The Heitz Salon
As the owner of a hair salon, Shandra Scheidel sees an outcome of the pandemic that other people probably don’t notice - many of us are sporting longer hairdos.
“During the pandemic people couldn’t go get their hair cut, and they let it grow,” said Scheidel, owner of The Heitz Salon in downtown Comstock Park. “The pandemic opened up possibilities for people to try new styles.”
Shandra Scheidel knew at an early age she wanted be a hair stylist. “Since I was probably three, I always wanted to do hair,” said Scheidel. “Every doll I got, I cut its hair, I curled all my girlfriends’ hair.”
After graduating from Chic University of Cosmetology in 1992, Scheidel went to work in the hair salon and barber shop located in the Alpine Avenue Meijer until she bought her own salon, then called April’s, at 3948 West River Drive in 1996. The tiny shop, about 800 square feet, had been in April Bonser’s family since her grandparents bought it in 1943. Scheidel said she has people who came to her for a haircut as a teenager, and she is now cutting their children’s hair.
“My mom went there (April’s), and I started coming when I was five,” said Scheidel. “I worked at April’s as a receptionist.”
Scheidel grew up in Comstock Park and still lives in Comstock Park. She has three grown children who went to Comstock Park schools. She’s a big fan of Comstock Park noting, “I love the community, how people look out for each other.” So, it was natural for her to locate her business in Comstock Park. There are three other stylists at the shop.
In her twenty-eight years as a business owner in Comstock Park, Scheidel has seen changes in the downtown area, including the streetscape built in the 1990’s and the White Pine trailhead being brought to downtown Comstock Park in the 2000’s. Both were projects of the Comstock Park Downtown Development. She thinks the Whitecaps coming to the area in 1994 “is the best thing to happen to Comstock Park.”
There are no longer hair style magazines in the salon. Scheidel says people now search online for ideas. “It (the Internet) provides us a way to get out of the box instead of just what books show,” she said. “We urge people to bring pictures in.”
It’s likely that miles of hair have fallen in the small building over the decades, and Scheidel has donated some of that to Locks of Love, an organization that uses donated hair to provide hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
Over the years, Scheidel has made an observation about men, women, and hair. “I find that guys are more particular about hair,” she said. “I think women have learned to be more flexible. I’ve had guys take measurements to make sure it’s (hair) an exact length.”
(January 2024)