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Who’d-a-thunk: Hair styling for kids

“Necessity is the mother of invention – you always hear,” muses Hip Peas hair product creator Stephanie Mahaffey. That is certainly the case for the kiddie hair products sitting in front of her – a container of hair balm Mahaffey created to help style her daughter’s fine hair, and a spray bottle of detangler designed to help soothe the bedhead of her second youngster. “I’ve almost always done stuff that I needed for my own daughters,” she says with a laugh. When Mahaffey’s oldest daughter, Madison, was a toddler, trying to keep bows in her fine hair was a constant challenge. Mahaffey tried putting some adult hair product in the little girl’s hair to help, but – in true toddler fashion – Madison immediately began combing her fingers through her hair and then sticking them in her mouth. With all the chemicals in hair product, Mahaffey was concerned. Mahaffey, who got her degree in biomedical science and worked as a health consultant for many years, decided she wanted to create a kid-friendly, all-natural hair balm. At first, she didn’t know where to begin, until one day she discovered a manufacturer in Irving called Cosmetic Laboratories that helps people develop and manufacture their own products. After working with them for more than a year, she created a hair balm that did the trick. She began selling it locally and online. Soon after, she released a detangler, curl tamer and cradle cap care, and even shampoo and conditioner to complete her new all-natural product line, Hip Peas hair products. The product has taken off, both online and on store shelves. Ra Ra’s closet in Lake Highlands sells Hip Peas, as well as hair salons in Frisco, Plano and McKinney and throughout the U.S. Recently, Mahaffey also began talking with international distributors. “I’ve had really good growth in the past six months,” she says. “Now that my line is complete, I’m not focusing on creating more hair products. I’ve been really focusing on sales. It’s really taken off, so I’ve been really pleased with it.” —Brittany

Nunn

State of the art

On March 23, Woodrow Wilson students decked out in elaborate tribal costumes danced an Aztec Blessing in the auditorium of the high school while guests trickled in for the ribbon-cutting and open house of the school’s brand new arts and science wing. Dozens of Woodrow parents and alumni, along with community members, attended the ribbon-cutting, eager to see the new 39,000 square-foot facility. Woodrow Principal Kyle Richardson welcomed the crowd, and several other speakers crossed the stage to delever short speeches and “thank you”s. Craig Reynolds, the architect who designed the wing and who also happens to be a Woodrow parent, shared his vision for the new wing. He hopes it will be a space that gives teachers the tools they need to teach, and a space where students can embrace learning and growing. “A school is more than a building,” he says. “We are done warehousing children inside buildings in Dallas ISD.” The $14 million building, which was funded as a part of the 2008 DISD bond election, is three stories high. It includes 19 classrooms and science labs, a two-story rehearsal hall, a dance studio, dressing rooms, a black box theater and all kinds of other goodies. The ceremony wrapped up with the Woodrow fight song, and then the audience took the opportunity to walk down memory lane and see the changes the school has made since the good old days. Jim Peden, of Woodrow’s class of 1959, told his daughter, Leigh Straughn, about when he was in the very first Woodrow musical. In the dance studio, students performed or free-styled to various beats, and in the new band room, band instructor Chris Evetts worked with his students on a prepared set of songs. “It’s great to finally see it complete,” sums up District 2 DISD trustee Mike Morath. — Brittany Nunn

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