Man Nominates His Mom for a Surprise Hair Makeover—‘She Couldn’t Wipe the Smile Off Her Face’

Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions

At a hair salon in Australia, as part of the “Give Back Movement,” a son nominated his mother for a surprise hair makeover—leaving her in tears.

Melissa Proietti, 34, is a hairdresser in Brisbane who runs her hair salon, Jayne & Co., and her hair extension company, Baciami Hair Extension, with a team of eight employees.

Ms. Proietti with her daughter. Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions

Give Back Movement

Recently Ms. Proietti began reflecting on her 19-year career as a hairdresser.

Ms. Proietti told the Epoch Times: “Being in customer service, you deal with a lot of judgment and competition between salons. I was getting to the point where I was not feeling fulfilled anymore with just being behind a computer and running the business. We obviously need to be on social media for our salon, and we didn’t want to make fake content for the internet. We were not interested in trying to pretend for social media, so I sat down, and I had to think about what it is that I, in particular, love doing and why I started doing it.”

She soon realized that she enjoyed helping people and was never worried about competing with others.

“I decided that I needed to go back to my roots in work and in life. I also wanted to do something for people that couldn’t necessarily afford it [but] would really appreciate it,” Ms. Proietti said.

With this realization, Ms. Proietti decided to start the “Give Back Movement,” a program that aligns with the company’s vision to become the most well-known salon for spreading love and kindness and breaking the narrative in the industry.

The program, which began two months ago, asks the community to nominate people for a complimentary surprise makeover.

A man named Andrew, who was a former schoolmate of Ms. Proiett, nominated his mother. She was chosen as the first recipient as she'd just been through a difficult relationship breakdown.

“She lost a lot when that relationship ended,” Ms. Proietti said. “She puts herself last in every situation so that she can put the kids first, and I think it was really special that Andrew did this for his mom, because, you know, there’s a bit of a stigma and a bit of a stereotype that boys are low in emotion.”

Ms. Proietti at Vicki's doorstep for the surprise makeover. Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions

Before the surprise makeover, Ms. Proietti read a letter to Vicki that read:

Mom, I have never met someone more selfless, kind and loving in my life. You literally are the best person I know. Thank you for always being there for us kids, working tirelessly to give us everything we needed and wanted. Every hour, minute, second and dollar you have is always diverted to somebody else. And never yourself and no expectation of anything in return. You deserve this because you’re just the type of person that will always, has always put everyone first before yourself. You support everyone around you and never give yourself the time you deserve and desperately need with everything that’s going on. I know these last few months in particular have been really rough on you. I hope she makes you feel extra special and as beautiful as you truly are. I know you’re stressed, exhausted and mentally drained 110 percent of the time. Take some time for yourself. I love you. I know Mel and the team will look after you.

Listening to her son’s heartfelt words, Vicki couldn’t hold back her tears.

With emotions running high, Ms. Proietti drove Vicki to her salon for a well-deserved makeover.

Vicki was surprised to hear her son's heartfelt words. Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions

Welcoming Vicki with flowers, Ms. Proietti and her team set out to work over the next four hours, giving Vicki a base color along with highlights. The team then gave her a beautiful cut and treatment.

The team went above and beyond to provide Vicki with lunch, a treat, and some hair care products to take back home.

Vicki was overjoyed with her new makeover.

“We actually covered the mirror so that she couldn’t see. While we were blow drying her hair, I think she was really nervous,” Ms. Proietti said. “But when she got to see herself in the mirror, she actually became quite emotional because it’s clear that she has never splurged that much on herself. And she felt really beautiful. She was extremely over the moon with her hair.”

Ms. Proietti and her team set to work on Vicki's transformation. Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions

Andrew told Ms. Proietti that afterward, Vicki was “just glowing for the whole afternoon. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.”

Encouraged by her reaction, Ms. Proietti shared a video of the makeover on social media. Initially, she feared that it might attract negative comments but was pleasantly surprised by the positivity the post has received.

One comment that especially stood out to Vicki was: “You’re doing God’s work.”

Vicki was ecstatic after her hair makeover. Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions

A Monumental Shift

The program didn’t stop with just Vicki’s makeover, Ms. Proietti and her team recently did a makeover for a woman who had lost her house in recent flooding in Brisbane.

“We went and picked her up and got a beautiful makeover, and she was so happy because she’s never been able to afford to go to the hairdressers,” Ms. Proietti said.

Though they have only been doing this for a short time, this has already caused a monumental shift in Ms. Proietti’s life.

She said: “I’m doing it for them, but I think part of me is doing it to bring some love back into my life as well because I think social media has really brought me down over the years. It’s made me feel a lot of impostor syndrome, like I’m not good enough, and made me feel like giving up sometimes in this industry, and just to be able to give people something back and see how happy that me and my team have been able to make them. It just has brought a lot of love back for me for this industry.”

Since embarking on this path, Ms. Proietti encourages others to do the same.

“Find [your] purpose again,“ she said. ”I think sometimes you can lose your purpose because of how society is and how much pressure is put on us to be a certain way. I think you have to stop trying to be like everyone else. You just have to ignore all the negativity that is surrounding us, and ... find love and as many things as you can to enjoy life.”

Watch the video:

(Courtesy of Melissa Proietti from Baciami Hairextensions)

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