A POST welcoming Jenna Rathgeber to the team at her sister’s new salon has gone viral.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jenna, who has Down Syndrome, is pictured washing and straightening a client’s hair with a note saying how Jen has so much determination and enthusiasm and will brighten up anyone’s day.
The Facebook post has amassed more than 30,000 likes and almost 7,000 shares in a week.
People have been calling from major cities New Orleans and Ohio in the United States interesting in getting their hair done by Jen, not realising her salon was in Ballarat, Australia.
The reaction has blown away and humbled Nikita Morvell, who moved into her Lake Gardens salon The Sanctuary Hair and Beauty six weeks ago.
She needed a helping hand and older sister Jen was happy to step up and help.
“The post was more for my friends and clients, I didn’t think it would go so far. I guess it’s to show Ballarat Jen can do it – she’s got Down syndrome – but she can do anything," Nikita said.
“Jen’s always seen me do a lot of hair dressing, like our sister’s wedding, handing me bobby pins and foils.
“She’ll be a massive help for end of the day cleaning, which can take hours on your own...I showed her how to wash a client’s hair and she actually did a better job washing than I did the first time. She’s a natural at it.”
Jen said she was surprised by her social media spotlight.
She was happy to learn the basics – cleaning colour bowls, sweeping, shampooing, mixing colours, blow-drying and straightening – to test how she liked hairdressing.
“Nikita just wanted me to help her at work. I just wanted to work with Nikita and it was a bit different to other things I was doing,” Jen said.
“I really enjoy it. It’s been really awesome.”
She is proving to have a flair for the technical side of the work, helped by her strong background in creative arts.
Jen has a busy weekly schedule filled with photography classes, screenprinting, painting, dance group e.Motion21 and drama classes. She also enjoys swimming and story writing.
Unsure if she wanted to pursue a career in hairdressing, Jen just wanted to learn from Nikita for awhile.
Even though Nikita was her younger sister – which Jen still liked to remind her sometimes – Jen said Nikita was a good boss and it was a good chance to hang out with each other more.