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Starting in 1954 when she was only 14 years old, Violini worked
in a salon in Cagli owned by two sisters where she helped wash hair.
She immediately started working after elementary school because
money was more important than further education. Violini worked for these sisters for six years and was restricted to washing hair. But she could observe. Many times after work, she would go home and practice styling her friends’ hair. She invented her own way of making curls. Violini essentially taught herself the art of hairdressing and cutting by watching and practicing.
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In the mid-1960s she opened a salon in her basement. According to Violini, hairdressing was completely different at the time. She said that water for washing hair had to be boiled in a pot and then cooled to a comfortable temperature. Women having their hair colored were hidden behind a curtain because they didn’t want other people to know, hoping others would think that their dyed hair was natural.
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The process of dyeing the hair was very complicated. Violini said that she would have to guess on the type and amount of tonic to use. Customers were limited to the dyes she had available. She said that it is easier to dye hair now because the colors are pre-set and each shade has a designated number.
Because of the amount of time Violini has spent as a hairdresser, she says she has trained her eyes to visualize the final product.
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“This business is the type where you are constantly learning, and that it is something you have to feel within yourself so you are then able to project it onto others,” she said.
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Violini says that hairdressers project a piece of themselves
onto the customer in the style of the haircut. Today, at 64, Violini is semi-retired. Matteo Susini runs the salon, and Violini comes in as needed to serve longtime customers. She said about 20 percent of her clients have stayed with her for most of her career. Most of her clients are in their 60s and 70s; the younger crowd goes to Susini. |