Woman saves teen's matted hair after family heartbreak - but it ends badly
A mum who thought she was being kind by sorting out a school girl's hair that had not been brushed for months, but it has caused an uproar.
Sadly a teenage girl, who is being referred to as 'A', has been suffering with depression after the death of her mum at a young age. She felt "ashamed" and has been "hiding under hats" for months, a friend of the girl's mum explained. After being "pushed aside" the teen was worried about what others may think - particularly her dad's "judgemental" girlfriend.
One day A's friend invited her around to her house before a comb got stuck in her "extremely matted" hair as the pair attempted to fix it. She asked her friend's mum to help detangle the mane which "took hours". "When A went home, her hair was completely detangled and neatly braided into two braids - she was happy, but then I got an angry phone call," said the concerned mum.
When A's dad's girlfriend found out her hair had been sorted out she said the mum had gone "behind her back" as she and her dad were planning on sorting it. The couple had reportedly booked a hair appointment for A to get her hair cut and were charged £60.
"She told me A was no longer allowed to be friends with my daughter and they would sue me for the cancellation fee," the mum explained on Reddit recently. She added: "I made it clear to A and my daughter that our home is a judgement free zone and if she ever wanted to come to me or my husband for help then she would get it.
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"I comforted A as she was ashamed about her hair but had hoped that she and my daughter could fix it. She asked for help detangling her hair. So that's what I did. The girlfriend said she was meant to be taking A to get her hair cut due to how matted her hair was. She is mad because the salon they were going to had charged her a fee for cancelling the day of the appointment".
However the mum explained that A never wanted to attend the salon; she did not want her hair to get cut as she would loose half of her hair length. The Reddit user added: "I told her [the dad's girlfriend] that I wouldn't be paying it, I just did the right thing by A instead of going to the extreme option."
The child's dad was unaware his girlfriend had book his daughter an appointment to get her hair cut. (Getty Images/RooM RF)The mum claims the dad's girlfriend stopped A from seeing her daughter "until we paid the money". A's dad met up with the mum who was "horrified" when he learnt his girlfriend wanted to cut his daughter's hair. The Reddit mum added: "He had been under the impression that the appointment had been to get her hair detangled and wouldn't have consented to A getting a big chop.
"He hadn't realised how focused the girlfriend had become on A's appearance with her hair. He told me that he wasn't going to stop A coming around as he knows how important my family is to her." But when the girlfriend found out about their private chat, she sent a string of angry messages, the mum reports.
The mum added: "She said horrible things about myself, A and my daughter. I'm not engaging with her anymore, she's a walking red flag. My daughter has been messaging A making sure she is OK, and she will be coming to stay at the weekend as she doesn't want to be at home."
Asking for advice on Reddit, the mum said: "Am I being unreasonable for brushing out A's hair so she avoided getting a drastic cut?" The post generated over 800 reactions and opinions were divided. One individual wrote: "There's no basis to sue anyway because there is no actual reason why they had to cancel the hair cut. Normal people get their hair cut even though it isn't matted."
Another said: "Unpopular opinion here but for the sake of A, pay the money to keep her in your life since they won't let the girls be friends otherwise. It's a small price to pay for that poor girl to be around people who genuinely care about her."
Another added: "I'd make sure that A has your number. Tell her to write it in a book/notebook that she needs for school so that it won't get thrown away if she doesn't need it for a while. Let her know that she has your support." A fourth Reddit user said: "You did do the right thing, but hopefully it doesn't backfire and end up with A having an adult's frustration taken out on her."
Since the incident, A is reportedly doing better after her dad reached out to mental health professionals for support.
If you are in need of mental health support, find advice and practical tips on the NHS Every Mind Matters website.
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