A breath of fresh hair

Burbank business owner Stephanie Singleton says “hair is hair,” but her salon day at the PATH homeless shelter in Los Angeles brightened clients’ day.

The scheduled “Glamour Day” was intended to expose clients to hair, makeup, photography and other services that may not be able to afford. When the other vendor canceled at the last minute, Singleton, owner of Xtending Hair in Burbank, stepped up to create a full salon day for the 10 women who attended.

Singleton originally planned to teach the residents sew-in hair weaves and extension techniques to later use on their own. Although she did perform some weave services, many of the women were just excited to have their hair washed in the shampoo bowl.

“It was a chance for them to get pampered,” Singleton said. “They could touch their hair, feel it and experience a whole day in the salon again. It really does something to you to have your hair done, and it changes the whole atmosphere of your day.”

Many of the women stayed long after their makeovers just to watch Singleton work and soak in the salon atmosphere.

“I’m giving back with my gift of doing hair,” Singleton said.

Singleton, who operates a mobile hairstyling service, has styled the likes of Rosie Perez and Katt Williams and plans to continue working similar events at PATH. The Akron, Ohio, transplant said she has worked with battered and homeless women and foster children in the past.

“I would love to go into a place and work with kids,” she said. “That’s really the root of all this. I can bring all of this to kids, and maybe they want to be in hair because of it.”

The homeless services center serves residents from all over Southern California, and plans to host another Glamour Day with Xtending Hair within the next month, organizers said.

Katie Hill, the development coordinator for the Los Angeles location, said the women were thrilled with the experience.

The center partners with PATH Achieve in Glendale, which provided outreach services to clients who used the homeless winter shelter when it was at the Burbank National Guard Armory.