THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020579
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Every Thursday, Louise Carroll gets her hair curled and coiffed for a price that can't be beat - just $1.
But the bond between the 68-year-old woman and her student hairdresser, Lateesha Green, is priceless.
``I know just where she likes her hair parted,'' said the 18-year-old Virginia Beach Vo-Tech senior as she waited for Carroll's hair to dry Thursday morning.
``She knows what I like,'' said Carroll, popping her curler-bedecked head out from under the dryer.
``You know, she's mine,'' says Green. ``But somebody else gave her a perm last week when I was home sick.''
Like many other residents of Hope Haven Adult Home, Carroll looks forward to her weekly visit to the school's cosmetology department.
The symbiotic relationship between the school and the retirement home across the street on North Landing Road has been going on since 1971.
Hope Haven showed its appreciation Thursday with a party for the students. In between facials, manicures and perms, the seniors and their student hairdressers partook of fancy sandwiches, punch and cookies.
``It gives them a lift, and we feel like we're giving,'' said Dianne Campbell, teacher-coordinator for the department.
The relationship benefits both young and old - beyond what it does for anyone's hair or styling techniques.
The older women get to spend time with young people - something that can be rare when one lives in a retirement home - and the students enjoy the small talk that takes place while the clipping, cutting and curling is going on.
``The girls get guidance, and sometimes the women take the girls in like grandmothers,'' said Mary Huhn, another of the department's teachers.
Barbara Gadbois, 87, is ``very much pleased'' with the waves she gets in her pretty gray hair each week. She's been coming to the school weekly for seven years.
Brandy Piggott, 18, was combing out some soft curls for Ruby Franklin, 69, who has been coming to the Vocational-Technical Educational Center for five years.
``Their sets last longer,'' said Franklin, smiling at Piggott, who will start work at Waves Etc. after graduation this month.
Even during the summer when school is not in session, the young hairdressers frequently stop by Hope Haven to give a wash and curl to the women who've become used to the special treatment and attached those who give it.
The school trains between 85 and 100 hairdressers each year. The students take their state board examinations after graduation and then usually find a job with one of the many salons in the area.
Until two years ago, the beauty treatments for the elderly women were free. But the Hope Haven residents themselves insisted that they be allowed to pay something for the service, said Campbell.
The public may also use the salon. A cut costs $4, and it's $4.50 for a shampoo and set.
It's a great experience for the elderly women, Campbell said, ``especially since they're on a limited income.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS/
Virginia Beach Vo-Tech cosmetology student Dawn Cress, left, gives a
manicure to 85-year-old Hope Haven resident Selma Huddleston.
by CNB