Immigrant News Queens

by Susan Gosine

Creating fashionable styles with hair is more than wielding a comb, a scissors and a blow dryer. It’s about talent, technique, pizzazz and passion. And making magic with each strand; giving hair the royal treatment.

Hairdresser, Lystra Singh, knows how to breathe life into listless strands and add shine to dull tresses. At her hair salon, Lystra’s Magic Touch, the enchantment is in the hands. Lystra’s hands.

Last year on her 42^nd birthday she formally opened her dream salon, an establishment fit for royals, her clients. It took 20 years before the vision became actuality.

Lystra’s Magic Touch is the culmination of years of service to a dedicated clientele. It’s built upon the fortitude forged over two decades between Trinidadian immigrants, Lystra and her husband, Russell Singh. Both are licensed practitioners; Lystra a hair stylist, Russell a barber and a builder. They have two children, Joshua and Chloe. Joshua is also a licensed barber.

A hair stylist for 20 years, Singh is one of the first Trinidadian immigrants to open a beauty salon in Richmond Hill, Queens. Her passion for hair grooming began when she was 14. Back then she would cut and groom friends and relatives hair in Rambert Village, La Romain, in Trinidad, where she was born. At 19 she migrated to the United States of America to perfect the profession.

She studied and trained at Midway Paris Beauty School in Queens, New York. To keep in vogue with the extraordinary hair culture sweeping the 21^st Century, she attends the three-day International Beauty Show held yearly at the Javits Center in Brooklyn, as well as local hair shows. Three years after obtaining accreditation she opened Lystra’s Magic Touch in a small rented space at Liberty Avenue, in Richmond Hill. Two younger sisters Vidya and Lisa were her employees. Vidya has since moved to West Virginia, Lisa, however, is an integral part of the salon’s burgeoning success. Among Singh’s clientele are some of the prominent business heads in Richmond Hill and neighboring towns.

As the clientele grew the salon became cramped and Singh envisioned the day she would have her own building, with a deluxe hair salon fashioned from her artistic intelligence. Seventeen years later the search for the perfect spot ended right across the street from her business. A residential property at 104-09 123^rd Street, Richmond Hill hit the market. Singh and her husband promptly purchased it and a work crew began construction on a majestic two-storey commercial building designed from the couple’s own architectural acumen. One section of the upper level accommodates the hair salon. The Underground Lounge, another of the couple’s conception is located on the lower level. Services offered at the salon are hair care, manicure, pedicure, facial and full body massage. Five employees address clients’ needs. Business hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

I had visited the salon on Lystra’s day off, still clients kept streaming in. “I never turn away my clients,” she said adding that “they saw the door open and came in. These are the people who helped elevate my craft and gave it prominence. They’re a significant part of this establishment.”

In less than an hour five clients had gathered in the salon. I watched as Lystra employed innovation and creativity to enhance and groom one of the client’s tresses. She indulged her craft as if sharing a romantic interlude with the hair. At the washing station she gently washed the hair, combed her fingers through the bulk to release the tangles, massaged the scalp and applied conditioner to awaken dead strands and give them life and balance, bounce and shine. Then she guided the client to another station for the drying process, last stop the styling station where she brushed and styled the hair intent on taming every wayward strand. The client’s sleek tresses shone with the attention Lystra lavished on it. She left with a satisfied smile and the envy of the others.

Lystra’s is an affluent salon fit for royalty and “my clients are royalty,” she said. “They are my greatest assets. Some have been attending the shop since its inception. They are the foundation upon which this salon is built. We are here to serve our clients, to give them the best service possible. They are the pride of the shop and deserve the royal treatment. Here clients can obtain a complete beauty make over at an affordable price. They leave with a new image and a new outlook on life. When my clients look good, they feel good. That’s what we are about; giving not only women but men too, an image they can live with and be proud of. Image and style are what this salon is about, clients expect it, and we are providing it right here.”

The salon’s ornate structural design is second to none in Richmond Hill and perhaps many elite salons in Manhattan City. The intricate motifs bordering the walls and artistically displayed on the ceiling were skillfully crafted by Russell. And the inimitable furnishings were designed and hand selected by Singh. Venetian fixtures in gold and warm bronze add a touch of mystery and intrigue to the allure. The grandeur is breath taking as if a sliver of time has been held captive in this one marvelous spot.

A glass wall at the front dressed with a gold fringed brocade valance complements the matching settee in the waiting room. Warm sunlight refracts into the room bathing the interior in a delicate hue. A huge chandelier sparkles from the ceiling. Inside the door, to the left, is a unique black and gold magazine rack in the shape of an open hand bag, just behind that is a curio stand stacked with hair products. On top is a photo of Joshua and Chloe when they were kids, a refreshing touch. At the side is a matching table where clients settle their bills. Placed at strategic positions throughout the salon are busts draped in jewelry for clients to purchase. To the back is another curio stand stacked with tiaras fit for little princesses. Next to that are massage and facial rooms and a nifty rest room, which also has a chandelier suspended from the ceiling. A chandelier in the toilet and the salon, how lavish is that? Live and artificial plants complete the décor. The ambience is one of utter harmony.

From the waiting room the salon’s old home across the street is visible. A 99 Cents Store has taken its place. Lystra peered through the glass façade and looked down on the spot from which she grew her trade. Seventeen years of dedicated service to clients were etched into its history. And if walls could talk they’d tell a powerful story of sacrifice and achievement, family and togetherness, hope and sometimes despair, tears and laughter, all beautifully packaged into one family’s story: Lystra, Russell, Joshua and Chloe. A fleeting memory of a moment in the past clouded her face, then pride sparkled in her dark eyes, a satisfied sigh, subtle and audible escaped her, the results of years of hard work had unfolded into a proud architectural treasure.

Sometimes the greatest achievements in life are born in humble places. Lystra can attest to that. One never knows where the opportunity to make a difference in the world is going to come from. For Lystra it came with family: Russell, Joshua and Chloe, her inspiration, her world.