FOR WHAT PRICE IS BEAUTY?

When I began my career as a cosmetologist back in 1972 our industry was rather primitive compared to what it is today. Right after I started there was a big cancer scare over hair color. After a bit of kicking and screaming the color manufacturer's reformulated everything. This was a big nightmare for every hairdresser especially if their client's color happened to be red. There were a lot of clients running around with very "brassy" looking hair! Trying to get any mileage out of a touch-up was impossible because they faded so fast. We were lucky that at the time people didn't wash their hair every day. Most clients would come in once a week so we managed to get about a month out of the color. We all had regular weekly shampoo and set clients that pretty much guaranteed us a steady income. But then along came the blow dryer and the electric curling irons and they revolutionized the industry. I originally learned how to use a curling iron that needed to be heated over a stove and our weekly clients sat under a hood dryer with rollers in their hair. Now I had a new set of tools to use. Blow dryers didn't make the hood dryer obsolete but they did usher in the era of the "wash and wear" styles.

 

Permanent Wave Solutions were really primitive. They consisted mostly of thio-glycol-ate and ammonia. They were extremely harsh and they smelled really bad. That part hasn't really changed much! When the "acid wave" was born we didn't have quite as many fried heads of hair! They were more mild and definitely more natural looking. 

Lee Press On Nails marked the beginning of the acrylic nail as we know it today. When nail technicians started looking for new ways to hold the plastic formed nails on, there was a race to see who could find the hardest and strongest product. I knew nail tech's that used "black 

market" dental acrylic because it would last forever! However your own fingernails may never be the same. Thank God we got out of the dark ages!

Over the years the chemical make up of the products we use have become more and more complex. But one thing has not changed. All of them are still made of CHEMICALS! Back then we didn't know the effect they would have on our bodies after 25 years of day in and day out use. Nor did we know how it would affect our un-born children.

In my case I developed chemical poisoning and it has slowly torn down my immune system. I specialized in perms and colors and I worked with some pretty nasty stuff! I used 130 volume peroxide, which I don't believe you can even get any more, and mixed it down to the volume that I needed. That way I wasn't limited to a maximum 40 volume so I was able to get a much higher lift out of a regular color and would not have to use bleach. My co-workers labeled it the "MASTER BLAST!" I worked with Barbers who didn't do color so I would take care of their client's color and then send them back for their haircut. I never did try to take on the acrylic nails, which is probably a very good thing, because of all the chemicals we used nail products were the most caustic.

I finally came to a point when I was so sick I couldn't finish a haircut without running to the bathroom to vomit in the middle of it! I weighed a mere 89 pounds! My doctor gave me an ultimatum. I could either QUIT or I would DIE! I was devastated! My whole life revolved around hair. But I also had a daughter to think about and I certainly didn't want to miss seeing her grow up! So in 1992 I retired from the salon. I continued cutting hair at home for over 5 years but I was finally forced to give that up, too. I began having seizures shortly after that and was hospitalized more times than I care to think about! I was literally "knocking at death's door" 4 times.  Eventually I suffered a stroke and I spent 7 months in a re-hab hospital where I learned to walk, talk, feed myself, and to even write my name, ( among other unmentionables!)

Since the time of my stroke in 2005, I have only attempted to do one haircut. My care-giver was brave enough to let me give it a shot. (She said she had not had a decent wedge haircut in a long time so she more or less begged me to try!) It was quite a challenge because I had to figure out how to hold my cutting shears all over again. It took me 2 hours but it was not only beautiful, I was on top of the world! I felt such a great sense of accomplishment. You can bet I was saying a huge prayer of thanks to the Almighty! To this day I continue to cut her hair just so I know I can say, "I STILL GOT IT!