Being a single parent is difficult. Plain and simple. Being a parent with a partner is hard enough as it is. But when everything falls solely on one person, things can get hectic.
In society, we’re accustomed to seeing single mothers as opposed to single fathers. Still, both parents face challenges when raising a child of the opposite sex. There are things that are going to be pretty tough to explain and do.
For example, some believe that only a man can teach a boy to be a man and the same for women and girls.
But there is one dad who’s showing the world that through love and dedication for your kid, you can achieve anything.
Greg Wickherst is a single father. While raising his daughter, Izzy, he realized he would just put her hair into a ponytail and cut her bangs. He wanted to give his daughter more options than that:
“I didn’t want to keep cutting her bangs and be a tomboy forever. I wanted to be a more involved parent and she wanted to be a girly-girl,” he said in an interview with All the Moms.
Wickherst knew very little about hair. he himself didn’t have any. He began shaving his head at 24 years old.
Wickherst worked in the admissions office at IntelliTec College where the school had a cosmetology department. One day on his lunch break, he wandered in to inquire about taking a class.
“I saw an area that I was lacking as a parent and wanted to fix it, so I asked for help.”
Wickherst met with the program supervisor, Peggy Gunther, who advised he learn from one of the students.
That same day he began working with Ashley Rivera on a mannequin head.
“…she showed me how the different styles are done. Some of the things I learned were easier than I thought!”
“In no time, I was able to do a simple braid, then a fishbone braid, and a French braid.”
Before he knew it, Wickherst was catching on and trying different styles.
Wickherst’s story has garnered a lot of attention. Majority of the responses have been positive and encouraging. There are always a few sour apples though.
One Reddit user was upset because of the attention he had acquired. Their reason? Simply that he was getting praise for something women do all the time.
The point they were missing though was the effort and thought that went into doing this, all to make his daughter feel her best. The same praise should be met when a single mother shows her son how to fix a car.
But truly, gender norms are dated and shouldn’t even be used to limit or demean someone for doing something outside of their “gender role.”
Still, the attention doesn’t go unnoticed by Wickherst:
“I know. But a lot of dads are portrayed as being buffoons in the media. And for us, for my daughter and I, this was a bonding experience. And if this helped portray dads as a positive role model then good.”
Wickherst and his daughter have been on the Rachael Ray Show and several other news programs, blogs, and magazines.
Wickherst began posting his progress on social media. He became known as “The Hair Dad.”
He posted on Facebook, Instagram, and eventually Youtube. He even has a website!
At first, he received tips on how to do hair. Now, he’s doing the teaching!
He recently quit his job to take on the task of doing and teaching hair full-time. He’s even partnered with local businesses in his town of Pueblo, Colorado to do workshops for father’s looking to learn how to do their daughter’s hair.
“It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being present. I talk about being present in your kid’s lives. Money comes and goes, but memories are forever.”
Wickherst sure has the right idea.
Check out one of his most popular tutorials for “straw curls” right here!
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