Hair stylist to the dead now runs own funeral parlour

While most people tend to shy away from the dead, Shakira Cummings enjoys working with them and styling them to perfection, so that their final appearance can be just as grand as when they were alive.

Initially, Cummings started as just a hairstylist for the dead at 19 years old, but the 41-year-old has been operating her own funeral parlour, Prospective Funeral Home, for about two years. She told THE STAR that what she enjoys most about styling the dead is helping families gain closure when they see their relatives' appearance and say their final goodbyes.

"I love when the family sees the body and they're like 'wow 'and I love to see that they're pleased with how the body looks because it really helps with the grieving process," Cummings said, adding that she prides herself on making the deceased look as close as possible to when they were alive.

"Most times how I go about it is I use several pictures of what the person used to look like and then I try to make them look like how they used to. So, if somebody used to be a 'wig person', I'm going to give them a wig, and if they used to love wearing braids, I give them braids," Cummings said.

"If your somebody wasn't a wig person and you give them a wig, it may seem like it's not them. They might look strange because that wasn't their style. So the family might see them and think 'no this is not my loved one', which is not a good feeling. So I always try to compare and view several pictures and choose from there how to go about styling them," Cummings said.

She said that the same goes for the funerals she organises because she likes to match the service to the deceased person's personality.

"I plan it based on who the person was. So if you're an 'excitement' person, you're going to get an excitement funeral. If the person was a simple person, then we're just going to go simple with the funeral," Cummings said.

Cummings has been styling the dead for 20 years, and has worked with a number of mortuaries. She has prepared the bodies of a number of famous faces including reggae legends Bunny Wailer and Toots Hibbert. She told THE STAR that she enjoys her job because she feels more comfortable working with the dead more than the living.

"I really love working with the dead, it's just a passion to work with them because one, the dead don't give any problem, and two, I love to make the family feel pleased. Death is already a difficult process, so I really enjoy doing something that can help give them comfort, " Cummings said.