A central Alberta man recently showed up at Delmar College of Hair and Esthetics in Red Deer to learn how to curl his wife's hair. (Supplied/@HairDesignByBritney)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

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Husband learns hair styling to help ailing wife

May 6, 2021 | 4:19 PM

A surreal experience at a local beauty college has people across North America talking.

Instructors and students at Delmar College of Hair and Esthetics in downtown Red Deer were going about their business one day late last month when there was a knock at the door.

The patron, a gentleman who later shared that he’s soon turning 80, had a favour to ask.

“He asked to speak with the owners. One of our staff members who’d greeted him said the owners weren’t there, but that the director was,” says Director Carrie Hannah. “I say hello, and he asks if we offer any courses here. I said that we sure do, and he explains that his wife is struggling because her vision is going, and she keeps burning herself with the curling iron. He said, ‘I’d really like to be able to help her but I don’t know how.’”

The man, who’s asked their identities remain anonymous, also asked for tips on applying mascara as his wife of over 50 years had become prone to poking herself in the eye.

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“He had time right then and there, so he came on in, we paired him with a student and a mannequin,” Hannah says.

A central Alberta man recently showed up at Delmar College of Hair and Esthetics in Red Deer to learn how to curl his wife’s hair. (Supplied/@HairDesignByBritney)

“The really beautiful part of the story is that while he was here, he was really lovingly bragging to us about his wife. He pulled out his wallet and brought out these beautiful pictures of her from all ages. He was telling us she’s always been very beautiful, how smart she is, and how good she was as a courtroom stenographer, and that she could type 100 words a minute.”

The man, who lives in central Alberta and has understandably been overwhelmed by the unanticipated media attention, even got a haircut himself while at Delmar.

The student who helped him was Britney Smith, who’s also a registered nurse at Red Deer Regional Hospital. Smith posted pictures of the chance lesson on her Instagram, and it had garnered a reach of over one million by the following morning. The story has since been picked up by Fox News and other outlets and blogs continent-wide, Smith and Hannah share, pushing Smith’s Instagram post to a reach of over 50 million.

“It was a very surprising experience. He was really sweet. I was really happy that I was the one who got to help him. He was very genuine and serious about learning how to do this,” Smith admits.

“It’s just been a year of doom and gloom, and asking ourselves how we are going to survive. So it was nice to see someone and a story where it was all about doing something good for someone, something positive. It was a good timing, uplifting, and we all needed it.”