ORW cosmetology student Crisha Wallace, standing at right, touches up one of the styles she created during a performance at the prison’s recent hair show. Wallace was among a number of cosmetologists-in-training who had an opportunity to show off their skills during the show.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Kayleen Petrovia)
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After almost 1,500 hours of practice, a group of local cosmetologists-in-training were ready to show off their skills.
With their hair styled in everything from fishtail braids to sculpted cornrows, models stood backstage waiting for their cues to strut down the runway.
Although the makeshift stage was crafted from folded cafeteria tables draped with sheets and the “runway” was a path down the center of the Ohio Reformatory for Women’s gymnasium, Iyshia Smiley reminded the packed audience of the significance of the program.
“Even though we’re at ORW, this is still real,” said Smiley, who served as a model and emcee for the prison’s cosmetology program hair show on Oct. 27.
For the group of students who pushed for the show, the reality was almost hard to believe.
“I want to cry,” said Mercedes Johnson, a senior in ORW’s cosmetology program. “In a place we’re supposed to be broken, we feel powerful.”
As dozens of inmates cheered, clapped and held up supportive signs, Smiley said that was exactly what the prison’s hair show was about: “women empowering women.”
Zina Scott, who has been the cosmetology instructor at ORW since 2004, agreed.
Each of her students spend thousands of hours honing their skills over 12 months, practicing everything from highlights to facials to manicures.
They provide services for each of the incarcerated women at ORW, and even some of the staff members – including beard touch-ups for the male officers.
While the class is ultimately about providing a career path for the women once they reenter society, Scott said the class instills something even more valuable.
The cosmetologists-in-training are learning that they have the power to bring joy to those they know and make a positive difference in others’ lives.
Scott said she feels especially proud when she walks around ORW’s campus and hears women boasting about the hair services they received from her students.
It’s the same feeling, she said, when she visits her former students at the salons they work at once leaving ORW, still putting their skills to use.
“We’re all the same,” Scott said. “We’re all stylists.”
As the group of five seniors prepares to take their board exams in January to earn their cosmetology licenses for the State of Ohio, they pushed to host a “hair show” to flaunt the skills they’ve learned from Scott.
Once they got the green light, Johnson said her classmates knew they wanted to “go big.”
The show began with a number of models dancing down the runway, performing a choreographed show and signing along to a song by Lizzo.
Afterward, each stylist’s group of models entered to a song that matched the theme chosen to dictate their hair, makeup and clothing looks.
When Emily Ghiloni’s models appeared on the runway, they were wearing salon capes with the words “ugly,” “weak” and “insecure” painted across the chest. As Ghiloni swiftly removed the capes, shirts with the words “beautiful,” “strong” and “confident” were revealed.
Brittany Smith introduced her models, adorned with crimped hair and glittery lightning bolts painted on their faces, by sharing their “mission” to break the chains they were trapped by. As they danced to “T.N.T.” by AC/DC, they broke paper chains and finally pressed down on a “box of dynamite” that “exploded” when models threw shredded paper in the air.
Following the show, Smith, who is a senior in the class, said it gave her goosebumps to see the group’s hard work come to fruition.
“(The cosmetology class) changed my life for the better,” Smith said.
She and her classmates became teary-eyed when speaking of the support from their fellow inmates and the staff members in attendance, including Warden Teri Baldauf, who praised their “commitment, talent and creativity.”
Leesha Santek, another senior among the stylists, said Scott empowered the cosmetologists to “see what we can do,” knowing that it was OK to make mistakes and grow from them.
“She’s always there for us,” Smith added. “She’s always on our side.”
Likewise, Smith said the classmates can lean on and support one another as they work to rebuild their lives.
“We are a sisterhood,” she said.
Though they may not have expected to find each other or a new passion while incarcerated, Smith said she has been “humbled” by her experience and looks forward to taking advantage of a second chance.
“Prison was not the worst thing to ever happen to me,” Smith said.
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Iyshia Smiley models a hairstyle created by ORW cosmetology student Nichole Hubbard while dancing to the song “On to the Next One” by Jay Z. Hubbard created a variety of ponytails to explore the use of curved and vertical lines in hairstyles.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Kayleen Petrovia)