New options for hair, nails and more are available in Gays Mills, starting this month.

Caitlin Applebee and Jordon Bekkum are joining Lana Randall at the beauty salon in the Gays Mills Mercantile Center.

Both women are graduates of the Barber and Cosmetology Program at Southwest Tech (SWTC) in Fennimore but have had a passion for hair since the beginning.

“Ever since I was little, I loved doing hair and makeup,” Applebee said. She found herself spending a lot of time doing hairstyles for friends and family and finally decided to make things official and enrolled at SWTC. Applebee explained her passion for styling, particularly for the trend of vintage hairdos, which have made a surge in popularity in recent years.

“I love doing vintage hairstyles, something about the way women used to put so much effort into getting gussied up every day is just beautiful to me,” said Applebee, whose eyes lit up at the prospect of explaining the more elaborate hairstyles. She also looks forward to incorporating essential oils and scalp treatments into her styling.

“People in the area really seem to focus on more natural things, and this is a really natural thing,” Applebee said of the essential oils she uses.

Bekkum also found her love for styling in her youth.

“I always liked to style hair, I even cut and styled my Barbies’ hair when I was a little girl,” Bekkum said, while laughing at the memory of her youthful antics.

Lately, Bekkum has spent the past three years cutting, coloring and styling in Prairie du Chien since her graduation from Southwest Tech in 2012.

Bekkum also noted that she has a particular passion for coloring hair. She encourages individuals to go to a salon to have their hair dyed instead of grabbing a box off a store shelf.

“You never truly know how it will turn out when you use a box color,” said Bekkum, who is available to consult with customers and help them choose the color that would best fit their personality and style.

“I would like to help bring the latest styles for hair to the people of the area,” Bekkum said. She explained that she has continued to take many classes to keep up on the latest trends and techniques of the trade and plans to continue this so she can always bring something fresh to her clients.  Bekkum will be operating at Lana’s Family Hair Care owned and operated by Lana Randall since 1994, under the name tHAIRapy by Jordon. 

Interestingly enough, both women actually attended classes together and were paired up in the ‘M & M’ program at the school, where students who are further along in their studies mentor new students. Their experience getting to work with each other in school is an advantage now, according to Caitlin Applebee.

“It is nice because we know how we work together and can continue to learn from each other,” Applebee explained.

Lana’s also has experience with both of the girls and noted excitement to having them join her team.

“I’ve known Jordon since she was a little girl and when I found out that she was going to school (at SWTC) I told her she would always have a job with me,” Lana said.

The meeting with Caitlin came about when Lana was speaking with her mother at the Sannes Skogdalen Nursing home in Soldiers Grove, where she also cuts hair Lana found out that Caitlin had an attraction for beautifying nails and also completed the cosmetology course at SWTC.

“I am really excited to have someone in here to do nails, I am excited to expand the business in the Mercantile Center and bring something different to our small community,” Lana said.

Longstanding customers need not worry however, Lana isn’t going anywhere and plans to continue her business as usual, but adding the assistance of the stylists will help with the higher demand she is receiving, “business has started to pick up, so it will be nice to be open every day,” Lana noted.

   In addition to hairstyles, pedicures and manicures will also be available from Caitlin. Both women will be doing waxing as well.

“We usually only get requests for facial waxing (eyebrows and lips) but we are trained to wax from top to bottom,” Caitlyn said. 

 Hours for tHAIRapy by Jordon will be Monday and Tuesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon.

Caitlin’s hours will vary from Monday through Saturday.

Anyone interested in services from either stylist is encouraged to call the salon at 735-4577.