Hand-held hair dryers humming. Bantering over relationship issues.  Hair clippings littering the floor.  A proper hair salon would be incomplete without these essentials. However, they can be much more than just haircuts. Cindy Tawiah, proprietor of Diva by Cindy hair products and salon, also uses her successful salon to help abused and homeless Baltimore women improve their lives.  

    While chemistry is often considered one of the more difficult subjects at Pikesville High School, Tawiah discovered her passion and talent at the lab table.

    “In high school my chemistry teacher taught me how to make nail polish and lipstick which inspired me to create a hair care line,” Tawiah said.

    Taking her passion for chemistry to another level, Tawiah earned her Bachelor of Science degree in health studies. Tawiah launched her career in hair and body care seven years ago by developing her own line of hair care products. She recently opened her Pikesville location, Diva by Cindy salon, in January 2011.  

    The Diva Project, a non-profit organization created by Tawiah, holds “day of beauty” every three months at her Pikesville salon. Women from shelters are brought in to be pampered, listen to motivational speakers and prepare to enter the workforce again.

    “One of the main reasons women become victims is a loss of self and of confidence. When their outward beauty is restored, their inner beauty and strength shines through,” Tawiah said.

    The most recent “Diva” project occurred on October 2. Women from the Hannah More Women’s Shelter and My Sister’s Place Lodge were brought by vans to the salon and given free makeovers. Volunteers from the community pitched in to make the occasion a success.

    “I would want someone to help, be kind and not judge me if I were in a similar situation as the ladies here,” Mrs. Faith Carter said, a close friend of Mrs. Tawiah and first time volunteer at a Diva Project event.  

    For some of the ladies, the October Diva Project was a turning point during hard times. The overwhelming generosity of the staff and of the volunteers helped to restore one participant’s faith in mankind after multiple years of unimaginable loss.

    “[After everything I had been through] I have felt more compassion from the people at this event than anywhere else,” said Marsha Russell, a partaker at October’s Diva Project salon day.

    For Tawiah, volunteers are some of her biggest supporters. She encourages high school students to participate in the Diva Project events. However, Mrs. Tawiah firmly believes that volunteering for a cause is far more rewarding than simply completing graduation requirements.

    “You are not defined by the place where you live, but the person you are at the place you are living,” Mrs. Alfreda Robinson states, a motivational speaker and founder of the National Women’s Prison Project.