My Mother’s Satin Pillowcase

During a meeting today, my client received a phone call from her 89 year old mother.  She hesitated before answering until I nodded for her to go ahead.  You see, my own mother would have been 89 years old if still living..and I would give anything for just one more phone conversation with her.  Since we were in such close proximity, I could easily hear both ends of the conversation.  Hearing their discussion brought one particular memory to mind…my mother’s satin pillowcase.

The Satin Pillowcase

As I continued to listen (unintentionally eavesdrop-whatever you choose to call it) to the chat between mother and daughter, I heard the mother mention that she was preparing for her weekly hair appointment in the afternoon.

Ah, those weekly hair appointments!  My eyes began to fill with tears as I drifted back to my childhood.  As far back as I can remember, my mom had a weekly hair appointment.  She would have her hair curled and teased, with the occasional red “rinse” put on it.  My mom was a natural redhead, but sometimes had a bit of help to assure that her red color stayed vibrant.  One thing that she made sure we all knew was that this was NOT dye, only a rinse of color.  I remember the bottle of rinse very well, and finally found a picture of the bottle.

Of course, she didn’t want to mess up the new “d0” with a regular old pillowcase.  Mom used a satin pillowcase to preserve the hard work put in by her stylist each week. My parents didn’t sleep on a full set of satin sheets, it was just ONE satin pillowcase for mom’s hair.

The Hair Appointments

I looked forward to mom’s hair appointments every week as a child, because I usually got to go with her.  I can recall two different beauty shops that she used.  Both of these were operated out of the stylist’s homes.  For all I know, this could have been the same stylist in two different homes..but I think she went to one for a few years and then switched to the other one.  My memory is a bit hazy, as this was between 40-45 years ago.

One beauty shop was located in a trailer park.  I believe the stylist’s name was Pauline.  The entire mobile home had been converted to a beauty shop, and the stylist lived next door.  My grandma Hazel lived in the same park at the time, so I would spend the hour or so playing at grandma’s house (always fun).

The other shop that I remember was an attached garage converted into a salon.  I enjoyed going to this beauty shop much more than the other,  because this one had a pop machine! Mom would buy me an ice cold bottle of Pepsi each time I went with her.  Not a lukewarm plastic bottle like we see today..these were the good old fashioned glass pop bottles!

I would pop the top using the built in bottle opener on the machine, listening to the lid clank down inside the receptacle.  Most of the time the Pepsi was so cold that there were even a few slushy ice chips inside the drink.  It was so refreshing.

Highlights Magazine

This shop usually had several copies of Highlights magazine sitting around, as the stylist had a subscription.  I would happily spend the hour sipping my ice cold pop and searching for hidden pictures in the magazine.  Does anybody else remember the Highlights magazine for kids?

Another Fading Tradition

It seems the days of regular, weekly hair appointments are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Most of those that still go weekly are elderly, and with time the tradition will continue to fade away.

Times, they definitely are changing..but I’ll always treasure the memories of the ice cold pop, the satin pillowcase, and of course…my mother.