Braids and Beers workshop teaches Ottawa dads hairstyling techniques

Thirty dads learned to style hair at the Braids and Beers workshop at Thr33's Co. Snack Bar on Bank Street Thursday night. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)

Martin Savard has spent a lot of time brushing his daughter Amelia’s hair, and now that she’s five years old, styling has become important.

On Thursday, Savard attended the new Braids and Beers workshop, learning tips to care for Amelia’s hair from some of the best.

Eight stylists from the Wild and Free Hair Boutique educated 30 dads about haircare. Brushing and braiding were on the menu along with a few cold ones at the Thr33’s Co. Snack Bar on Bank Street.

“She asked me to do hairstyles. She’s like do this one from like whatever TV show or movie she’s watching. I can’t do that; I can do braids, that’s all I got, Savard said.

“So maybe I can do one more style after tonight, that would be a success. My daughter asked me about tonight, she was like, ‘Are you going to learn how to different hairstyles?’ I’m like, yep.”

Chris Hughes organized Thursday night’s event. Hughes was blown away by the demand, as it sold out in less than a day.

“I just posted it on my Facebook and said, ‘Hey, I want to organize an event like this Braids and Beers and have a bunch of dads come out and learn how to do hairstyles for their daughters,’ and the response within a day was crazy,” Hughes said.

“I initially thought this would be a one-off event but based on the support, we are going to do more events and find a cause we can support that fits into what we are doing here.”

For Doug Baker, the evening was important. His wife passed away five years ago from brain cancer, so he wants to be there for those quiet moments of connection with his 10-year-old daughter.

“It’s important for me to take care of some of those maybe more mom things that some people might think are more mom things,” Baker said.

“So, for me, I want to make sure I can do some of those things right now. I think this captures different aspects of being a dad. We still like to go out and have beers; we still like to have some pub food and hang out with each other, but we are also dads. So, it’s a great thing for us to be able to do this for our daughters because we all love our daughters.”

The owner of The Wild and Free Hair Boutique, Kayleigh Stroz, said she was happy to help out, adding community involvement is one of the keys to her success.

“Some have never touched hair before. I think some are looking for maybe to take the load off of mom a bit at home. Maybe some just wanted to learn to do some braids so they can have that bonding moment with their daughters,” Stroz said. “I think they are enjoying it so far and if some of them come out knowing how to braid, then that’s a win.”

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