17-07-2025
Australian hairdresser sparks debate after touching South African woman's hair: 'Oh my god'
An Australian airdresser has faced backlash after sharing a video touching and playing with a cruise ship worker's braided hair.
Perth hairdresser and salon owner of Circles of Hair, Sharlene Lee, was on a seven-night cruise of the Greek Islands aboard the Ritz-Carlton earlier this month.
Ms Lee, who has been a salon owner for more than 30 years, befriended one of the yacht staff members - a woman from South Africa.
Ms Lee asked for permission to touch her hair and share their interaction in a video posted to social media.
'Oh my god your hair is beautiful, how long does it take for you to do this,' Ms Lee said.
The woman explained it took seven hours for her hairstylist with the help of her husband to complete the braids.
Fascinated with the woman's braids, Ms Lee was seen grabbing her hair, twirling it in her hands, and even stroking the woman's head.
'Omg it is so beautiful. Is it heavy? Oh my god, this is so good,' Ms Lee said as she tried to style the woman's ponytail into a bun.
Ms Lee said the braided style was not something she could do in her salon in Perth and asked the woman how much it costs to braid her head of hair.
To much of Ms Lee's disbelief, the woman said she paid a total of $30 to have her hair braided which included $10 for the synthetic hair and $20 for the labour.
Ms Lee asked a second female worker, who joined the conversation, why she did not have braids as she reached to touch her hair.
The worker dodged Ms Lee's touch and jokingly claimed horse hair was used to create her colleagues braids.
'Horse hair?,' Ms Lee said. 'Is this horse hair? Are you wearing a horse?'
The video ended with Ms Lee embracing the female worker, stating 'this girl, on the Ritz Carlton, has been amazing and she has the most amazing hair'.
Social media users were not impressed with Ms Lee's constant touching, with many claiming she was invading the woman's personal space.
'The lady clearly looks uncomfortable with her touching it over and over again! Touch it once and ask the question,' one person commented.
'White women should not be going around trying to touch the hair of people of colour. Is commonly known that this is disrespectful,' a second person wrote.
'Please don't reach over and touch peoples may say you got permission however I seen the second lady recoil when you took the liberty to try and touch her head,' a third said.
A fourth person added: 'She let you touch her hair which is fine but there's a point where you let go. Not keep flipping it upside down and on top of her head'.
A fifth person wrote: 'You're treating her as if she's part of an exhibition.'
Ms Lees fired back at the comments, claiming she asked the woman for permission before touching her hair and sharing the video to her social media account.
'She asked me to touch her hair and we then did a video,' she said.
'She absolutely gave me permission babe no questions about that.'
Many others backed Ms Lee and argued hairdresser's should be allowed to touch people's hair.
'Stop gas lighting. She is a hairdresser. It's innate to handle hair etc & most importantly she has consent!,' a second person commented.
'Y'all complaining about the hair touching but the lady doesn't seem uncomfortable at all,' a third chimed.
