Think for a moment about all the people you talk to in a day. There are 100,000 hairstylists in Canada. That means that hairstylists come in contact with and talk to hundreds of thousands of Canadians every single day. And most of the time, those conversations go beyond simple pleasantries.

Hairstylists are in a unique position to listen, offer advice and increase awareness on any number of topics. That’s one reason why Hairdressers Against AIDS, a partnership between the L’Oreal Professional Products Division and UNESCO, has had so much success spreading prevention and education on HIV/AIDS.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on World AIDS DAY (December 1), HAA brought together bloggers and hairstyling students from Fiorio Academy, Marca College and Salon + Spa College to create video messages to promote information and awareness. In Canada, this took place at L’Oreal’s Toronto academy.

Click here to check out the video that our group of students put together.

In 10 years, HAA has worked with 1.3 million stylists in 30 countries. In 2012, this work is more important than ever, as between 2,300 and 4,300 Canadians continue to be diagnosed with this one-hundred-percent, completely preventable disease every year. And that’s the ones that know. It’s estimated that 26% of Canadians who have the disease don’t know it. That means delaying the treatments that can prolong their lives.

So here’s what you can do.

1.   Go to www.HairdressersAgainstAIDS.com.

2.   Take the quick web quiz to find out what you know and what you don’t. Read some of the facts.

3.   Sign up to get involved.

4.   Get tested yourself.

5.   Then use your voice to share what you know.