Photograph by Paul Myers
Ray Contreras, who opened Hair Studio, one of the first unisex hair salons, in 1972, recently sold his business and moved to Nevada.
After nearly four decades in Saratoga, hair stylist leaves
By Rebecca Ray
After styling hair for men and women in Saratoga for 40 years, Ray Contreras, former owner of Hair Studio at 14572 Big Basin Way, called it quits. Contreras and his ex-business partner, Jerry Boatman, opened Hair Studio, one of the first unisex salons, in February 1972.
Men and women patronized separate salons in the 1960s, when Contreras began to style hair, and he had to obtain separate licenses to style hair for both genders. After he began styling hair in Saratoga at Quito Village Shopping Center in 1961, he opened a men's salon at Plaza Del Roble on Big Basin Way. In 1965, he opened a women's salon down the street called The Curling Iron.
Contreras thought of combining the salons when he saw a unisex salon run by internationally known hair stylist Jay Sebring, whom followers of Charles Manson murdered in 1969. Contreras decided that operating a unisex salon would be more efficient and convenient, so he sold his men's and women's salons and opened Hair Studio in 1972.
At first, men and women didn't accept each other in the same salon, Contreras said. Men complained about women, and vice versa. One point of contention was smoking inside the building. Contreras allowed customers to smoke cigarettes, but not cigars. Although he set up partitions to separate the genders, he lost a lot of customers.
Contreras helped his male and female customers get used to each other by asking customers to bring their spouses. In about four or five years, his clients grew to accept each other, and he took down all the partitions except one, which separated the waiting area from the five styling stations.
Contreras also studied color to make the salon appeal to both genders. He learned that both men and women liked neutral colors such as brown and white, and that they both liked plants and flowers. So he brought natural flowers to the salon each week.
Contreras competed for about five years in hair-styling competitions. In the late 1970s, he placed first in a unisex styling competition, where he had to style both men's and women's hair in front of judges. The competition was among stylists in Northern California.
Contreras, who bought out Boatman's share of Hair Studio about a year after they opened it, sold the salon to stylist Phoebe Vu in mid-July. Contreras had thought of leaving the area for five years, he said, and performed his last styling job in Saratoga on Oct. 6. He would've left for his new home in Henderson, Nev., sooner, but he couldn't sell his home in San Jose. He finally took his house off the market and said he hopes to sell it later.
Contreras moved to Nevada because it costs less to live there, and he saw it as a good place to retire. But he doesn't plan on retiring just yet. He plans to open another salon and retire in two years.
Contreras' new home is in the mountains, in a dry desert area about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. "It's right on the golf course," he said.
At first, Contreras was surprised by the requirements he had to meet to get a license in Nevada, the only state where prostitution is legal. The state doesn't allow beauty and barber shops in the same location because officials fear diseases being transmitted. For this reason, test takers must also pass a physical exam signed by a doctor before taking the test for the state license, which asks about recognizing diseases.
Contreras said he would miss his customers--he's had some for more than 30 years--the most. Some of his customers became his friends. "I had a real good almost 30 years," he said.
Woody Linn, a deceased former San Jose State University football star, and his wife, Marilyn, used to paint watercolors for Contreras to hang in his studio. Marilyn ran an art gallery in Plaza Del Roble. Contreras took down the paintings and took them with him to Nevada.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
