I had an appointment at a Regis salon in La Habra just before the summer of 77. I had seen a magazine ad for a color treatment called Luminize by Clairol and just had to try it. When I arrived I was greeted by a lovely girl who told me that my beautician would be right with me. I asked her why she used the title ” Beautician”? She said it was force of habit as her mother was a beautician and like the term. I took a seat and was watching the activity in the salon. I saw one woman getting cap highlights and another getting the rods placed for a perm. One woman was sitting in the chair while the beautician was applying some sort of hair color to her damp hair. It was lathering as she was applying it. It looked like she was being shampooed in an upright position. I asked the girl at the desk what it was and she told me the same thing you are getting done today.
Just then a woman came up to the desk and said” are you Steph? I am Julie.” I told her “yes and nice to meet you Julie.” She told me that she would be doing my hair today and asked if I was ready. I told her that I was and could not wait to try out this Luminize color. She looked at my hair and told me that I was going to love it. It just lifts your color a couple of shades and adds some highlights. She led me to the back and had me put on a robe around my clothes and then took me to the shampoo sink. She sat me down and leaned me back. She told me she was going to do a light shampoo and towel dry my hair as this color is applied to “towel dried hair.” She turned on the water and wet my hair thoroughly and then applied some shampoo and worked the lather through for a little bit then rinsed me. She wrapped my hair in a towel and took me to her chair. As we passed the woman who was getting the cap highlights she asked me what I was having done today and Julie told her “he is getting Luminized today.” The woman introduced herself as Debbie and then pointed to her friend getting the Lumenizing done and told me that was her friend Diane. Diane looked up at me and said ” are you having this done too?” I told her yes I was. Julie led me to her chair and Diane said “we will talk later under the dryer.” JulieĀ began to towel dry my hair and asked me if she could just trim my ends a little after the color. I agreed as long as it was just a little bit.
Julie mixed the color and developer into an applicator bottle and shook it up. She set it down on the counter and then combed my hair back and sectioned it. She picked up the applicator and began to apply the mixture to my damp hair and lather it in. Section by section she applied it and worked it through until my hair was all saturated. She stood behind me and shampooed it into a thicker lather as I got to watch in the mirror. Diane was being led to the sink to be rinsed and asked if I liked it so far. I stammered a yes and she and the other girls giggled a bit. Julie told me that it had to stay on for 20 minutes or so and she would be back to check the color. So I sat there with this color lather in my hair and waited. Debbie was processing and asked me if I had colored my hair before. I told her that I had a few times before. She then asked me what else I have had done to my hair. So I told her a little about my history and let her know that I have had perms, color and many shampoo/sets. She asked ” are you going to have Julie set your hair after this?” I looked at Julie who said ” of course he is.” Debbie said ” good we can talk under the dryers.” Debbies beautician checked her color and said ok we are ready to rinse you. As she got up she touched my hand and said ” Be right back, you enjoy your salon time.”
Julie came back over to check my color and said “not yet.” and then began to shampoo in the color again. She stood there shampooing for about 10 more minutes then told me it was time for a rinse. By that time Diane was back out in the chair and was getting her hair set in rollers. She said” see you when you get back.” As I went back to the sink with Julie I saw Debbie getting shampooed after the cap had been removed. She asked me ” isn’t this the best, just love getting shampooed don’t you?” I told her yes I did enjoy it very much. Julie sat me down and leaned me back and said ” lets get you rinsed, shampooed and set ok Stephanie.” I looked at her with surprise at first then just smiled. She said ” you don’t mind if I call you Stephanie do you?” I told her no it was ok it is close to my name and that I kind of liked it. Debbie said ” ooh I like that name, Stephanie.” ” it suits you.”
Julie wet my hair and worked up a lather again with the color and then rinsed it. She applied some blue shampoo and worked that into a thick lather. Debbie had gotten up with a towel around her hair and came over to me and said ” enjoy your shampoo Stephanie.” Julie continued to shampoo me then rinsed and applied a conditioner to my hair and left it in for about 10 minutes with a plastic cap over my hair. When she came back to rinse me she told me that the girls have something to ask me when I got back out there. Julie wrapped a towel around my hair and took me back to her chair. It was late in the day and it was just Debbie, Diane and myself along with the three beauticians. The girls asked me if they could do a make over on me. Make up and nails the works. Debbie said ” I have some clothes that will fit you in my car and will look great on you. I was kind of shocked but as all of them were looking at me in anticipation I agreed. It is not like I had not done this before or did not want it.
Debbie asked the receptionist to get her bag from her car. Debbie was having the toner applied to her hair and did not want to got outside. Julie was beginning to trim my ends and then got out her roller tray. She combed and sectioned my hair and then applied some setting lotion and started to set my hair. She asked what type of rollers I usually used and I told her the magnetic ones. She handed me the clips and had me hand her them as she rolled my hair. Diane was finished being set and was going to the dryers and Debbie was going back to the sink for a rinse and shampoo. Julie continued to set my hair for quite a while. When I looked up I had so many rollers in my hair I could not believe it. Debbie came back out and was ready to be set also. By that time Julie took me to the dryer next to Diane and sat me down. One of the girls brought out the manicure table and proceeded to do my nails. She applied acrylics in what she called an active length and filed, buffed and polished them in a bright pink color. She then moved over to Diane and did the exact same thing to her nails. Debbie was almost set and was next. She came over the dryers all rolled up and got her nails done the same way. Julie and the other beauticians took us from the dryers to the chairs and reached in Debbie’s bag and handed me her clothes and had me change in the back. It was a very pretty blouse and skirt. It fit me well. I put the robe back around it and came back out. The girls told me to let them see so I took off the robe and Debbie said” ooh very sexy Stephanie.”
Julie had me put the robe back on so she could do my make up that Diane had brought in. Little did I know that Debbie and Diane were make up artists. So they went to work on me. First the skin moisturizer and foundation along with some toner. Then to the eyes with the mascara and eye liner. Then the eye shadows which took a while but I have ever felt more feminine or sexy before. I got to see their progress so far an did not recognize myself. Then to the lips where they took their time also and blended some colors for effect. When I got to see myself in rollers and make up I was astounded. I looked so different. Then Debbie and Diane did each others make up and then the other girls as well. They placed a net over our rollers and we all went down the street for dinner. When we got back the girls and I got the rollers out and our hair styled almost the same way.
When it was time to leave I attempted to pay and Julie said it was all taken care of and that I needed to come back again so she could do my hair again. We all had such a good time. Debbie and Diane asked me to come back to their home for desert and share some girl talk. But that is a story for another time.