Evening star., 1926-11-14

ern city of some 10000 population had
but one beauty shop or hairdressing
| establishment, and it had just opened
| for business. Today it has IS such
| shops
This is cited by a Washington au
thority as a fair illustration of the
rate at which the business of purvey
ing to the toilet requirements of mi
lady has expanded in the last few
years. 1t has been a phenomenal
growth. Official figures have not vet
been compiled that will show what
| American women are spending in the
course of a year for manicures, mas
sages, haircutting, hairdressing, sham
poos, cosmetics and all other aids tc
beauty, but it is estimated that it will
run so far into the millions that the
business may almost be classed as one
| of the country's major industries.
1t is known also that many men anG
women are growing rich in the bust
| ness, and that what is practically a
| new field of employment has beer
| opened up-new in the sense that il
| affords remunerative work for thou
| sands where but scores were employed
when the last decennial census was
| taken.
| There are schools in all the larger
cities where girls and women-anG
some men-take regular courses in
training for this kind of work One
| such institution in Washington has
[ turned out 1900 operators, as they
are called, in the last four years, and
it Is one Of the interesting features OF
this rapidly expanding business that
| every graduate from these schools
| means an almost immediate demand
for additional trained workers.
| This comes about because almost
| every graduate, after leaving school
and taking a position for few weeks
| or months to get more practical eX
| perience, opens up a shop and goes
into business for herself, where she
| will require assistants and operators
to number dependent upon the de
gree of her success, and these en-
ployes in turn open shops of their
own, creating still further jobs. and
so on presumptively until the limit is
reached. What that limit is no one
undertakes to predict at present.
How 1t Worked in One City.
In the Southern city referred to, all
it's present 18 beauty shops grew out
Of one. A graduate of the Washing
| ton school opened up the first place
and almost Immediately sent for three
or four trained assistants. The lat
ter saw opportunities for themselves
and as soon as each had acquired a
clientele, or. following, among the
| women Of the city. she set out to be
q proprietor instead Of a hired hand
In this way, it is said. the proprietors
| of all the added II shops passed
| through the first one.
| In the larger cities new beauty
shops have been and are being opened
at proportionate rate and old ones
are being doubled, trebled and quad
rupled in capacity. Some Of them
are fairly mammoth in size and most
Iluxuriously equipped and appointed
and some Of the more enterprising or
more speculatiVely inclined of the pro
prietors have several establishments
a few of them as many as Is or 20
All of them seem to have all the
business they can handle. Woman
| customers find that they have to be as
careful about making their appoint
ments for treatments Of various kinds
as they do about their social engage
ments and many of them have come
to the point of having a regular hour
at their favorite shop once or twice a
week.
Not All Are Successful.
In spite Of the tremendous volume
Of business that there seems to be
for the beauty shops, not all are sue
cessful. Many an ambitious operator
who tries going into business for her
self finds that she cannot make the
grade. She discovers that success is
not assured merely because she has
pleased her customers. Skill and an
engaging personality are not enough
She must have business ability of nc
mean order. And it Is said that that
is a rarer asset than either of the
others mentioned. Failing to make
the grade. she must go back to work
ing for some one else. and the staffs
Of the older, we'll established shops in
variably include a number Of opera
tors who are able to regale their eli
ents with stories of what happened
when 1 was in business for myself -
Beauty shop operators, on the aver
age. are paid from SIS to $50 up to as
high as $40 a week. and in addition
receive commissions on the creams
lotions and other cosmetics which
they sell. In many shops their in.
comes are augmented by tips. which
in the case of an especially proficient
and we'll liked operator, may easily
double her salary. In a few shops
tipping is not permitted and of course
there are numerous customers who
are not particularly generous With
their gratuities. On the whole, how
ever, earnings are a bit higher thar
they would get in any other position
they are capable of filling, or for
which they could equip themselves as
easily or in as short a schooling or
| apprenticeship. and it does not take
them long to accumulate the bank
roll that tempts them to the great adj
venture.
One dsyelopmsnt Of the remarkable