Wendy Rollin

After Amy Chinian and her family lost their home and financial security during the recession, she began rebuilding one house call at a time—never imagining where a small red picnic basket would lead.

By Wendy Rollin

Amy Chinian, founder of My Hair Helpers and Lice Free Forever, has turned a season of financial hardship into a mission centered on faith, service, and helping families.

In 2008, Amy Chinian packed her supplies into a little red picnic basket and headed out on her first house call.

She was nervous. She was still learning. She had researched products online, but much of what she would eventually know about treating head lice would come through experience, one family at a time.

“I didn’t have everything figured out, and I certainly didn’t feel like an expert,” Amy recalled. “I just knew there were families who needed help, and I was willing to show up and serve them.”

At the time, Amy could not have known that the small beginning would eventually grow into My Hair Helpers, a company that today operates seven locations throughout Southern California and has served thousands of families.

She also could not have known how closely that new beginning would be tied to one of the hardest seasons her own family had ever faced.

When Everything Changed

During the 2007–2008 recession, Amy and her family suffered a devastating financial loss.

They lost their home. They lost their business. The financial security they had worked to build seemed to disappear almost overnight.

Eventually, Amy, her husband and their children moved into a 700-square-foot apartment. Their children attended public school for the first time, with the exception of their son, who received a scholarship to Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village.

Amy Chinian with her children during the years when her family was rebuilding after the financial losses of the 2007–2008 recession. Amy says those difficult years ultimately strengthened their family, faith, and perseverance.

There were times the family relied on food banks.

“The hardest part was watching everything change almost overnight,” Amy said. “As a mother, that was incredibly painful because all you want is to protect your children and give them stability.”

The family would spend years rebuilding. Amy estimates it took approximately a decade for them to fully regain their financial footing, with the first five years being the most difficult.

Yet she remembers something else about those years.

“We never lost our joy,” she said. “We had our faith, our health, and a strong marriage.”

For Amy, faith did not mean pretending the circumstances were easy. It meant continuing to trust God when she could not understand what He was doing.

“Spiritually, I had to make a choice every day to trust God, even when I couldn’t see what He was doing,” she said.

One passage she returned to repeatedly was Proverbs 3:5–6:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”

“There were so many moments when I couldn’t make sense of what was happening,” Amy said. “We had worked hard, and suddenly everything was gone. But that verse reminded me that I didn’t have to understand God’s plan to trust Him.”

Looking back now, Amy believes God was still directing her steps, even when she could not yet see where they would lead.

One House Call at a Time

As her family navigated financial uncertainty, Amy began helping other families dealing with head lice.

Her first house call came in 2008.

“I packed everything into my little red picnic basket, knocked on that first door, smiled, and prayed that God would use me,” she said.

There was no elaborate business plan behind it. Amy learned as she went, testing products, refining techniques and gaining experience with each family she served.

Then the referrals started.

One family told another. Friends and neighbors called. Schools began hearing about her services.

Amy soon realized that families needed more than treatment. Many were embarrassed, overwhelmed or simply unsure what to do.

“Families weren’t just calling because they needed someone to remove lice,” she said. “They needed reassurance, encouragement, and someone who would walk into their home without judgment.”

What began as a way to earn an income while helping people gradually became My Hair Helpers.

Today, according to Amy, the company has seven locations throughout Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties, along with mobile service teams throughout Southern California and Las Vegas. Its products are also available online and through the company’s locations.

My Hair Helpers. What began with a single house call in 2008 has grown into a business serving thousands of families throughout Southern California and beyond.

Over the years, My Hair Helpers has served thousands of families.

Amy says the heart behind the company has remained the same.

“We strive for excellence, lead with integrity, and make every family feel loved, supported, and cared for during what is often a stressful experience.”

She also founded Lice Free Forever, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping children whose families cannot afford treatment. The organization works with schools and school nurses to connect families with assistance.

When Business Became Ministry

As My Hair Helpers grew, Amy began to see the work differently.

One encounter in particular stayed with her.

A woman came into Amy’s salon with her daughter for treatment. During their conversation, the woman shared that she was battling a serious autoimmune illness.

Amy said she felt the Holy Spirit prompting her to ask the woman whether she knew Jesus.

“She told me she didn’t, so I asked if I could pray with her,” Amy recalled.

Amy says the woman accepted Christ that day.

Later, Amy invited her to church, where members of the congregation prayed for her. Amy says the woman eventually experienced what both women believed was a miraculous healing.

For Amy, the experience reinforced something she had already begun to understand.

“God had called me to something far greater than removing head lice,” she said. “He was opening doors into people’s lives and giving me opportunities to love them, encourage them, pray with them, and point them toward Him.”

“Even today, whether I pray with families in the moment or quietly lift them up afterward, I know God has entrusted me with more than a business,” Amy said. “He’s entrusted me with people.”

Nearly Two Decades Later

Nearly two decades after the recession altered the course of her family’s life, Amy can see the season differently than she could while living through it.

She would not have chosen the loss.

But she believes God used it.

The years of financial uncertainty strengthened her marriage, brought her family closer together and taught her children perseverance, gratitude and faith.

Amy Chinian with her husband and children. Amy says the difficult years they endured together strengthened their marriage, deepened their faith, and brought their family even closer.

It also changed the way Amy trusts God.

“I have seen His faithfulness firsthand and watched Him provide for our family through one of the greatest financial crises of our lives,” she said. “He never abandoned us, and that has deepened my trust in Him.”

Romans 8:28 remains one of her favorite verses:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

For someone facing a season of loss today, Amy offers the same perspective she had to learn for herself.

“Sometimes what feels like the end is actually the beginning of something He has been preparing all along,” she said.

She encourages others to stay close to God, remain rooted in His Word and continue taking the next step even when they cannot see where the road is leading.

“Keep taking one step at a time in obedience, and trust that He will direct your path,” Amy said.

Nearly two decades after carrying that red picnic basket to her first house call, Amy can now look back and see a path she could not see then. The financial loss was real, and rebuilding took years. But so was the faithfulness she says met her along the way.

“I wouldn’t have chosen that season of loss,” Amy said, “but I can honestly say God used it to change my life.”

What began during one of her family’s hardest seasons ultimately became an opportunity to serve thousands of other families—and, for Amy, a reminder that God’s work is not always visible at the beginning.

Sometimes, it is only after the hardest season has passed that we can see where God was leading us all along.