C is for Cosmetology

I graduated from high school with a math scholarship to Olivet College. To my 18 year old mind in 1963, this was not a cool thing.

What did a girl do with a math degree? And, since it was 1963 when girls did not do much, no one could answer that question for me. When they tried, it came out sounding like “develop your mind and find a husband.” Surely there were easier ways to find a husband than four years of college math.

I enrolled in the fall session of Wright Beauty Academy to become a Cosmetologist.

Nine months later I passed the state test and went to work for the best hair styling saloon in Battle Creek, Michigan. Hair Styles by Ferrari.

It was the decade of beehives, backcombing, French twists, flips, and lots of hairspray. Shampooing once a week was the norm.

In 1964 a haircut was $2, a shampoo and set was $2.50, and a perm was $10. Since we worked on commission, we tried to sell the more expensive perms for $15, but most of the ladies (our license did not allow us to work on men) thought the $10 perms were just fine.

I had red hair with the crown bleached out platinum. With the help of color rinses on the bleached part, I could have all kinds of outrageous color combinations.

In this Christmas picture, the top of my hair was a pale green color.


When I got married in February, 1965, I had a temporary auburn rinse put on the bleached hair. Since I was paying for expensive wedding pictures, I thought I might want to look as normal as possible so my kids wouldn't laugh at me in the decades to come.

When my daughter sees the wedding pictures, she is too busy laughing at the hairstyle to even notice the color.