearted will be awarded with goodness. Such a warmhearted sister!” noted @Chenzhezhe on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

“What an angel in the world of hairdressers,” wrote @Liante.

“Hopefully each one of those young people with mental health issues would get help,” said @Maoruyu.

Photo via Flickr

There are around 54 million people with depression in China, according to the latest figure released by the World Health Organization in April. Many do not realize such a silent and invisible illness until it’s too late.

“You made me feel like me again,” the lucky girl said to the hairdressers.