When Hannah Tate, 18, sent celebrity hairstylist Tokyo Stylez a message on Instagram asking him to make her a wig for her prom, she had no idea that Stylez would be at her doorstep Saturday, the day of her prom, with a full glam team in tow, ready to treat Tate, a cancer survivor, to a complete makeover, Yahoo reports.
“It was the best surprise ever!” Tate, who lives in Alcoa, Tenn., told Yahoo. “I know he is always busy working, and for him to go out of his way to come see me was just crazy,” she explained.
Stylez, who has tamed the tresses of big-name artists and celebs such as Rihanna, Naomi Campbell and Gabrielle Union, explained why he felt so moved to come and help Tate look and feel special on her prom day.
“It’s like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You only go to your senior prom once, so to be a part of it is something that she’ll always remember,” Stylez told WATE 6.
Tate has a rare kidney cancer and lost her hair during her chemotherapy treatments. The teen’s mother, LaVetta Spann, described how Tate had been super antsy in the days leading up to her prom: Tate was battling a high fever and had to have dental surgery a few days before the big day.
“I was scared prom just wouldn’t work out,” Tate said. “But my doctors did everything they could to get me out for it because they knew it meant a lot to me.”
Spann had been secretly coordinating the surprise with Stylez, and tried her best to reassure Tate that her prom would be extra special.
Stylez described how her daughter’s eyes welled up when she sat down in the chair and had industry makeup artists and hairstylists doting on every inch of her face and hair. “She teared up and cried a little bit,” Stylez said. “I didn’t want her to because I didn’t want to cry.”
Tate said she was thrilled with how she looked after the makeover. “It felt awesome; everything was just so great,” she said. “Some friends didn’t even know who I was at first.”