Hair Basics program in Ross River turns heads

ROSS RIVER—Rebekha Johnny loves her new, short hair and orange, red, purple and blue highlights.

“I always wanted my hair short. After I got it cut, I then started to experiment with colour because I was seeing other people with blue and purple and red and wanted to see how I would look,” said Johnny.

She is a student in, and a frequent client of, the Hair Basics program at Yukon College’s Dena Cho Kê’endį campus in Ross River. The program has run for one week each month since October last year.

The students, Nicole Etzel, Michelle Etzel, Rebekha Johnny, Devon Skidmore, Tamara Etzel, Joan Acklack, Chantel Dick and Jasmine Tom, each started working with mannequins but soon began offering services to the community.

Classes have covered hair cutting, colouring, highlighting, perming, extensions and braiding. The class spends an intensive week learning new skills and then three-to-four weeks practicing on willing community members.

"My sister encouraged me to take this course and I’m glad I did. I really like to cut hair now and I’m good at it, too. This course has given me the confidence to cut and colour people’s hair,” said Michelle Etzel.

“Compared to myself when I started training, this group is fearless. Each time I return there are huge improvements in their skills and experience, which is matched by the immense trust and support the Ross River community have given the program. We had bookings before the students had even held a pair of scissors,” said Tony Ciprani, Hair Basics instructor and owner of The Shed Hair Salon in Whitehorse.

And the people of Ross River have continued to be eager subjects.

"Women with super-long hair have been willing to try a new short cut, others have tried a new colour, or two. One man even has a feather design on the side of his head,” said Kitty Sperling, instructor/coordinator at the campus.

I am amazed as the absolute lack of fear about experimenting here in Ross River,” she added.

In response to an identified community need, the program was funded by the Community

Development Fund and developed by Sperling and Ciprani.

Ciprani has spent time in Carcross, Pelly Crossing, Dawson City, Old Crow and Watson Lake leading youth in week-long hair care intensives. He has also taught at Thompson Rivers University.

“I really wanted the opportunity for this program to be more than a single week, to develop the potential I see in the students,” said Ciprani.

Ciprani supplied all the training materials and committed to spending one week per month in Ross River across six months.

The program wrapped up last week and students are now working together to create their own salon in the community, with Ciprani open to providing ongoing mentorship.

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