No matter what corner of the country you live in, if you fancy going to the nail salon to get a manicure or pedicure, then you might have noticed that a number of nail salons are run by people of Vietnamese heritage. If you think that there must be an interesting history as to how or why this has come to be, you’re correct. Today, we’re looking at how actress Tippi Hedren and Vietnamese immigrants transformed the nail salon game. Let’s jump into it!
(image via: medium)
The year was 1975 and actress Tippi Hedren, well-known for her roles in The Birds and Marnie, set off to visit a Vietnamese refugee camp in California. When she arrived, the women staying there were absolutely taken aback by Tippi’s perfectly polished, long gorgeous nails. Seeing how excited the women got and how much they adored her manicure, Tippi flew in her personal manicurist to teach a small group of 20 refugees the art of the manicure. Tippi’s goal was to teach them something of interest, something that could keep them busy for the time being and ideally something that would be of use once they were out of the refugee camp to integrate them into American life, so she also brought in seamstresses and typists, but her nails were the main event. So Tippi recruited a local beauty school to help the women learn about the beauty industry, and after graduation, Tippi then helped the refugees find jobs all over Southern California.
(image via: bbc)
There were a lot of benefits these women saw as far as pursuing not only an education but also a future career in the beauty industry, specifically doing nails; for one, the training required didn’t take long and was inexpensive to learn, so the road to a career that paid well was short. Another benefit, women only had to learn a few English phrases to work within a nail salon, so the idea of having to learn an entirely new language prior to getting work was not the case. (https://www.drpaulsonline.com/) And since so many of these women had families to take care of, the flexibility, when it came to working hours, was a huge draw. And at the time, the costs of owning and operating a nail salon were fairly low, so women didn’t need a small fortune to start their own business. The money they made would not only go toward supporting their family and their new life but the money they earned would also be sent home to family members overseas, many that were elderly, and unable to work.
Sure, Tippi Hedren was probably best known for being an actress, but for so many women and families, Tippi Hedren was known for so much more; she was a voice and a light during an otherwise dark and scary time.
