More Stresses Over Tresses for Parents, Kids

Once again, the generations are at odds over hair. In the ‘20s, young women got in trouble for bobbing their hair. In the ‘60s, young men defied the Establishment with long hair and unruly sideburns. Today, it’s the young generation--the really young generation, the 4-to 14-year-old set--who are arguing with parents about hair styles.

But this time it’s the parents who want something bold, a style that makes a statement--and the kids who are opting for something subtle.

Sabrina Pidgeon, a stylist at the Yellow Balloon in Studio City, one of Los Angeles’ many kids-only salons, reports that a remarkable number of very young citizens are cautious about their looks, preferring the inconspicuous to the outlandish.

“They want something pretty conservative--a moderate buzz, a blunt bob, maybe with a little body wave . . . anything that will keep them from standing out too much,” she says. Their parents, on the other hand, are after “something unusual--a tail in the back (for boys) . . . a major perm (for girls).”

Remarks Margaret Bates, a stylist and owner of Sleeping Beauty, a salon for men, women and children in Long Beach: “You wouldn’t believe how conservative things are getting. I’ve been in this business 36 years. Believe me, I’ve seen a lot of styles come and go. But all the boys want today are crew cuts and the girls, bangs, little bangs. And braids. You wouldn’t believe how many braids we did for the prom this year.”

That children under 10 are even thinking about their looks is surely significant. Time was when it took puberty and its accompanying surge of hormones to get kids interested in hair styles. No more--at least not in Los Angeles. Thanks to television and video--and a little help from their parents--even the tiniest tots seem to have an opinion about how they should look.

And, while their parents, especially the ones who grew up in the ‘60s, may contemplate something radical in the way of a cut, California’s tots, as well as its teen-agers, want to go as Clark Kent or Lois Lane look-alikes.

“The girls want to look like Debbie Gibson (a popular teen-age singer),” explains Jack King, former owner of Tipperary in Beverly Hills and now owner of Cowlicks, a fashionable children’s salon in Calabasas. “They want a bob, chin length, a little longer on the sides, tapered into the neck, with some light, wispy bangs. . . . Or they want long red hair like (singing star) Tiffany’s.”

The boys, King says, want to look like Michael J. Fox, with a haircut that is short on top and a little long on the sides. Or they want the Tom Cruise cut. His is short, with some sort of dressing to make it look shiny and stay in place.

King has made it his business to make kids feel like stars--even if they don’t always look like stars, or act like them. Cowlicks, King’s newest establishment, is like many children’s hair salons today--only more so. A cross between a cluttered old-fashioned clubhouse and sleek modern-day movie studio, it is designed to help young ones deal with the anxiety of getting their first hair styles.

The First Haircut

The walls are plastered with pictures of young stars. The counters and floors are stocked with cookies, gum-ball machines, pinball machines, video games and toys of every size and description. Rock music fills the air, and overhead, a video camera and monitor record the once-in-a-lifetime experience of that first haircut.

Next door, a small eatery serves what King’s publicist calls “gourmet fast food”: hot dogs, peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, non-fat yogurt, low-cholesterol popcorn.

At Cowlicks, and most of Los Angeles’s other trendy children’s hair salons, youngsters can get most any style they--or their parents--want. But it’s a good idea to come armed with a picture--or better yet, the name of a well-known star--because the nomenclature in this business is tricky.

For girls, the Farrah Fawcett is definitely out, but the Dorothy Hamill hangs on, though in a slightly more severe and stylized (if that is possible) fashion, known as the Step at Nadia Pidgeon’s Yellow Balloon shop. (Nadia Pidgeon is mother of Sabrina Pidgeon and founder of the first of the Yellow Balloons in Westwood, which claims to be the oldest establishment in the city that’s strictly for children.)

While Cowlicks calls a classic boy’s cut a Michael J. Fox or a Tom Cruise, the same thing at the Yellow Balloon is a Superman (otherwise known as Clark Kent). An updated version of the old crew cut goes under the name of the Brush, but it’s also known as the Buzz. Moderate Buzzes or Radical Buzzes are available. There are also various layered, moderately spikey looks that go under such names as the Don Johnson (of “Miami Vice” fame) or the MacGyver (also of TV-series fame).

Ghost Buster Cut

And then there’s Sabrina’s famous Ghost Buster cut, which fits almost anything. “I haven’t even seen the movies,” she confesses. “I just use it to get them (the little ones) into the chair.”

For those who are more daring, there are spiffier cuts, including the Wave, a style with very short sides and back, a part and bangs cut on an angle and then heavily gelled to stay in place. “A bit like a baseball cap,” Sabrina says.

There is also the shaved-sides, long-top look of a medieval monk, which goes by the name of the Mushroom at Sleeping Beauty and the Poet at Cowlicks.

Finding a stylist to do what kids want--and all the things their parents demand--isn’t easy, says Richard Bilemjian, a stylist and owner of Kaleidoscope in Santa Monica. “A lot of people just don’t want to bother with kids.” They squirm, they cry. They have parents who have ideas of their own.

Because children’s salons have become so popular in recent years, making an appointment is a good idea, especially after school, in the evenings or on weekends. Early-morning appointments are advised for toddlers--just after breakfast and before the nap-time crankies set in.

Mostly Mothers’ Work

Most salons expect children to be accompanied by someone, and it can be a nanny or anyone else who will pay the bill. Dads are in evidence on the weekends, but during the week, getting the kids to a hair stylist is still mostly mothers’ work.

Costs vary considerably. At Cowlicks, prices begin at about $17. At Yellow Balloon, a baby’s first cut is $9. Older kids can expect to pay $13 to $15. Yellow Balloon, like many salons, used to charge more for girl’s cuts than boy’s, until Gloria Allred brought a sex-discrimination lawsuit against the salon in 1985 and set the matter straight.

One word of caution: Prices for cuts don’t include accouterments. And most children’s salons are stocked with shamelessly overpriced ribbons, bows, necklaces, sunglasses--whatever it takes to make a child feel like a star, albeit an inconspicuous one.