A Plan of Beauty

Every month, after Judyth Hurst paid her bills, she was left with three tens and a five.

“Thirty-five dollars. What can you do with it?” asked the 87-year-old retired bookkeeper and insurance saleswoman living on a fixed income. “If I got more money, I could do some of the things I wanted to do.”

With even a little extra cash, Hurst said, she could buy lipstick, face powder or get her hair permed at the salon.

So Hurst called her assemblyman. She wanted to know if Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) could get an increase in her monthly Social Security check.

Cardenas told Hurst he would see what he could do.

The assemblyman directed his staff to think of low-cost ways to improve Hurst’s quality of life. Eventually, staff members met with Everett and Christina Lopez, administrators of the San Fernando Beauty Academy. Together, they came up with the “I Am A Beautiful Senior Program.”

Through the program, which was launched earlier this month, Hurst and other residents at Mountain View Skilled Nursing Facility now receive deeply discounted haircuts, perms, facials, manicures and pedicures by academy students every month. For example, it costs just $5 for a perm instead of the going rate of $18 to $25.

Residents who travel to the beauty academy will receive discounted cosmetology services, while bedridden residents will receive the services for free at the nursing home.

“Before the program, I was trying to put my nickels together to get my hair done,” Hurst said. “This, of course, solved my problem.”

When the program started Sept. 17, the students arrived at Mountain View with blow dryers, curling irons and makeup kits.

The aspiring barbers and beauticians headed to the main patio where tables and chairs were arranged salon-style.

For four hours, students snipped hair, painted fingernails, massaged feet, moisturized faces and washed away the gray for about 60 residents.

Seniors unable to get out of bed were made over in their rooms. Residents’ relatives visiting the nursing home also sat for a haircut. And Cardenas even stopped by to chat.

The first make-over session, which was free, benefited both students and residents, said Eloisa Klementich, a spokeswoman for Cardenas.

“The students not only need to learn a trade, but how to deal with the community,” she said. “Bringing in the students was really stimulating for the elderly.”

Facility administrator Ray Talebi said he knew the residents would enjoy the make-overs, but he was stunned by their “overwhelmingly positive response.”

“They were so excited,” he said. “It gave them something different in their lives.”

Breaking the daily routine goes a long way to improve an older person’s emotional and physical well-being, said Alyce Blackmon, chairwoman of the Department of Family Environmental Sciences at Cal State Northridge.

“One of the needs of the elderly is to have contact with people across different age groups,” Blackmon said. “One of the major causes of dementia is a lack of social contact. It enhances their quality of life when they are in the social swing of things.”

A shampoo, manicure, pedicure and facial can do more than enhance an elderly person’s outward appearance, Blackmon said.

“The physical touch is such a wonderful way to reduce stress and lower blood pressure, which are often problems among the elderly,” she said.

For Hurst, however, getting dolled up simply made her and the other residents feel great.

“When they had their hair done and their nails done, everybody was beautiful,” she said. “I felt good.”