Expo focuses on more than beauty, health

A good number of hairdressers attending the 2008 Hair Etc. Beauty & Health Expo at the Charleston Area Convention Center on Sunday took a walk through the giant inflatable colon.

"I just wanted to see what a polyp looked like," said Dorothy Hampton of Orangeburg, who ventured through the 8-foot-tall, yellowish-pink tube with her daughter, Caroline Jenkins.

Polyps were there, as well as samples of colitis, Crohn's disease and colon cancer. The Super Colon is a traveling exhibit by the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The foundation considers blacks in South Carolina to be at particularly high risk for colon cancer.

Expo organizers brought the colon to North Charleston to kick off an effort called "Shop Talk." The idea is to get barbers and beauticians to start educating their customers to get checkups.

Jenkins said her husband recently battled prostate cancer, so they plan to participate.

The expo was organized by Tia Brewer-Footman, a former beauty pageant contestant and television news reporter involved in a number of programs to boost the self-esteem of black women, including Hair Etc. magazine.

Brewer-Footman said she was expecting about 1,200 to attend Sunday's convention, which culminated in an evening hair competition and fashion show.

One of the highlights was a talk by Juanita Bynum, a national evangelist based in Waycross, Ga., who also was unveiling a new line of cosmetics. One of her most popular DVDs on sale at the expo is called "No More Sheets." It aims to make girls feel they don't have to sleep around to get attention.

Of course the main reason people came was to pick up tips to improve their business, according to Michelle Anderson, who operates a styling school in Charlotte.

The profession is growing not only because more people are into style but a lot of people who were laid off from other jobs are looking for a secure profession that can be transported anywhere, she said. Stylists who work hard can make $40,000 to $50,000 a year, she said.

Roger Samuels owns Profile Barber Institute in Ladson, another training facility. The average barber is 55 years old, so there's plenty of opportunity for young people to step in, he said. He tells his students they can start off at $45,000 a year.

Reach Dave Munday at dmunday@postandcourier.com or 745-5862.