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3 Regular Guys. One Valley Stylist. 3 New Looks.
By Wendy Solomon
When The Morning Call went searching for three male readers for a hair makeover from fashion runway stylist Jayson Morgan, we didn't know what to expect.
After one week and about 50 e-mails, we had a rich pool of volunteers. Wives, mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, co-workers, girlfriends and the men themselves wanted a seat in Morgan's chair at Patrick McIvor Color Studio in Hanover Township.
Our correspondence indicated that there are a lot of men out there who haven't had a professional haircut in years, if at all ? and frankly they were open to the idea, or at least someone in their life was.
''This is Grandma,'' began an e-mail from Betty Seidel of Breinigsville, ''writing about precious grandson Sean, who is a senior at Penn State and has let his hair grow for all his college days. He has promised his father he will get it cut and styled before he does his student teaching in September. By now it has been braided and tied back and tangled for so long, it will be a challenge for anyone.''
Unfortunately, Sean couldn't come home for a hair appointment.
In the end, three good-natured men made the final cut: Tim Naisby, 28, a hardware store clerk from Coopersburg; David Fronheiser, 45, an HIV/Hepatitis C community outreach worker for Lehigh Valley Hospital, and Jim Schantz, 47, a legislative aide for state Sen. Lisa Boscola.
Naisby was nominated by his family. The last time Naisby had his hair cut was three years ago.
''That was for a buddy's wedding,'' explains Naisby, who had a mop of thick, wavy brown hair not quite to his shoulders, which he usually kept tucked under a bandana.
Fronheiser, of Bethlehem, had been hankering to get his hair cut for more than a year, but since he lost his dot.com job in Miami, he said, he couldn't afford $125 cuts. Now that he has a new job with Lehigh Valley Hospital, the timing is perfect, he says.
Fronheiser's thin brown hair hung well below his shoulders.
''If you are really busy in life it's difficult to have long hair,'' he says.
Jim Schantz of Bethlehem usually got a simple $15 barbershop cut, the last one in December. But Schantz admitted there was something not quite right about the way he combed his fine salt-and-pepper hair straight back. Apparently, his colleagues agreed, because they encouraged Schantz to put in his bid for a new cut.
The time is now
It's early March and the three men are waiting in the reception area of the Patrick McIvor Color Studio, a hip, industrial-looking salon in a small, nondescript office park on Stoke Park Road that faces cornfields across Route 22 in Northampton County. They're offered the salon's complimentary signature drink, a refreshing mixture of pomegranate juice, seltzer, lime and ice.
Just in from one of the country's largest hair trade shows, Morgan, a lanky young man in his late 20s, bounds into the salon, his wispy curls windblown haphazardly, looking more mad scientist than the salon's style director. After he sets down his wheeled suitcase, the one containing the tools of his trade, Morgan apologizes for being late because his flight was delayed from Chicago.
Jim Schantz takes the chair
Without wasting a second, Morgan is ready to work. Schantz is first in the chair. Morgan's assessment: Schantz's stick-straight hair needs more texture, less uniformly even strands, while still keeping it neat and conservative. To do this, Morgan parcels Schantz's hair in sections with a comb, lifts them one by one and makes a series of rapid snips at a downward angle '' so when it lays down it will have more dimension,'' Morgan explains.
He'll use a cutting technique called bricking, a series of small, random incisions to break up the hair's density and add dimension. Morgan will also add a light color wash to ''add more pepper to the salt'' for a more youthful appearance, but without looking obviously dyed, a common problem he says occurs with mass market men's hair dyes that leave the color looking flat and unnatural.
''We're going to keep it looking business-like and professional,'' Morgan assures him.
That sounds agreeable to Schantz, who says ''the first impression people have of you tends to be the lasting impression.''
When Morgan is finished, Schantz leaves a happy man.
''It's fantastic, just beautiful. You did a wonderful job.''
Morgan makes an assessment
The three guys all need a little bit of updating, says Morgan, a transplant from Nashville who has cut and colored hair for New York Fashion Week, ''What Not To Wear,'' the finale of ''Project Runway,'' and several glossy magazines.
''Fashion dictates what happens to hair,'' Morgan explains. ''Skirts are inching up and we're starting to see shorter hair on women. On guys, right now almost anything goes, as long as it's clean and neat.''
The most frequent mistake men make with their hair: ''They don't use product. You need to use something that's lightweight that gives it a little bit of substance.''
Fronheiser faces the scissors
When it is Fronheiser's turn, Morgan stands back a bit and studies his subject. Morgan decides he wants to keep some of Fronheiser's length but bring out his natural curl, which is being weighed down by excessive length. Colorist Lisa Grealish has applied a neutral, light brown semi-permanent color to cover Fronheiser's bit of gray.
Morgan separates the hair in sections and wielding a razored implement, etches the ends to release the curl.
''Now you've got movement to it,'' Morgan proclaims, ''whereas before it was just hanging.''
''It feels great and has a lot less weight. And I don't have to tuck it behind my ears,'' Fronheiser says.
Fronheiser's co-workers at LVH text-message him. ''Are you beautiful yet?''
Tim Naisby sheds his locks
suggestion to add dark blond highlights.
But first, his knots have to be dealt with and Morgan and Grealish try to work their combs through the bird nests hidden beneath his wavy locks.
Morgan also cuts Naisby's hair with the bricking technique to add dimension. He completes his pi?ce de r?sistance, puts down his shears and smoothes on a lightweight finishing cream.
''I'm pleased,'' Naisby smiles. He points to his blue paisley bandana balled up in his hands.
''And I don't need to put this back on.''
wendy.solomon@mcall.com, 610-820-6780
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