Brenda Morrow now lives in Mason in Warren County but grew up in Riverside — then Mad River Twp. She graduated from Stebbins in 1982 and attended what was then called the vocational program, housed within the high school.
“I moved to Riverside in second grade,” Morrow said. “I was really interested in the auto body program because I was always working on cars with my dad. But he said girls didn’t belong in that program!”
Growing up the oldest of three children (she has two younger brothers), Morrow remembers enjoying doing more things with the boys. Her father retired from Wright Patterson Air Force Base, where he worked at the Museum of the United States Air Force, and then went on to work at Mad River Schools for 16 years.
At her dad’s insistence, Morrow decided upon the cosmetology program and by graduation, she had secured her professional license.
“My mom did hair so even though I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, I learned how to do hair replacement and that was interesting,” Morrow said.
She started at a salon in Kettering in October of 1984 after working in a smaller salon in Fairborn. The owner of the Kettering shop — then called Apollo — wanted to expand the hair replacement services, especially since more people than just men were struggling with hair loss. The owner of the salon opened a new location in Sharonville in 1989 and in 1990, Morrow bought the business from him.
“I really liked it because it was so personal and uplifting for clients,” Morrow said. “Hair can really restore a person’s confidence.”
At that time, Morrow said there wasn’t a lot of competition in the hair replacement business. She started marketing her business to appeal to people who were actively job hunting, promising that she could help them look their best and set themselves apart from other candidates.
“I have always loved giving back to people,” Morrow said. “It has always been like watching a light come on and as if people are coming back to life.”
Morrow learned the trade and ended up teaching seminars about hair replacement. And she learned all there was to know about the skill, including how to get a perfect fit, match color, texture and density of hair and to keep the color from fading.
“This is not your uncle’s toupee,” Morrow said. “It’s actually a foundation or a base that is custom made to fit your head.”
The foundations are secured to a person’s head with surgical adhesive so that showers and swimming are possible. Clients return every four to five weeks for cleaning, replacement and cut and style.
Morrow named her current salon “Above the Fringe” and it is now located in Blue Ash.
“When I first started doing this, the majority of professionals were using synthetic hair,” Morrow said. “Now most everything is human hair because it moves naturally and looks real.”
And Morrow has been around to see the advancements in hair replacement. She said more people are struggling with hair loss due to many reasons, ranging from medications to stressful lifestyles.
“I’ve helped people from kids that have cancer up to adults that are losing their hair,” Morrow said. ‘We have products to help encourage the growth of your own hair in addition to toppers and extensions.”
Her other profession
In addition to being licensed in hair replacement services, Morrow is also a certified psychic medium and enjoys working with people especially who have lost loved ones and are grieving. She helps people find peace and closure after loss.
“For years I knew I was different,” Morrow said. “I just knew things and can see and feel things differently. I didn’t know then that I could take classes to cultivate your gifts.”
As a result, Morrow opened a second business – Blue Bee Spiritual Mediums about two years ago. The business offers services from psychic readings to Reiki healing to special events for groups.
“We are really just getting it going,” Morrow said. “We are going to shows and events and it’s been fun and nice to reconnect people with loved ones and bring them some peace.”
Morrow said she has a plan to eventually sell her salon and focus more on Blue Bee, mainly because the salon can be physically taxing. She now provides services regularly to about 40 clients.
“It’s been an amazing career for me,” Morrow said. “I love all my clients and even if it’s just a haircut, it’s never JUST a haircut. These are all important relationships in my life.”
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