Pop Goes the Tinsel

When Chuck St. Troy was first approached to offer Pop Tinsel as a menu item at Saints and Sinners Hair Design, the salon owner couldn't get on board with the product. "Originally I thought, 'Who's gonna put that in their hair? Who wants to look like a Christmas tree?' " he remembers. When he ran the idea by his stylists, though, it didn't take long to convert St. Troy to the idea.

His employees wanted in on the trend that accessorizes hair with sparkly strands, and they donned their shimmery locks to visit a club the same night. St. Troy estimates at least 10 curious clubbers who approached the stylists had come in the following day to get their own Pop Tinsel.

Suddenly, the idea of looking like a Christmas tree became more and more attractive from a business angle. And not just for St. Troy. Amp Salon at Palms, Salon Nouveau, Maui Salon and Icon Salon Spa all offer the hair accessory.

April Fried, president of Atomic Accessories, the beauty distributor and business consulting firm that owns and sells Pop Tinsel, came across the product at a beauty trade show. Noticing its struggle to generate industry interest, Fried saw an opportunity. Not just for herself, but for her fellow hairstylists in town, too.

"It's an easy menu item to add. There's no commitment," she says, "and one pack can make them a lot of money."

A $16 pack carries 100 tinsel strands and stylists charge between $2 and $6 a strand. On average, clients request from three to 10 tinsels, which are knotted onto the strand's base and easily pulled out when a client wants them removed. According to Fried, they can be washed, brushed, blown dry and flat ironed (up to 480 degrees) and will shed with your natural hair. As long as hair serum -- "the kiss of death for Pop Tinsel" -- doesn't touch the hair and they're tightly secured, the tinsel should last a few weeks.

As far as the look, it might look like a slumber party favor, but Fried and St. Troy both say it's not strictly a tween trend. Cheerleaders, promgoers, club regulars and bridal parties have all embraced the sparkly accessory. Fried hasn't stopped at hair salons, either. She took Pop Tinsel to the MTV Movie Awards and the Teen Choice Awards and will soon do the same at the Emmy Awards in search of celebrity endorsements.

She also has spread the trend to Alabama, New Orleans, New York and Maryland. "Pop Tinsel will lead to something else," she says. "But for now, we're just riding out the trend."