Inuvik, N.W.T.-born hairstylist comes to Norman Wells' rescue

International media can stand down: Norman Wells has found a hairdresser and the community didn't have to look very far.

Last month the N.W.T.community of 800 spoke to CBC about their desperate need for a hairstylist. Residents were taking matters into their own hands, and taking the scissors and box dyes to their shaggy, dark-rooted friends and family.

It wasn't pretty.

After the story came out,NickyRichards, the town's economic development officer, was hounded by news organizations from around the world.

But with that, applications also came pouring in.

"I had hundreds of emails and phone calls from hairdressers wanting to come here," Richards said in an email.

"Most people were from out of the country: China, Japan, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Morocco, Alaska, all over the States, and of course some from Canada."

That's when they found William Chicksi.

Inuvik-bornstylist answers the call

Chicksi was cutting hair out of a friend's kitchen in Inuvik, N.W.T., about 400 km away, when he heard the CBC Radio story about Norman Wells's plight.

A hairdresser for 27 years, Chicksi owns a salon called What the Hair? in Edmonton, but was born in Inuvik, where he lived until he was five.

So why thekitchen?

It just so happens Chicksi had been working on a project for about six months that would see him go to northern communities to do people's hair.

"The need for hairdressers in the North is at high demand, and I've got the skillset to take care of those people," he says.

"When I got back to Edmonton, I realized that this could be a huge opportunity. So I made a few phone calls and 10 days later I was cutting hair out of the salon in Norman Wells."

He arrived right in the nick of time.

"Everyone's hair was super thick, incredibly long," he says.

Over the course of a week, he styled, cut and dyed more than 100 people's hair. Walking through the community in the days that followed, Chicksi slowly noticed a change.

"Everybody started to get a lot better looking," he says.

Just one catch

Chicksi will not be in Norman Wells permanently, which is what the town originally wanted.

But the father of three hopes to get to the community every six to 10 weeks when those split ends startappearingand will stay for at least a week.

"We are hoping it will work out for us in the long run if he can commute regularly," Richards says.

She's also keeping in contact with a select few applicants, "in hopes something permanent may happen sometime."

But she says Chicksi fits right in.

"People only have good things to say about him and he's done wonders with our hair."

Chicksi says people have welcomed him with open arms, inviting him to stay at their homes, and showing him great northern hospitality.

He says it's a nice feeling to help.

"Being Inuvialuit myself, and proud of it, and going up to the North to help and provide these services for people... You know, everybody loves getting their hair done. It doesn't matter whether you're in remote Norman Wells, or you're in Inuvik, or you're down here in Edmonton.

"Everybody loves to get treated like they're someone special."