HAIR STYLISTS BEING TRAINED TO SPOT ABUSE...by Sybil Adelman Sage

If dogs can be trained to do police work, why shouldn't hair stylists be enlisted to sniff out signs of domestic abuse and refer customers for help? Today's "New York Times" reports on programs that are teaching salon workers to recognize signs, such as bruises and burns, and advise clients of their options.

Hair salons have long doubled as confessionals, where women readily reveal intimacies they’d hesitate to disclose elsewhere. These programs, therefore, seem like a creative way of offering assistance. My only concern is that many hair stylists are independent, bordering on indifferent We say, “Just a trim to snip off the dead ends,” and an instant later, our shoulder-length hair is gone and on the floor.

One colorist refused my request that he tone down the brassiness, telling me, “I do restaurant hair.” Responding to my look of confusion, he explained, “This color looks good in a dimly-lit restaurant.”

“I’m the age for Early Bird dinners,” I countered. "I should have a color that looks good in daylight.”

My hope is these programs are better than I am at finding hair stylists who listen.