Hairrific.com - SALON GLAM - Kathie Rothkop, Owner/Stylist

Country Woman Magazine
June 2006 (reprinted with permission)

LOVE IS IN THE HAIR
She designs 'dos for "I do's"

It’s easy for brides to let romance go to their heads…especially with Kathie Rothkop to help them style their wedding tresses.

“I always say your hair is your most important accessory. It helps you feel good about yourself,” notes Kathie, a stylist for 37 years. “My specialty is wedding and special-occasion hairdos. They allow so much room for personal creativity I consider them to be an art form.”

For someone who fixed all her friends’ hair for prom and slept on rollers regularly, becoming a stylist was a natural choice, Kathie adds with a smile. Currently, she works at a popular salon in Novato, California, near the country acreage she shares with husband Alan.

Kathie Rothkop

Do It Yourself
“Many of my customers are rural women who have to travel a long distance to a professional salon. That can be quite a challenge on your wedding day,” Kathie writes. “This prompted me to make a video with easy techniques that a girlfriend, mother or even the bride herself can use to create a dazzling hairstyle.”

Featuring four engaging coifs, the video shows how simple twists, braids and knots can produce a look that will live happily ever after in any wedding album. Kathie relates, “Brides have told me my step-by-step instructions saved them time and money and took extra stress out of their big day."

Crowning touch is what Kathie Rothkop (top) puts on a bride's big day with her bevy of beautiful and doable hairstyles.

The tape also includes hair-decorating ideas using inexpensive items that can be found in a craft shop or thrift store. “A hairpin trimmed with silk flowers or beads makes a lovely accessory, as do clip-on earrings and brooches,” Kathie adds.

“For fun, I give a brief introduction to the history of hair styling.” (Thanks to years of research on women’s hair through the eras, Kathie has become a hair historian. She shares some fascinating hair facts below right.)

Beauty Gone Global
As a cutting-edge stylist, Kathie has learned an exciting new use for the hair “Net.” “I recently launched a Web site with lots of hair information and styling tips,” she notes. “Not only have I heard from ladies from across the U.S. and Canada – I’ve received E-mails from China, France and Saudi Arabia. Women worldwide care about hair.”

As much as she loves her work, Kathie always leaves time to let her own hair down and enjoy life with her husband, sons, grandchild and three horses. “My favorite hobbies are riding and competing in equestrian parading,” she says.

“Even then, I’m getting new ideas for hairdos. I style quite a few country brides who are married on horseback. First, I put flowers and ribbons in their hair and then braid their horses’ manes and tails to match!”

Editor’s Note: For information on Kathie’s bridal styles video and more, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Hairrific, P. O. Box 1933, Novato CA 94948, or find her Web site at www.countrywomanmagazine.com/links.

For fun, Kathie cuts a pretty figure riding in parades.

A Brush with “Hairstory”

Hairdressing emerged as a profession in the 1700s. Women from the French court hired artists to “dress” their hair with ornaments to fit party themes. Hairdos featured live birds in cages, waterfalls and even ships with sails.
In early days, women yearning to be blond powdered their hair with pollen and crushed yellow flower petals.
The French chemist Eugene Schueller invented the first synthetic hair dye in 1907, founding a company called L-Oreal.
The word “shampoo” comes from the Hindi champo, meaning to massage or knead. One of the first successful retail shampoos was developed by John Breck in the 1930s.
The permanent was actually introduced by the textile industry. A solution used to straighten wool before spinning was later brought to the beauty market as a hair-curling liquid. By adding heated rollers, the perm was born.
The bob haircut became popular in the 1920s, when women, entering the workforce, needed an easier style. The fashion prompted beauty salons to spring up beside babershops.