MOSES LAKE — Charles Determan readily acknowledged it was a gamble.

Determan was one of those employees who needed to find a new job when the U&I Sugar refining facility closed permanently in the late 1970s. 

“I worked at the sugar factory for 22 years, and when they closed I took my retirement money and started the beauty school,” he said. 

He opened Char Glo School of Beauty with his wife Gloria. It was a new business, they were new to owning a business, and Moses Lake’s economy wasn’t in the best shape. A gamble.

“Sure it is. But life’s a gamble, isn’t it?” he said. 

It was a gamble that paid off — Char Glo will celebrate its 45th anniversary with a fashion show in mid-December. The “80s Retro Christmas Hair and Fashion Show” takes to the stage at 6 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Moses Lake High School theater, 803 E. Sharon Ave.

    Izabella Vasquez, Moses Lake, learns the techniques of cosmetology at Char Glo School of Beauty in Moses Lake.
  

Gloria Determan, now 83, still teaches at the school. 

“I can still move around and still do hair and still teach,” she said. 

She first got her cosmetology license in 1960, and her Washington license when she opened Char Glo, she said. Charles Determan said he offered his wife the option of opening a beauty shop, or a beauty school. She chose the school.

“I guess she liked the school better than the shop,” Charles Determan said. “She likes working with students and stuff like that.” 

She’s thinking about retirement, Gloria Determan said, but hasn’t decided. She still likes teaching.

“I love kids,” she said. 

She interrupted her conversation with a bystander to advise a student on the right equipment for the task at hand. 

    Lindsay Hall gives her mannequin a wash. Students learn a variety of skills at Char Glo and work to ensure they can meet licensing standards.
  

Charles Determan runs the business end and has since the school opened.

“I started out being a (cosmetology) student, but I find the administrative end is more interesting, because of law changes and all of that stuff.”

Char Glo currently has about 60 students, some through its affiliation with the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, some as full-time students. Full-time students pay $10,500 for 1,640 hours of instruction, Charles Determan said.

Course offerings include cosmetology, barber training, skin care, nail care like manicures and artificial nails, he said. He teaches classes focusing on the business side of the beauty business. 

He emphasizes to his students that they have a lot of opportunities, but they must be willing to seize those opportunities.

“It doesn’t come to you just because you apply for the (cosmetology) license. You’ve got to go after it. Make things happen,” he said.

The business has changed in 45 years, he said.

“When we first started (shop owners) never had the shop leasing. It was commissions,” he said. “Then they went into leasing stations.”

    Curlers fill a bin at Char Glo School of Beauty. Students at the beauty school learn to use these and other tools of the trade.
  

The current model is for the cosmetologist to lease a spot inside a salon, called a station.

“A business within a business,” he said.

The rise of franchises has changed the business in another way, the expansion of the option of working for an hourly wage, he said.

The art of cutting and styling hair has been remarkably consistent over the years - even the centuries, he said.

“You know, hairstyles never really change. They repeat themselves over history, and they just give it a different name,” he said. 

The 2023 show proves the point, he said. It features 1980s styles, and they are making a comeback. 

“It’s kind of funny. You go through the history of hairstyles — what are your hairstyles based on? It’s social status, ethnicity, religion, is what they’re based on,” he said. “When I look at the news and stuff like that, the first thing I notice is the hair.”

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

    As styling mannequins watch, Izabella Vasquez practices hairstyling techniques.