Mosaic

Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Cayte Burdick Jill Greenman works with a client at 'Curl Up and Dye.'

If someone told you to "curl up and die," you probably wouldn't take that as a compliment. However if you saw a business called "Curl Up and Dye," you might be intrigued. It caught my attention a while ago when I drove by the store one day. The name stuck with me, and upon revisiting it, I wanted to find out more about this uniquely named hair salon. Jill Greenman of Portsmouth first opened the salon on Broadway across from Aidan's in early September 2004. This past year, she relocated down the street to 104 Broadway. If you walk by it, not only does the name stand out, but the inside of the salon does as well. The walls have leopard skin print, and the whole room has warm tones. When I interviewed Jill, I wanted to know about her background in hair care, more about this salon, and who cuts her hair.

I love the name of your salon! Where did you get this name?
I kind of stole it. My friend went to school up in New Hampshire, and she saw one up there years ago, and she always said that she thought of me every time she saw it. And I just loved it, so I used it but there's so many…all over the place. They're everywhere, they're in movies, so it's a popular name.

How did you get into hairstyling?
I had a friend…in high school, and she was in [a hairstyling class], and she told me to take it for fun. It was like the slack-off class, and I actually ended up really loving it.

What do you enjoy most about the business?
Talking to people, and making new friends all the time.

I noticed that your salon carries products like shampoo. How do you decide which brands to carry?
We use Goldwell here. I started out with Goldwell with my first salon 10 years ago, and I really liked that. And when I came back in, I called her and I got it back. And it's just a good product. It's well known. I love everything that they make.

How competitive would you say the Newport market is for salons? Do you find it competitive?
I guess so. There's so many salons out here. Out in Middletown, there's like 10 or 12 just on Aquidneck Avenue. But I don't really think I compete with anybody else because I've been a hairdresser for 13 years, so I have my own clientele. And then those clients tend to send me new people. And I think with our name, we've gotten a lot of people too. I don't really try to compete.

Do you have any advice about how to communicate with you about how to get the best cut?
Pictures are always good because a lot of times people explain something and they completely explain the wrong hairdo. So, pictures are always a plus, when you're not good with words.

Is it better to always do what the client wants, even if you don't think it will work?
No. I try to accommodate what they want, but a lot of times they're looking for you to kind of fit your opinion in. Most of the time people want haircuts that are not good for their hair type. So I try to tell people when they look for styles, to look for something similar to their color. Sometimes shorter haircuts look really good on some hair colors. So, find something that will look good on their color and type of hair.

Are there any styles you love or hate to cut?
I hate updos. I don't do updos at all. I love to color. That's my favorite. I love to highlight, and I really like razor cutting. Razor cutting is my favorite.

Do you have any funny or horror stories when doing someone's hair when you first started?
I shaved off one of my really good friend's eyebrows in high school, by accident. He was pretty upset with me for a while, but we're still friends so that's cool.

How often have you changed your hairstyle over the years?
All the time. I guess my style is slightly changed…but my color is always different. I tend to switch it up a lot. I get bored a lot. I've been blond, I've been jet black, and everything in the middle.

And finally, who cuts your hair?
Dan, he works for me here. We've been really good friends, we've been working together for two years.

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