Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Santa at the salon

They come to Joyce Beisel's salon as regular men with plump bellies and long, stringy hair. But in four to eight hours, she transforms them into their fantasy--a jolly white-haired Santa ready to ascend a gilded throne at a shopping mall or to hand out gifts at a Christmas party. For 30 years, Santas have traveled from all over the country, and perhaps as far as the North Pole, to sit in Beisel's swivel chair and let her work her magic with a concoction of bleach and dye, scissors and a blow-dryer. It is a complicated, time-consuming process, but Beisel has it down to a science, giving each Santa, and sometimes Mrs. Claus, a treatment that makes them appear authentic. For these men, and thousands of others around the country, being Santa Claus is not just a seasonal job. It is a lifestyle. (Chicago Tribune)

Is Santa Claus a metrosexual? Maybe so when you consider this:
"It's a lifestyle because you always look the part when your hair is natural," said Tom Hartsfield, a co-founder of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, a group of 670 Santa professionals who advocate a natural look rather than the wearing of wigs.

No comments:

Post a Comment