This post is a follow on from the last one about the Gallia Radio Active Face Mask as, as is often the case, I found a fascinating back story behind the company that created it. You can read the first post here
Beauty: A man’s business
At the turn of the twentieth century the hairdressing profession was very much a man’s business with early pioneers such as Marcel Grateau, Karl Ludwig Nessler (also known professionally as Charles Nestle) and Gaston Boudou at the forefront.
In the UK, according to the 1901 census, only one in ten people in the burgeoning beauty industry were women. Out of these, most would have been cashiers and assistants rather than stylists as it wasn’t considered to be the right kind of job for a lady! Many of these public hairdressing spaces would have been in department stores like Harrods, which opened their ‘Ladies’ Hairdressing Court’ in 1898 with a staff of nine.
But between the 1920s and 1930s beauty became a more feminised profession.
Key drivers to this change were the First World War which saw women replacing men in the profession in large numbers. This change was not just because men had been called to the front to fight but because many salon owners and workers were foreign-born. Many of these were deported as ‘aliens.’ Those who stayed often saw their businesses decimated as propaganda insisted that it was unpatriotic to use a French or German hairdresser at the expense of a homegrown, British one. Rumours about their motivations in staying also abounded causing conflict and danger.
The writer, Vera Brittain, who lived in the spa town of Buxton during the war years wrote in her diary in September 1914: “6 Germans, with ammunition belonging to them, have been arrested in Buxton. 2 are Wenzel the hairdresser’s men, one of whom is said to have cut part of a lady’s hair off in vindictiveness and to have cut a man’s head with his razor. Two others belong to the town band.”
Fashions also played a key part in changing the business with the dominance of the Bob haircut in the early 1920s opening up a larger market for salon owners. This was an accessible and democratic fashion: allowing women of all classes to become a fashion icon for very little money. As more and more tresses were shorn, many owners realised there was a market to offer other products such as manicures, pedicures and facials.
Those small salons and ‘courts’ in department stores were expanded and remodelled to match the latest fashions. Companies such as Messrs R Hovenden made a fortune in refitting salons and providing them with the latest equipment. An up to date salon (and every salon would have strived to be up to date!) in the 1920s would have been a warm and luxurious place, a contrast to most people’s rather drab life. A good salon would have at the very least, electric lighting, hot and cold running water, reclining chairs and plenty of the latest technological innovations like electric curling irons, banks of gas or electric hairdryers, vibrator machines and electric hairbrushes.
The beauty therapist or hairdresser would have been a person of great trust and not inconsiderable training. Although there were plenty of variations depending on the size of the salon, on the whole, everyone working in them would have gone through either an apprentice system or gone to a training school like the Barrett Street Trade School for girls which opened in 1915. By the late 1920s nearly one thousand girls, mostly from London’s East End had undergone extensive training there. Under the watchful eye of head Miss Cox they would have learnt boardwork (dressing false hair on a board or wig form) and salon practice.
A few West End salons had their own training centres notably the Institut de Beaute, run by the owners of the Phyllis Earle salons and Gallia, set up by Gaston Boudou. The Gallia Institute covered the first floor of 26A Albemarle Street, London priding itself on its graduates’ intensive training in the latest styles. The girls it turned out were widely considered to be some of the best in the business.
In March 1926 on the same site in Piccadilly, Boudou also launched, Feminix, an exclusive beauty centre aimed at ‘women of quality,’ staffed by Gallia trainees and offering a high level of service.
“Here the finest experts are to hand to advise as to, and execute, the latest styles in shingling, hair tinting, permanent and marcel waving, postiche work, and massage, and as the firm have no fewer than six main telephone lines appointments can always be made without delay. Children’s hair treatment is a further speciality, under the control of Madame Aline Carle, B.Sc, the only Bachelor of Science practising as a beauty specialist.”
It certainly sounds like it would have been a luxurious space to work in. It was described as being decorated in various shades of green. The Illustrated Sporting News described it in detail: “Each private saloon is mirror panelled and an interesting feature is the grand staircase with pierced ironwork balustrade. It mounts to the top most floor of the building over which rises a domed glass roof. It is exceedingly artistic.”
As well as the high quality of the services provided, Feminix’s main USP was that it was staffed entirely by women. The owners publicly claimed that this was in deference to their clienteles’ preference (and that women were more suited to the work in any case as they were more nimble-fingered). More uncharitable commenters suggested a more likely explanation was that women were “content with less salaries.”
Whatever the reason the idea of an all-female staff guaranteed both column inches and a curious public.
The grand opening of Feminix commenced at noon on the 22nd March 1926 and continued for a whole week. Every day there was entertainment: mannequin parades dressed by the couture house Redfern & Sons, music by the Strangeway Rhythmic Orchestra and demonstrations of the staff’s skills. The hairdresser Helen Laving was given particular prominence in the billing as the ‘world’s fastest waver.’ Laving demonstrated permanent waving and other styles wowing the crowds with her speed and abilities.
On top of these regular entertainments, each day was also themed to a different VIP. So, for instance, Thursday was ‘Literary Day’ with the special guest Lady Rosalie Neish, who was a popular author of the time. The following day was ‘Film Day’, and the silent film actress Betty Faire was guest of honour.
I haven’t been able to find when Feminix closed down but we know that the company was wound up in 1932. However it is clear that being a ‘Feminix’ trained consultant carried a prestige late into that decade as I have found several adverts from independent beauticians citing it as part of their credentials.
And, as is my favourite thing to do, I went for a wander to 26A Albemarle Street a little while ago to see if the building was still there. I was told that it is now luxury flats.
This is so interesting! I wonder how many jobs for women the beauty industry created in the early 1900s.