When patriotism and art meets hair…

Mar 02, 2015 News

By Nicholas Peters
February 23rd was the day when thousands of Guyanese marched out to view all the captivating floats at the grand procession from Parade Ground to the National Park. However, while the floats did enthrall spectators, there were some outside the parade route who managed to steal attention from the bands. Of these persons was Kristy McPherson, whose Guyana flag hairstyle made it onto a lot of cameras on, and after, Republic Day.

Some of Kristy McPherson’s work

McPherson is a 33 year-old mother of three and a hair/nail stylist with a passion for creativity. While artists are conventionally known for using the normal paintbrush and blank canvas to express their work, McPherson shows that those are not the only forms of art. For the 33 year-old, art takes form within hair, nails and cosmetic utensils.
For over 10 years, McPherson has spent long nights and early mornings refining her skill with countless clients and even using her own scalp.
Every year, at special events like Mashramani and Easter, McPherson designs her hair in extravagant styles, impressing everyone who beholds her work. It is a yearly tradition that the hairstylist keeps up but she makes it clear that one doesn’t need a special occasion to look and feel special.
This year McPherson styled her hair as the Golden Arrowhead, to commemorate our 45th Republic Day celebration. Her hair was cut in a Mohawk fashion, with all five colours of the national flag emanating from her forehead.
The hairdresser was a walking exhibition of patriotism and artistry, garnering the attention of passersby where ever she was on the Mashramani Day parade.
“Everywhere I went on Mash Day people would ask me to take a picture with them,” related McPherson. “One man even stopped taking a picture of his friends to take a set of shots of me when I was passing him.”
And, according to McPherson, she loved every minute of it. For the mother of three, the attention she garnered was the highlight of her holiday, with even her children begging her to visit their school to show it off. To have her intricate work admired by hundreds of people proved to McPherson that she had indeed topped her previous incarnations. It was also a testament to the high esteem Guyanese admire hard work and innovation.
This stylist credits her creative spirit to her mother, Debra Allen, a fashion designer who always encouraged her daughter to be brave and to always challenge her creative intuition. Allen wasn’t a hairdresser – rather, her field of design focused on clothing – but McPherson related that she was still allowed to help out with her mom’s creations.
It was the combination of encouragement and vision that propelled McPherson to try her hand at hair and nail design. In 2004, McPherson began a course at a design school which helped her to hone her skills in cosmetic design and work as a professional.
She quickly caught onto Cosmetology, but it was more than styling hair for McPherson, it was about creativity. As she later travelled to other Caribbean countries, her eyes were opened to the dimensions the realm of cosmetology offered.
From elaborate braids to vibrant dyes, it was clear to this local stylist that hair could be pushed to the next level of innovation. On her part she has experimented with peacock themed dyeing to intricate spirals for nails, which she found paid off.
McPherson would have many of her creations featured at fashion expos and would continue to receive requests for her groundbreaking skills. The works of this hairstylist have even allowed her to contest at cosmetic competitions.
“I like challenging myself,” said McPherson, “it always keeps me on my feet.”
However, while the stylist loves to showcase, she also wishes more persons would be part of the cosmetic expression. She believes that no one should hold back and hide the skills they possess in this field, since she knows that the inventive hands are out there.
“If you have a passion for something just go for it,” related McPherson, saying that she would love for more stylists to take part in cosmetic competitions locally and redefine artistry in Guyana. She will next be contesting in a hair/nail stylist competition at the Marriott Hotel in July, and is looking forward to the phenomenal hair and nail styles that will change how Guyana views cosmetics.