38 years of pampering the mountain

By Mary-Justine Lanyon

 

For 38 years, women – and men – on the mountain have looked their best, thanks to Christine Feldman.

In 1987, Feldman purchased a salon in Lake Arrowhead Village, where she provided her hair styling services until 2005. She had purchased a building in Cedar Glen in 1999, where she opened Christine’s in the Glen in 2005.

But her passion for hair began long before that. “I always knew this is what I wanted to do,” Feldman said, adding she had always “messed around with my own hair. I could roll my hair without a mirror at 8.”

At the age of 18, while still in high school, Feldman enrolled in beauty school, completing that course at the same time as graduating from high school.

“I graduated on a Thursday, took the state boards on Monday and got my license on Wednesday,” she said. Her first job was at a salon in Granada Hills.

In 1974 she opened her first salon called the Hair Grove in Northridge. Her passion for hair convinced her two brothers to also become hairdressers and open salons together.

At that salon in Northridge, Feldman had 20 hairdressers, 10 manicurists and a massage therapist. “That has been my goal since I got here,” she said.

Eventually she would like to have a full-service salon and spa, with the salon on one side and a spa on the other. People could come, get into robes and spend the day getting pampered.

That goal meshes with the dream of her daughter, Erin Linden, who became the manager and co-owner of the salon in 2018. After getting her esthetician license, Linden joined her mother at the salon in 2006. Her business, Esthetics by Erin, is a separate business within the business.

As Linden looks into the future, she envisions adding little cottages on the extra lot they own by the salon. Those cottages would be treatment rooms ringing an area with a jacuzzi, cold plunge and two saunas (steam and infrared). “This is my dream,” she said.

But for now, Linden offers her skin care in remodeled space upstairs at the salon.

Feldman and Linden head up the team that includes cosmetologists Sia Kizer, Dale Purcell, Mary Lutcavich and Halicia Gonzalez; manicurist Patti Guerich; esthetician Riley Reynolds; and massage therapist Elaine Hubbel.

 

As for what has changed since she became a cosmetologist, Feldman says that “it’s the same wheel – clients need cuts and colors. That makes you feel good.” Styles have changed, though. When she started, she was doing scissor cuts and shags. “We’ve gone away from the bubble head,” she laughed.

But what is better today are the products and the equipment. “We have better curling irons, stronger blow dryers,” she said. “And there are better products for both hair and skin. There’s better science behind the products. The technology is better.”

Key to her success is good customer service and keeping current with skills. As a cosmetologist, she has to renew her license every two years.

Throughout the years, Feldman has gone to advanced color seminars. But she acknowledges that, today, more women “are embracing their salt and pepper hair, letting it grow out.” Linden adds, “Embracing their natural beauty.”

Since purchasing the building in 1999, Feldman has done a number of upgrades to it over the years. “We’ve put a lot of love and energy into the business,” she said. Linden has designed a new website and logo for the business.

They both note that customer service is a top priority, as is the cleanliness of the salon. The landscaping is also a big priority; they want the salon to have good curb appeal.

That’s something Linden knows a lot about. In 2018 she earned her real estate license and has been an active agent ever since. “I’m showing people their dream home and then giving them their dream skin,” she said.

For more information on Christine’s in the Glen, the services offered and the team members, visit their website, www.christinesintheglen.com. They are located at 29029 Oak Terrace in Cedar Glen. Call (909) 336-1821 to make an appointment.