Behind the Scenes of Beauty

Amy's Hair Apron

  

    As you walk through the doors of Amy's Beauty Shop, you're greeted by Amy, who finishes up the last clip in her client's roller set. When you look to the left, rows of nail polish take up space on the wall, and a pedicure spa sits vacant in the corner. Looking right, a giant mirror covers the entire center of the wall, and on either side of the mirror, a Marilyn Monroe portrait hangs above the reception desk. On the other side of the mirror, a hair wash station sits in the corner as well as a facial waxing station. Amy's hair station, full of hot tools, hair clips, and hairsprays sits directly in the back center of the room. The lingering smell of hairspray fills the room, and soft music plays quietly from the radio in the corner. Her client, Joann, makes her way to sit under the black hooded dryer, and picks up a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Amy has been doing hair for 29 years. She has owned her own beauty shop for 20 years. She explained how she has always had an interest and a passion for doing hair. "When I was 5 years old, I took my mom's sewing scissors and locked myself in the bathroom with my dolls and cut their hair." Amy has a dedication to her cosmetology career. Her dedication shows in her beautiful work. 

    Certain things need to be in place to be a cosmetologist and run a beauty shop. To be a cosmetologist, you need to have a state license. Amy studied at Empire Beauty School for 1 1/2 years to get her cosmetologist license. She also has a teaching licence that she also obtained from Empire Beauty School. At Empire Beauty School, to get a cosmetology license was only one year, but it took 1/2 a year to get a teaching license. Amy has been in her current beauty shop for 20 years located at 1751 Susquehanna Trail in Northumberland.  A state beauty shop license is required to operate a beauty shop, and needs to be renewed every two years. The salon has to be inspected by the state. There is clearly a lot that needs to be done to be a cosmetologist and run a beauty shop, but it is definitely doable.

    "Just 5 more minutes under the dryer, and then I'll take the roller sets out." Amy informed Joann as Amy put the timer back down onto the table.

    "How much do I owe you when we're done?" Asked Joann as she flipped a page in her magazine.

    "It'll be $55."

Wedding hair on a mannequin

    Joann has been a regular client of Amy's for 20 years. She is an 87 year old woman with short gray hair.  Amy does a haircut, perm, and roller sets on Joann every time she comes in. "Amy always does such an amazing job on my hair. She is always so nice and always smiling when I come in. It is always a pleasure coming here." The satisfaction of Amy's clients shows that Amy is very skilled in her work. 

    You may have noticed that hair trends have significantly changed over the decades. Amy noticed many different hair fashion trends happen over her many years of being a cosmetologist.  For one, Amy noted that hairstyles for formal events such as prom and weddings 5-10 years ago were more formal and put together up-dos. Now, more casual hairstyles that incorporate braids are more popular for formal events, and they use a lot less hairspray. Another hair trend Amy noticed is how highlights are done. When Amy first started beauty school, highlights were done by being pulled through a cap. Recently, highlights are being done by using foils. Amy described that she didn't even learn how to do foils in beauty school, and it's something that she had to learn in the salon when they gained popularity. Amy also explained that highlights are even more recently being done free handed without anything but hair color and the brush. A big part of the beauty business used to be perms, but due to recent changes in fashion trends, the popularity of perms declined drastically.  Amy has been good at keeping up with the changing beauty trends for her clients. Many trends have changed throughout the years, and trends still continue to change. 

After

Before 

    There are a variety of beauty services that can be offered in a beauty salon. Amy offers many different beauty services including men and women hair cuts, hair color, perms, manicures, pedicures and facial waxing. Prices of her services range from $15-$90 depending on the service. Amy doesn't just work out of her main salon. A unique service that Amy offers is shut-in clients. For her clients that are unable to drive or leave the house, Amy takes her beauty supplies with her to the client's house and does the requested services in the client's homes. She also contracts her beauty salon business out into nursing homes, and does hair for the nursing home residents. Making special accommodations for clients is a brilliant way to get business. Amy specializes in hair cuts and perms. Perms are done by putting small rollers in a client's hair, and then putting a perm solution on over the rollers. After about 20 minutes, the perm solution is washed out of a client's hair in a sink. Very curly hair marks the end result of a perm, and the entire process takes about 90 minutes. There is even a nail tech that works in Amy's salon. With all of the services offered, the salon can be quite busy sometimes. 

    Amy has many goals for her salon. In particular, one of her goals is to create a relaxing environment in her salon. Making personal connections to her clients is important to Amy. She strives for perfection in her client's services. "I love what I do, and my favorite part of being a cosmetologist is making people feel beautiful." Amy's amazing and accommodating customer service helps contribute to her successful business. Her dedication and passion for beauty and cosmetology makes her one of a kind.