The Salon
Hair for any woman is a symbol of pride and beauty. In the African American community, hair represents our cultural heritage and can tell a story of our ancestral history. In certain parts of the world, hair has a deep spiritual meaning. The Bible says that a woman’s hair is her crown and glory. Even a shaved head has a deep symbolic meaning of freedom and transformation.
On any given day, an African American woman can wear her hair straight or curly, long or short, black, brown, blond, or blue, up or down, natural or “store-bought” but no matter what...there are 2 things you never do to an African American woman’s hair...1) never touch it and 2) never ask “is that your real hair..cuz if she bought it...it’s hers!
Ms. Lula was a woman who always took pride in her hair. She was a natural hair wearer (unlike her caretaker) but would go get her hair coif weekly. For over 45 years she went to Clyburn’s Beauty Shop where she got her hair coifed by Lauretta Way. Lauretta would shampoo, press, and curl Ms. Lula’s hair so straight it looked as if it was naturally straight (but the pressing grease gave it away). To maintain her hair during the week, at night Ms. Lula would sit at the table while watching the news and roll her hair with pink or black sponge rollers wrapped in small white sheets of paper then clamped together.
Clyburn’s Beauty Salon is a unique salon. It has been in operation for over 70 years and actually still has one of the original stylists, Dollie Swinton whom we call “Butchey”, who is still around as a retired continuing education consultant as well as the granddaughter of the original owner Alameta Clyburn - Dia Clyburn. At many salons, it is common for the stylist to “salon hop” but at Clyburn’s the stylist stays there for years and years. Please check out their website and the beautiful write-up commemorating their anniversary Clyburns Beauty Salon (see video below).
This salon is not only very special to Ms. Lula, but also her caretaker. Lauretta did the caretaker’s hair also from when she was a child until she got her own cosmetology license.
We love Clyburn’s and celebrate their 70 years of service with them. In honor of Lauretta’s work, Ms. Lula’s caretaker tries to keep her hair as glorious as Lauretta did over the years. It’s a tough act to follow but she does her best.
For the first few years of her arrival, Ms. Lula’s caretaker would shampoo her hair at home then drive her up to Los Angeles to get her dressed in beautiful curls done by Cynthia Lewis. Because she’s gotten her hair done all her life, Ms. Lula sits very still during the process. She would also ride the 2 hours up and 2 hours back so beautifully talking to herself the entire way. She never fell asleep. Now getting her in and out of the car was oftentimes a challenge because she never wanted to get in the car and never wanted to get out.
Now, because of the pandemic, we no longer take that drive up the coast but, rather Ms. Lula’s caregivers have all pitched in to comb and braid her hair. I’m so grateful for wonderful caregivers.
