Hairdresser Simon Clark styling a client. Picture: MARK WEST
THE intention was not to split hairs – but what was meant to be a stylish reward from a Port Elizabeth hairdresser has left some people a little cut up.
Hairdresser Simon Clark generously donated free haircut vouchers to be handed out to the first 1 000 people who donated blood this month.
But when blood donor Mphumzi Ndyolashe, of New Brighton, phoned the Westbourne Road salon in a bid to redeem his voucher yesterday, he was met with an unexpected response.
“I phoned to check when I could go for my haircut and was told ‘sorry, we don’t work with African hair’,” he said.
“I was quite taken aback. I just didn’t expect that. I don’t understand it.
“I don’t want to sound petty, but why hand these out if not everyone who donates blood can redeem them?”
Clark defended himself by saying that him cutting “African hair” was like going to his wife’s gynaecologist to have his prostate checked.
Last Monday, the SA National Blood Service announced the “Good hair day” promo on its Facebook page with a photo of its public relations officer, Maryke Harris, holding a pint of blood, posing with Clark, who held two pairs of scissors above her head.
Clark said the promo was not meant to offend anybody as he was merely trying to help attract donations to address the “chronic shortage of blood”.
“I was really just trying to help, but that has now turned awkward,” he said.
“I explained to the gentleman and to the couple [of] other people who came that I simply cannot cut African hair.
“Theoretically, the knowledge is there, but it is not my area of expertise.
“I’m all about a quality end product and me cutting ethnic hair won’t yield that.
“If I don’t do a great job, which would be likely in this case, I’d rather just not.”
He said he had tried to rope in neighbouring hair salons specialising in ethnic hair as part of the promo, but had been unsuccessful.
Clark said he had told SANBS staff of his creative limitations “a thousand times”, but still had some black people coming to redeem vouchers.
Harris said it was unfortunate that some people felt excluded from the promo, saying it was difficult to turn away such donations, even those that did not benefit everybody.
“He did indicate initially that he works on certain hair types [but] it often happens that when we do a promotion, the vouchers won’t appeal to all donors,” she said.
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