We know some opportunistic types have been trying to capitalize on the magnetism of the iconoclastic updo of our favorite she-mav, Sarah Palin. But the true story of that hairstyle's humble beginning will move you.

According to The New York Times, "The ballerina-pink Beehive, in a 1,400-square-foot ranch house, is a cut-and-color shop. A haircut is $30, discounted to $20 if you get the $95 color treatment. In a downstairs nursery, the stylists’ babies play with mannequin heads. In a phone interview, Mrs. Steele, 37, described a kind of “Steel Magnolias” on permafrost, featuring Ms. Palin as a recurring presence."

What follows is a heartwarming and utterly pointless tale of one woman and the fact that she has a hairdo:

"With more-established salons throughout the valley, the Beehive would seem a surprising choice for Wasilla’s then-mayor. Mrs. Steele started the salon in 1997 when she, a recently separated mother of two, put a salon chair in her garage and painted the interior Barbie pink.

The two experimented with full bangs, side-swept bangs, clips, curls, twists and blond streaks. "We just kept polishing her look," Mrs. Steele said. "We would try more warm, red and coppery highlights or more of a contrast with pale highlights, not to be severe but just more striking."

Super. I hope the didn't fly anyone to Alaska to cover this.

[NYT]

(Also, hairdressers are detectives. They know when you're knocked up, even when seemingly no one else in the state does. "She kept it quiet," Mrs. Steele said. "But I remember her hair was acting different. And I thought, 'Something is going on!' ")

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