by Paul Neinast | November 9th, 2011
Continued from yesterday…… The get to know Paul blogging experience! Just yesterday you got a small peek at Paul’s roots in Dallas. Just at the ripe age of 18 Paul was already being recognized as a hair care prodigy from numerous national and international publications. Powerhouses like Vogue and Cosmo came calling!
One and a half years later, Neinast joined the staff at Stuart’s Beauty Salon in Inwood Village with conditions for his own private room and quickly had bookings a month in advance. He became the salon’s manager after one year. Neinast began night courses in business and advertising at Southern Methodist University to prepare for the day when he could open his own salon. When Stuart Catshall decided to sell his business, Neinast accepted the Gazebo’s offer to be its salon manager. Neinast began to be restless. For the most part, he was disillusioned with the state of beauty salons. IT was a time when faddish clip joints eclipsed glamour parlors. After training with Vidal Sassoon in San Francisco, Neinast considered the offers from Sassoon and the hair and makeup departments on Hollywood’s MGM and Paramount pictures sets, but wanted more freedom of expression. During his decision time, two good friends gave him a friendly push to pursue his aspirations.
In the Spring of 1978, Cathy and John Schoellkopf asked Neinast if they could finance a salon for him. He politely refused asking them to only cosign the note. On November 1st, 1978 he opened his shop doors in Snyder Plaza, a small shopping village in Dallas’ affluent Park Citites neighborhood. He was 25 years ol. In no time, he was booked three months in advance. Cathy Schoellkopf helped with the bookkeeping. In just two years he paid off his 5 year loan and gained a solid reputation for innovative hairstyling techniques and superb individualized service.
For 2.5 years, from 1985-1988, Neinast split his time between Dallas and California working at the lavish Beautyworks salon. His goal was to bring the success of his Dallas salon to a community that had been deprived of a full service beauty salon, working with celebrities, business executives and homemakers alike. Giving everyone the same care and attention.
by Paul Neinast | November 9th, 2011
Who is the man behind the golden scissors? I’m glad you asked. He’s got a truly awesome story and background. To help you get to know him better we’ll give you a few blog posts. So come on over – and get to know Paul. 
Born in Denison, Texas in 1953 as the second oldest of four brothers, Neinast moved with his family to Dallas when he was 10 years old. Due to acute allergies, he spent most of his playtime indoors. Ninast’s childhood pursuit of arts and crafts led him to develop his current understanding of color harmony. Although as a child he sometimes had visions of becoming a famous artist or a missionary doctor, Ninast decided to pursue a beautician career when was a senior at Hillcrest High School. Neinast had been cutting other people’s hair since he was five. In time, he began to cut his brother’s hari and even gave makeovers to some of his babysitters. Once he was 17, he corrected a bad haircut his mother had received from a slaon earlier that day. That night she arrived home from a party relaying the compliments several guests made about her hair.
Upon graduation later that year, Neinast decided to stay in Dallas and enroll at MSME, Isabel’s Beauty School. WHen Paul graduated highest in his class in 1973, Dallas was just beginning to come into its own as a center for fashion and beauty. his well-meaning friends and colleagues told him he should move to the well establish hotbeds of LA or NYC to gain notoriety but Neinast insisted on staying in Dallas. He believed if he was good enough the fashion magazines would seek him out. He accepted a job with Sligman & Latz, working out of their salon at Sanger Harris in Preston Center for two years. At a time when beauty salon hair cutes and sets in Dallas cost $7-$10, Neinast charged $50 for the first premimu hair cut and style, the same as his counterparts in New York City. He was told he would never make it in Dallas. But after only 6 months he began to develop his valued Park Cities clientele and was steadily booked two weeks in advance. He was promoted to director of the salon and soon was asked to open and act as assistant manager and style director at the new salon in Sanger Harris at Valley View. As Paul predicted, the fashion magazines came to him. Neinast was the first Texas based hair stylist to be interviewed for articles in the national and international press.
Who were these highly acclaimed magazines and editors????? Stay tuned for the next blog post to “Get to Know Paul” for the continuation of the story!!!!
