Whether it’s been hairstyles to resemble Farrah Fawcett and Dorothy Hamill in the 1970s, Princess Diana or Madonna in the 1980s, Jennifer Aniston and Britney Spears of the 1990s to those hot styles of today, Jo Ann Beneda has seen them all.
Beneda has been cutting and styling the hair of Boulder City female residents, and a few men thrown in, for more than five decades and has no plans to stop anytime soon.
“It’s been a big challenge,” she said of keeping up with trends. “You have certain people who like their hair done a certain way. Things have really changed over the years.”
The same can be said for those who bring in a picture from a magazine of a celebrity or model and say, “I want this.” Beneda said depending upon the style, it can be very challenging to duplicate that cut, while some are relatively easy.
“Most of my clients these days are older, so the styles don’t change all that much,” she said.
Beneda opened Boulder Beauty Salon in 1970 in a small location on Wyoming and has been at the current location, at the corner of Elm Street and Buchanan Boulevard, since 1979.
“I’ve had some of the same clients for 45 years,” she said. “I really appreciate that. When I started, some women came in once a week to get their hair styled. You don’t see much of that anymore but some of the older ones still do.”
Beneda, a 1967 graduate of Boulder City High School and mother of four daughters, agreed that hairstylists or barbers often serve a dual role, that being amateur psychologists. When people sit in that chair, they often tend to open up to the person doing their hair whether it’s about work, relationships or children.
“That’s very true,” she said. “They’ll discuss anything and everything. Some of them share their problems and some are just old friends who want to talk.”
As to what’s kept her going all these years, she said it’s the people and the love of what she does.
“I’ve just always enjoyed cutting hair,” she said. “I enjoy the challenge of doing different styles.”
That enjoyment had resulted in Beneda dropping the word “retirement” from her vocabulary for now.
“This salon has become a second home for me,” she said. “It’s what I enjoy doing. I enjoy the people. And plus, I’m very independent. So, this is driving me nuts.”
The “this” she referred to is that of a severely-broken ankle that has left her in a wheelchair. Because she has been unable to cut hair, she decided to take on two business partners in the salon, Danyelle Brown and Chrissy Wood. Beneda hopes to be back on her feet in late summer. They plan to have a grand reopening Aug. 21 at 5:30 p.m. when she’s back up on her feet.
“I’m very grateful, because it’s still going to be a while before I can work,” she said in regard to Wood and Brown becoming business partners. “They did a lot of work in here. It looks beautiful. They did a wonderful job.”
When asked if she had a ballpark figure as to how many different people’s hair she’s cut over the years, she smiled and shook her head.
“I really have no idea,” she said, noting that at its height of popularity, they had eight stations in the salon.
Over the years, many salons in Boulder City have come and gone, including a handful of which would be considered chain locations. While those often cater more to men, they serve women as well.
“It’s never really bothered us,” she said. “We’ve always had a very loyal clientele base and it’s helped being here for 50 years.”
Ron Eland is editor of the Boulder City Review. He can be reached at reland@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523.