Back when I was in my early forties I traveled to the Canadian province Ontario seven straight years in a row and cycled for seven days, a full week of at least fifty miles every day and camping in a tent at night. That was a great way to see the beautiful countryside, and to meet wonderful people who love to cycle like me. After the first two or three years I had made Canadian friends and looked forward to cycling with them each summer. Every year I would talk with more and more people, partly because that is just how I am programmed, and also because I love to meet new people. But you know, I honestly think, from the Canadian point of view anyway, they loved to talk to me to hear my Kentucky accent, that slow southern drawl. Many times I was asked to say this word or that word, because they wanted to hear how I pronounced it. For many of them I became the Kentucky woman, and my adopted brother Steve from Ohio began to occasionally call me Kentucky Woman, from that old song sung by Neil Diamond.
One year a canadian reporter from a newspaper came to interview us, the six hundred or so cyclists that were traveling through Ontario. Many of them told her to talk to the woman from Kentucky. So she hunted me up and I am sure recognized me as soon as I opened my mouth and said hello. I remember her as an easy going woman, maybe somewhere in her middle thirties, and we talked together for about thirty minutes. As I straddled the top bar of my bicycle and leaned forward on the handlebars I agreed for her to snap my picture for the newspaper article. Then she cocks her head to one side and says to me, “You would make one damn good reporter. You’ve managed to ask more questions about me than I’ve asked about you. Who’s the reporter here?” We laughed together. It was true, but I’ve loved to hear people’s stories for years and working as a nurse I had a lot of practice.
So this past Friday I went to see my hairdresser, Jana Sue. She is the owner of Renovations Salon in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. She is also one of my Treasures from one of my families that revolve around my universe. I decided I wanted to learn more about why someone would choose a career as a cosmetologist. I mean think about it. We all love thick, beautiful hair, but who really likes it when it is lying on the floor, or in the bathtub, or when you have to pluck it off your favorite pair of pants? But I have believed for a long time that the hearts of a nurse and a beautician are very similar, that both are usually good listeners, both are often placed in the role of a personal confidant, and both work long hours on their feet. So I went to my appointment with questions, wearing a hat as an ameteur journalist. After entering the salon and giving Jana a hug, we talked a little, and laughed a little, and she trimmed my hair. Then I got down to business.
I have known Jana Sue since she was fifteen years young. She has always wanted to be a cosmetologist. In elementary school she often fixed her girlfriends’ hair, and then in high school made some personal income fixing girls’ hair for proms and other memorable events. Jana is a very talented, beautiful Girl, and has truly found her a career she still loves to do. For me she is extra special because she truly is one of my Treasures and at the same time I trust her with my hair. Which we all know is a big deal. Who do you know that just randomly goes to any salon, to just any cosmetologist, and lets them mess with their hair?
I talked with three co-workers who work with Jana. Each of these beautiful Girls had a different story as to how they became a successful beautician.
Chastity told me she grew up in a small town in Kentucky and had originally aspired to become a mortician. Between her financial status leaning towards the low side, and the mortician school location being far away from home, this was not a possibility after she graduated from high school. But pursuing a career as a cosmetologist could become a reality and Chastity claimed it for her future. She says she has never looked back and still enjoys cutting and styling hair, and “helping people feel good about themselves.”
Traci attended a School for Business after she graduated from high school. But she found out this was not what she really wanted to do and did not obtain a degree. One day she spotted a local sign advertising Beautician School in the area she grew up in, and Traci decided to enroll. She is smiling as she tells me this part of her story and it is easy to see she still enjoys her job as a cosmetologist. Then I asked her if it happens often, that old saying a beautician must tell a client, “I’m a beautician, not a magician.” Her smile just got bigger and she denied it, saying, “Most of the time we can make our clients feel good about their own style.”
Brittany was able to become a licensed cosmetologist by taking classes through her high school. She explained to me she has always considered herself a “hands on person”, but was not interested in enrolling in a college for any type of degree. Brittany says she “loves to help people”. Obviously her career as a beautician has fulfilled this desire as she is very happy with her choice, “still happy doing hair.”
These professional women have other tasks that fit in their job descriptions besides cutting and styling hair: create braids, color hair, facial hair removal, extensions, facials and skin care products, nail care, and make up may all be a part of their busy day. Oh! And they do have perks that come with the job. All four of them are attending a Valentine’s Day gala with their spouses that supports cancer research for children. They work as a team, all helping each other according to Jana Sue, “spending a few weeks prior (to the gala) getting our hair color and extensions ready”. So fun! And don’t you know all four will look simply gorgeous! A red carpet night for them, one they all deeply deserve!
c Love, Joan